As we discussed in an earlier article, one of the most critical steps in the value stream creation process is recognizing non-value (waste) in your process. Value stream mapping brings together lean concepts and techniques and helps to avoid the “cherry picking syndrome” in which processes that have very little impact on the product or […]
I remember the not-too-distant past when a 99% yield rate would earn you bragging rights (myself included). Looking at what that really means by today’s metrics show that a 1% scrap rate converts to 10,000 defective parts per million (DPPM). As a customer, imagine a supplier striving to give you only 1% defective parts! World-class […]
Looking back through the annals of our industry, when it comes to quality, we have evolved from a reactive, to a proactive mindset. This evolution has lead to what is loosely called the Zero Defects Methodology (ZDM). The “old” gold standard of three sigma is no longer acceptable and has gone the way of the […]
Value stream mapping brings together lean concepts and techniques and helps to avoid the “cherry picking syndrome” in which processes that have very little impact on the product or service are chosen because they will be easy to improve. Value stream mapping forms the basis of an action plan (going from current state to future […]
PRESS RELEASE November 4, 2014 Steve Williams had a clear message to EMS leaders on lean implementation; Think Different. Last week Mr. Williams, President of Steve Williams Consulting and 38 year industry executive, spoke to senior leadership of EMS companies at the IPC Tech Summit held in North Carolina, and discussed how lean can be […]
Every year I get together with a group of my good friends, Bobby, Dudley, Doug and Woody, all fellow Harley-Davidson enthusiasts, and take an epic ride to “parts unknown”. As we were sitting around the campfire one night during this year’s trip, I mentioned that I was writing the Quality 101 book and was struggling […]
“But we already made a process flowchart – isn’t that good enough?” In a word, no. Process flow diagrams are a great first step, but they don’t tell the entire story. Value stream maps add one critical ingredient that standard process flowcharts don’t have; time. Process flowcharts, whether drawn by hand or electronically, do not […]
Process Analysis Terms The following terms may be useful to an organization during the activity of process flowcharting, value stream mapping, and analysis. Blocking: Occurs when the activities in a process stage must stop because there is no place to deposit the item just completed Bottleneck: Occurs when the limited capacity of a process stage […]
In the global economy that is today’s business environment, there are no guarantees as indeed, survival is not mandatory! The need for best practices is present in every industry, but mandatory in both high technology industries and commercial manufacturing operations. Over the course of the next few weeks I will try to present some of […]
One of the fascinating things about lean is that it is occurring everywhere, and many times without the knowledge of the person or organization doing it! How can this be? I recently visited a small sheet metal fabrication company, and during the course of a discussion with the owner the topic of lean came up. […]
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