Updated: Delphi workers in NY rejected the contract proposal. Updated: It looks like the contract has been accepted by the UAW… I got caught up on the WSJ during my long trip home from the UK and saw many aspects…
Northwest Air, Out of Chapter 11, Aims to Mollify Customers, Labor – WSJ.com Mollify (v): to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease. I don’t understand airline management at all. Airlines, in general, seem to be one…
Seconds count for Southwest | Dallas Morning News Here was a nice article from the Dallas paper a week ago about kaizen-type activities at Southwest Airlines. It’s not called Lean, nor does it reference Toyota, but it sounds like Lean.…
Big pieces of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner arrive | Seattle Times Newspaper This is really Kevin Meyer’s issue at Evolving Excellence, but I can’t resist blogging about this myself. Boeing is often hailed as a Lean company (or at least they…
Here’s an interesting video showing Boeing’s 737 line, moving at a takt time pace of 2 inches per minute. The referenced video has been removed at Boeing’s request (5/18/2010). I was embedding a video from YouTube that Boeing considered an…
Kevin Meyer at Evolving Excellence commented the other day on the Wall Street Journal article about Boeing’s recent supply chain challenges. I’d like to add to what he said from a broader perspective on the industry, and how I think…
JAL boss puts job on the line | FT business | The Australian JAL is planning on using the Toyota Production System as part of their turnaround. I’ve written before about United’s lean efforts, so maybe JAL can learn from…
Lean was on my brain traveling home yesterday. Mostly bad examples, but one thing jumped out at me, somewhat positive. I love the TPS notion of “explaining why” (and blogged about it here after touring NUMMI). In the Lean and…
USATODAY.com – Error in Comair crash fairly common As a frequent flyer, this almost makes me physically sick to think about the systemic problems, the combinations of errors, and the multiple human errors that led to this horrible tragedy. Calling…
I knew it when I first wrote about the latest “runway incursion” (near miss) at O’Hare. It seems too easy to pin the blame on one individual, as the FAA and the media did, blaming an Air Traffic Controller. It’s…
WSJ.com – Airports Start to Feel the Sting Of Airline Cost-Cutting Efforts Fat airports? No, I’m not talking about the fast food concessions you find in most airports. This article discusses the conflict of styles in airport design. One approach,…
USATODAY.com – Runway safety system has pilots seeing red This counts as “everyday lean” if you fly a lot like I do. A system like this seems long overdue, a system to prevent pilots from taxiing down occupied runways. In…
