Content by Bruce Hamilton
The NaturalA good manager knows when to let a player swing away
Thu, 04/28/2022 - 12:02
In 1985, about the time I was discovering there was a better way to produce products, The Natural, a film about an aging baseball player with extraordinary talent, was garnering multiple Academy Awards. This archetype concerning natural “God-given”…
Too Happy Too SoonFocus scarce resources to build capability before branching out
Mon, 04/04/2022 - 12:02
The level of excitement was high in our machine shop as we drew closer to our goal of less than 9-minute changeovers on the BNC lathe. (See Part One of this story for how we got there.) Setup improvements had so far reduced changeover time to 20…
Do Your JobA hard-working consultant convinces a skeptical expert
Mon, 03/28/2022 - 12:02
We had been working with the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) for two years to build a model line in our assembly department. As we moved from small batch production to one-by-one, the results had been astounding: Customer lead time…
Signs of SpringWhen an old guy's fancy turns to continuous improvement
Wed, 03/09/2022 - 12:02
Every February, there are welcome reminders that spring is on the way. The first for me is a witch hazel bush in my front yard that defies subfreezing weather to produce fragrant yellow flowers. Then, a few weeks later, crocuses and winter aconites…
Lean Lessons From CovidHere’s to resilience in 2022
Tue, 01/18/2022 - 12:02
You may recognize the following quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, or more recently from Kelly Clarkson: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I’ve thought about this often during the last 22 months in context of the horrible pandemic and, more…
The Power of CommitmentContinuous improvement means solving problems as they arise
Tue, 12/07/2021 - 12:03
In 1996, the TSSC (Toyota Production System Support Center) began working with my company to create one-by-one production capability in our product assembly. Previous to TSSC’s assistance, we’d moved the furniture and machines into cells, creating…
My First LessonHow a TPS teacher sees a shipping department
Wed, 09/29/2021 - 12:01
Just a little over a year ago we lost Hajime Oba, one of the great pioneers of Toyota Production System (TPS) learning in the United States. In 1992, he was the founding manager of the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC), a nonprofit…
When PDCA Meets SilosBoundaries between production, inspection, and engineering obscure opportunities for process improvement
Wed, 07/21/2021 - 12:02
PDCA—plan, do, check, act (or adjust)—is one of those acronymic concepts that regularly finds its way into lean discussions. Descended from Francis Bacon’s scientific method (hypothesis, experiment, confirmation), PDCA has become a ubiquitous…
Extra SpaceThe health of the stockroom says a lot about overall flow of value to the customer
Thu, 05/13/2021 - 12:02
This time of year the abundant ads for junk removal and cheap storage units remind us that it’s time for spring cleaning, an annual pastime that has perhaps been bolstered by the need to unlock extra space in the home during the pandemic. Businesses…
WonderfulA story of teacher and student
Wed, 02/24/2021 - 12:01
At the tender age of 21, living in a universe with far too many parallels to present day, I took a job—which turned out to be more than a job—to support myself in college by working as a caregiver, cook, driver, and constant companion to a man who…