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An Introduction to Capacity Leveling

May 13, 2026December 7, 2014 by Christoph Roser

One approach to leveling (also known as heijunka [平準化], or production smoothing) is capacity leveling: Do not add more production orders into the system than what the system can handle. Try to produce the same total quantity every day. Doable for almost everybody, and one of my favorites. In fact, if you are using a pull system like kanban or CONWIP, then you are already almost there.

This approach is not the highest and best form of leveling, but it is doable for almost all firms. Some other approaches, notably an Every Product Every Cycle (EPEC) approach, often do more harm than good.

Why Leveling (Heijunka) is important

May 13, 2026November 30, 2014 by Christoph Roser

Production leveling, also known as heijunka (平準化) or production smoothing, is one of the hottest topics in lean manufacturing. Successful leveling is considered one of the highest achievements in lean manufacturing. Unfortunately, if the production system is not ready for leveling, it also has lots of potential to make things worse. A lot worse! This is the first post in a longer series of post about leveling, where I will present different types of leveling and their advantages and disadvantages.

SMED – Creative Quick Changeover Exercises and Training

December 13, 2025March 9, 2014 by Christoph Roser

One popular approach to battle waste is to streamline changeovers. Changing machines from one setup to another is often a time-consuming exercise. Hence, in lean manufacturing, reducing changeover times is a well-known method for improving efficiency. This post will show a number of examples where these quick changeovers (also known as SMED) can be practiced in an unusual environment.

The History of Quick Changeover (SMED)

December 13, 2025March 2, 2014 by Christoph Roser

In the previous post, I explained the basics of a quick changeover. In this post, I will go through the history of quick changeovers (also known as SMED). It is quite interesting to learn how things have developed during the twentieth century. The next post will look at different, unusual ways to teach SMED.

Quick Changeover Basics – SMED

December 13, 2025February 23, 2014 by Christoph Roser

One popular approach to battle waste is to streamline changeovers. Changing machines from one set-up to another is often a time-consuming exercise. Hence, in lean manufacturing, reducing changeover times is a well-known method for improving efficiency. In this post, we will go through the basic approach of improving changeover time, also known as quick changeover or single minute exchange of die (SMED).

Poka Yoke Training – Simple Mistake Proofing Game

December 13, 2025February 16, 2014 by Christoph Roser

Assembled Blue Dragon — Poka yoke anyone?

Mistake proofing (or Poka Yoke in Japanese) is one important way to avoid waste in lean manufacturing. In this post, I will present a small game that can be used to teach the basics of poka yoke easily and quickly. The game is based on Kinder Surprise eggs made by Ferrero, also known as a Kinder Egg. These eggs are available almost anywhere – except in the US, in which case there are some alternatives.

Japanese Standard Pointing and Calling (Video)

December 13, 2025January 5, 2014 by Christoph Roser

During my last trip to Japan, I finally took videos capturing the Japanese Pointing-and-Calling standard. Pointing and calling is a safety standard that started with Japanese train operators but now is widely used in industry. The idea is that whenever you confirm something, you not only look at it, but also point at it and call out your observation.

Extended Lean Tool Kit for Shop Floor Improvement Projects

December 13, 2025November 17, 2013 by Christoph Roser

Due to the popularity of my lean tool kit, I present you here my extended lean tool kit. These are items and tools that I frequently use for lean manufacturing on the shop floor, but as opposed to the items from the lean tool kit, I bring these along only if I know I will need them.