Continuous Improvement

Mass Production & Lean: What’s the difference?

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Assembly line of mass production

3 min read Mass production is not considered to be a Lean production method. At the height of its innovation however, it did effectively lower the unit cost of many goods and improved the efficiency of facilities. In the spirit of Lean and continuous improvement, it’s important to keep finding ways to improve the organization and over time, it was clear a better solution may exist. What is mass production? Since Henry Ford’s assembly line, mass production has …

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Foundational Concepts of Lean

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foundational concepts of Lean

3 min read Lean manufacturing utilizes a number of strategies and tools to improve the business by boosting productivity and eliminating waste. The following are just a handful of the most common Lean tools, many have been adopted from manufacturing in Japan and the Toyota Production System . 5S (The Visual Workplace) 5S is a system of creating workplace organization to reduce/eliminate waste created by clutter, lack of information, duplication, underutilized space, inconsistency in processes, etc. Components of …

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Six Sigma Principles

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Six sigma principles

3 min read The Six Sigma methodology is one that focuses on creating quality products and eliminating defects. Though Six Sigma is a vast idea that spans a number of Lean philosophies and methods, at its core, Six Sigma is driven by three principles: Process Improvement— Companies should take consistent action to eliminate root causes of deficiencies within its production processes. Process Design (or re-design)— Don’t be afraid to challenge, question, or revamp existing processes to be more …

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The Top 5 Ways To Implement & Improve Lean Efforts in the Workplace

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5 min read Since you’re reading this, you probably have some notion, however small, as to what lean strategies are, but you might be struggling with implementing them into your workplace for the first time. For others, you might be seeking a lean-based solution to a specific problem you’re noticing in your place of work. Whatever your case, I’ve compiled a list below of some of the most effective lean strategies for common workplace struggles. For each listing, …

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Money may not be the Only Motivation for Employees

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3 min read Keeping employees motivated is one of the most important thing managers and leadership teams can do for their business. Motivated employees not only contribute more to the company in the way they work, but they also come up with innovative new ideas, inspire others and provide many other important benefits. While it is obvious that motivating employees is important, it isn’t always as easy as many people expect. Some managers make the mistake of thinking …

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How to Get Employees More Involved

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3 min read It is commonly said that the employees of a company are its most valuable resource. This is true on many different levels. Of course, employees are necessary for getting the day to day work done in any business, and without them, the company would quickly have to be shut down. What is perhaps more important, however, is the ability the employees have to influence change in a positive way. Companies require continuous ongoing improvements to …

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What is an Incident Management System?

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3 min read The term “incident management” is thrown around a lot in almost all types of industries today. While most people will have a general understanding of what type of thing it is used to describe, most don’t really understand exactly what an incident management system really is. Incident management is a term that has been used to describe all the activities related to how an organization will identify, review, analyze, and correct hazards or problems in …

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Is OSHA’s proposal for E-Reporting going too far?

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3 min read The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has put forth a proposed rule that will require many employers to track injuries and illnesses electronically on a new system. If approved, the rule will require this type of reporting take place at least every quarter. For employers with 250+ employees, the website where the data will be sent will be viewable by the public. Many people think that OSHA is going too far with this proposed change, indicating …

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2014 Regularity Priorities from OSHA Announced

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3 min read Each year the US department of Labor, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announces a list of their priorities for the following year. In fact, they often release updates throughout the year, but the one that comes out at this time of the year typically gets the most attention. All companies would be wise to take a close look at the list of priorities this year, and begin planning any steps that will be necessary …

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How Unified Communications and Collaboration can Improve Your Business

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3 min read A unified communications and collaboration system can help improve just about every type of business in a variety of important ways. Before getting into the specifics of how this type of system can help, it is important to understand what is meant by a unified communications and collaboration program. This type of system will vary in how it is implemented, but the basic idea is to have two or more communications options integrated into one …

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