In my last post I talked about hitozukuri for human resources development, and in a much earlier post about monozukuri for making things. But, there is more: Kotozukuri stands for… a lot of different things, most often for the joy and passion to make products. It is not so well known, is often interpreted differently, and may be just a buzzword, but I would like to show you this anyway.
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What Is Hitozukuri?
This week we will have a look at another Japanese word that is often used in lean: hitozukuri. You may already know the similar word, monozukuri, to make things. Hitozukuri applies this to people. No worries, I won’t ask you to give birth, but rather tell you how to grow your people. Read on…
How to Turn Your Car for Assembly—Part 2
In my last post I started looking in more detail on how to turn a car on an automotive assembly line. This is a deep dive in a specialized topic, but I hope it can inspire you in similar issues with your own assembly line. The big question is how to reduce the overall walking distance for all your operators. But, as we will see in this post, it is also a question for tool and material access. Read on!
How to Turn Your Car for Assembly—Part 1
In this small blog post series I will do a deep dive on one aspect of automotive assembly—namely, how to position the car for assembly. While not all of you assemble cars for a living, understanding the approach on walking distances may be helpful to optimize other production systems. Read on …
Mendomi: The Well-Being of Japanese Employees
In this blog post I would like to introduce another Japanese term used in industry: Mendomi. Used at Toyota and also other Japanese firms, it means to take care of your employees. And, Toyota makes a good effort on this, albeit not flawlessly. Let’s dive deeper on what mendomi means (but don’t expect to find a new religion in there…).
Different Problems Require Different Solution Approaches
Solutions to problems in lean manufacturing are manifold. However, there are also different ways to approach these problems. In this blog post, I will give you an overview of different ways to structure your problems, so you can match them with an adequate response or problem-solving approach.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D)
In this (by now rather long) series of blog posts on the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D) I have explained the nine (!) steps of the 8D in detail. In this last blog post of this series, I will now look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving, especially in comparison to the Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS). Both aim to solve problems, but do so slightly differently. Let me give you my thoughts…
The Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D)—D7 and D8
In this series of posts I go through the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D) in more detail. In my last post, I talked about D5: Develop Permanent Solution and D6: Implement Permanent Solution. In this post I will go into more detail on the last two points, D7: Prevent Recurrence and D8: Close Problem and Recognize Contributors. This would close the review of the 8D, but I have one more post on my general comments on 8D in comparison to other methods like the Toyota Practical Problem Solving. Read on!