PDCA-ing the Wii
Nintendo to replace 3.2M Wii straps Wii mishaps lead to busted TVs, injuries If you’ve heard about the new Nintendo Wii videogame system, you know it has a motion control sensor that you wave around to play games. Maybe it…
Month December 2006
Update on the Trash "Improvement"
Remember this “improvement”, where an auto supplier was claiming to save money by getting rid of some cleaning staff and having engineers take their own trash from their desks to the central trash bin? I got an update from the…
Contest Update, Correct Email
We have winner (12/27) Well, I posted this LeanBlog contest and I had a defect… I put the email address in there incorrectly. So, if you’ve tried to enter and got the email bounced back to you, I apologize. I…
PR is Job One?
Auto writer: Assembling Ford Focus isn’t so easy I saw this in the paper while in Detroit this week and cringed. Ford is actually letting a reporter help build an actual car for an actual customer?? Without actual training? I…
Poka Yoke for your PC
Personal Technology – WSJ.com The Wall Street Journal has an article today about two automated online backup systems, Mozy and Carbonite. Each costs about $50 a year to automatically, in the background, backup your files to a remote online server.…
Who is Responsible for Quality?
I saw this card (click on it for a larger view) included with some medical products that were shipped to a hospital. It’s signed by a production worker (I assume) and says “I am responsible for the quality control of…
Searching the Shopfloor Investment Value
Wilbur Ross moves into the auto-parts industry – December 11, 2006 I referenced this article from FORTUNE a few days ago, but here’s an individual post. Wilbur Ross and his team walk shop floors looking for opportunities. Does anyone know…
Lean *is* Safety
Safety Issues on the Table: Saw this quote in an article about safety: “A range of issues and concerns fall under the rubric of ‘globalization,’ from the challenges of maintaining safe and healthy workplaces amidst the pressures of lean manufacturing…
Comments from GE’s CEO
An interview with P&G and GE CEOs Lafley and Immelt – December 11, 2006: I saw this yesterday and it jumped out at me, from a FORTUNE magazine interview with Proctor & Gamble’s CEO, A.G. Lafley and GE’s Jeff Immelt:…
NBA Listens to Employees, Goes Back to the Old Ball
NBA to ditch new ball, return to old Following up this earlier story about the lack of employee involvement, the NBA has decided to go back to their old basketball. From this article (no longer available): Without consulting the players, the…
Great Comment on the Blog
Hi folks — one feature of this blog (and most blogs) is the ability for visitors to leave comments, either anonymously or under their names. I got a great comment today from Charles H. Green on my post about the…
Ghosn on Toyota
Fortune Article In an article that reminds us that the uber-leader is merely human: “He’s not a superman, only a human being, but he gets results,” says Garel Rhys of the Cardiff University Center for Automotive Industry Research in Wales.…
