Articles
Mistake-Proofing Mistakes
February 4, 2020 – Bruce Hamilton, President, BHP
There is a popular lore provided by Shigeo Shingo that the original name for mistake-proofing (poka-yoke) was “fool-proofing” (baka-yoke). Shingo chided managers at Panasonic for using the latter term, as it was disrespectful to workers, essentially calling them fools. Shingo substituted the word “fool” for “mistake,” because, as he aptly...
Read Full ArticleKPIs are Dead, Long Live the KBIs!
February 4, 2020 – the Shingo Institute
Project succeeded? About a year ago, the head of logistics and purchasing asked me to carry out some observations on the floor. Their new ERP system had been implemented about two years ago, and he wanted to know where knowledge was still lacking so he could use the information as input for a training plan. So off I went to talk to som...
Read Full Article“Medical Taylorism:” An Article that Does a Huge Disservice to Needed Healthcare Transformation
February 4, 2020 – Dr. Patricia Gabow and Ken Snyder
The article, “Medical Taylorism,”[1] by Pamela Hartzband, M.D. and Jerome Groopman, M.D., in the New England Journal of Medicine, reflects a major misunderstanding of the principles and practice of the Toyota Production System, or Lean as it is often called. Specifically, the article appears to conflate poor implementation with ...
Read Full ArticleTruly Understanding Customer Value
February 4, 2020 – Chris Butterworth, S A Partners, LLP
Many organizations assume that customer surveys tell them what their customers truly value. This approach has its limitations. There is a difference between customer satisfaction and customer value. These must link to strategy and deploy throughout the organization. A deep understanding of customer value is critical to drive business e...
Read Full Article