Manufacturers can identify and reduce waste using tools such as value-stream mapping. Process efficiency programs at pharmaceutical companies-whether called operational excellence, lean manufacturing, ...

While Lean principles have been known and applied in a variety of manufacturing processes, the applications in product development have been slower to come. Several companies have also applied Lean to ...

VSM is a lean management technique that helps businesses eliminate process redundancies and waste by finding ways to improve current lean and agile business processes. Companies are always looking for ...

Safety has been getting an unexpected boost at some facilities that, in the past, did not seem so committed to a proactive safety approach. Old school employers are unexpectedly adopting many of the ...

Across industries such as food processing, pulp and paper, ceramics, engineered wood, biomass, and chemicals, manufacturers ...

There is a common lean phrase, “Bad systems beat good people.” Sometimes it is attributed to Dr. W. Edwards Deming although it isn’t actually his quote. I’ve used it for 20 years but couldn’t tell you ...

Process mapping is a vital technique for visualizing and understanding business processes. It allows you to outline each step involved in a workflow, effectively transforming the invisible into the ...

Just when you thought you had finished the search for excellence, along come Six Sigma and a crew of consultants who call themselves business black belts. Should you believe them? Hire them? Fire them ...