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The 5 Whys in Root Cause Analysis
The “5 Whys” is a question-asking technique used to determine the root cause of a problem by repeatedly asking the question “why” until the root cause has been identified. The question isn’t asked just 5 times, if you get the root cause after 4 whys you stop, if after 5 whys you don’t have the […]
Continue readingOne button that will boost your personal efficiency
Top Fives I have a faint memory of reading about a statistic regarding how much men like lists (top 5 lists, top 10, etc). At the time I remember believing it to be true because a lot of my friends and I were constantly comparing top fives of pretty much everything. But, this statistic was […]
Continue readingJust In Time
My first exposure to any process improvements was JIT (Just In Time) Purchasing where goods are purchased and delivered when they are needed and only in the quantities needed. The idea behind this was explained to me (along time ago) by a Warehouse Manager as a way to reduce costs of stocking inventory (storage costs, […]
Continue readingDesktop Tidy
This may be a familiar image, you computer desktop full of icons, folder, files and shortcuts. How often have we searched through rows of icons looking for one file/folder/shortcut? How many times have we sat at someone else’s desk while they searched through the same organised clutter? Ideally, the desktop would only show what is […]
Continue readingThe Trinity – 5s Lean and Six Sigma
I have completed separate projects in 5s Lean and Six Sigma. It was only when asked to explain the differences between them to a person who knew nothing about them that I realized how closely linked they are. An extremely brief, simplistic (non-technical/non-statistical) overview of the 3 are: 5s – Improving workplace organisation, establishing a […]
Continue readingRoot Cause and Symptoms
‘Root cause’ is a phrase that has been thrown around for a long time, but how often is the difference between root cause and symptoms known? When a problem crops up and we find what went wrong, we will do something to fix the problem or ideally prevent it from happening again. Too often we […]
Continue readingThe Relevance Of Takt Time?
Takt Time, or “the drumbeat of production” sets the pace for cycle times so that customer demand is met. Using an assembly line as an example, the cycle time may be the time to move product to the next station. In an ideal world, the takt time and cycle time would be the same to avoid shortages […]
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