Business Vault

Standardised Work is one of the most powerful but least used tools within business, yet it is one of the foundations to Lean Manufacturing From my experience “without standards we do not have continuous improvement only chaos”. The declarations I have heard, “we don’t make cars”, “You…

Over the last few months I had a number of discussions regarding what I call “Performance Rooms” others call “War Rooms” (never really been keen on that expression but as long as the process is followed what does it matter) or the Japanese term “Obeya Rooms”. I…

I was chatting with a few contacts recently, and the topic of A3 Problem Solving came up. It got me thinking, and I figured it was worth doing a quick overview of what it is and, more importantly, why it’s so surprisingly effective. We’ve all been there,…

It’s been an interesting month, great meetings, new contacts and one of the most interesting presentations I‘ve given regarding Operational Excellence and Problem Solving. The presentation was given to the Manufacturing and Construction sectors as part of a Seminar/Workshop. The comments at the end we’re ones I…

Just reading though an article (again) in the UK Manufacturing Review and felt compelled to quote James Selka (CEO of The Manufacturing Technologies Association). I have to say James is spot on with his comments. “We are living through an explosion in the potential of technology, and…

It’s easy to feel like a factory tour is something that happens once every couple of years, but in reality, it’s something that should happen every day. Conducting regular factory tours and assessments is crucial for maintaining operational efficiency, safety, and overall productivity. This regular review helps…

Recently I started a discussion regarding SMEs and their websites, the discussion started with this quote “an interesting observation this week whilst working, how many SMEs lack an all singing all dancing website. What’s the reason, with 90+% of people now looking on line this should be…

A Good Place to Start for Productivity Improvements OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is one of the main measures I use within a Manufacturing Business, but it can be adapted to service as well. Does your production have bottlenecks you’re not aware of? Could one machine be dragging down…

What is the product lifecycle? Many of us have heard of the Boston Matrix, “cash cows” “rising stars” and so on, however whilst we understand the principle do not build it in to our day to day business. Managing the product lifecycle and using your understanding of…