Increase Throughput by Replacing Manufacturing Productivity and Efficiency Metrics with These Two KPIs

Manufacturing productivity is a useful metric for measuring the health of manufacturing at a national or global level because it tells us something about whether our factories, in general, are working or sitting idle. But at the level of the individual factory, productivity as a performance metric can be problematic. Before we travel too far down that path, however, perhaps we should start by defining what we mean by manufacturing

Kaizen vs. Kaikaku

Kaizen vs. Kaikaku: 2 Approaches to Lean Manufacturing That Can Transform Your Factory   The Lean Manufacturing world is littered with new terminology, and given the discipline’s origins, it’s not surprising that some of these words and phrases are Japanese. Being “fluent” with these words to the point that you can bring them up in casual conversations with coworkers is half the fun. Even better, these words have the power

Fast Results Using TOC for Demand-Driven Manufacturing – Part Two

Manufacturers use constraints management first to gain the most demand-driven change Last time, we talked about focusing on enterprise improvements rather than local efficiencies using constraints management (TOC). We discussed that continuous improvement tools such as TOC, Lean and Six Sigma work like “sandpaper” on an organization’s processes, smoothing various stages of their demand-driven journey. I likened TOC to the “coarse” grit of sandpaper—the one to use first to get

You are Here!

    Where to Start Your Lean Journey  There’s one sure-fire way to tell when someone has lived in Minneapolis long enough to be called a Minnesotan. No, it doesn’t involve rooting for the Vikings, though that helps. It’s when they can find their way around The Mall of America without a directory. Built in 1992, The Mall of America still ranks as the largest in the US with more

Efficiency vs. Productivity: Metrics that Matter…Until They Don’t

Measure efficiency and productivity against your REAL goal I keep seeing the word efficiency in the manufacturing media.  For someone who is a Constraints Management person, this is the equivalent of saying “Ni” to the Knights Who Say Ni (Monty Python reference, okay?) or like scratching your fingernails across a blackboard.  It is one of those words that I think we should remove from the English language. When we look

5 Keys to Manufacturing Transformation

Almost every manufacturer we talk to these days is in the process of implementing (or planning to implement) some sort of change in the way they approach operations: Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean, Six Sigma, just to name a few. Our focus on demand-driven manufacturing tools and applications has given us a front-row seat to their efforts. Related post: Is Demand Manufacturing Lean? While the devil may be in the