Wed, 10/24/2018 - 12:01
If you are a CEO of a manufacturing company with many value streams, it’s impractical to think that you have the time to review all the performance measures of every value stream in your company. Yet you need to know the operational impact of lean… Why Measuring Efficiency Is Anti-LeanLean companies make time for improvements as well as production
Thu, 03/30/2017 - 12:02
The measurement of people’s efficiency has a long history in manufacturing industries. Design and production engineers calculate the time required to manufacture a product or batch of products. Each time the product is made, the “actual time” is… Lean Accounting in a NutshellMotivating transformation and improvement
Mon, 11/16/2015 - 11:54
Companies that are seriously pursuing the lean journey soon find their accounting, control, and measurement systems need to change to support the new strategy. The principles and methods of lean thinking and practice are quite different from… It’s Not About Changing Your Accounting SystemHere are 10 things to think about when developing lean accounting
Wed, 11/04/2015 - 10:59
I work with companies that are serious about being lean organizations. Most of them use lean accounting. It’s not about changing your accounting system. It’s about embracing lean principles and methods. Lean changes the way people look at… What Does This Guy Do?The valuable role of the value stream manager
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 13:27
For many people the role of a value stream manager isn’t clearly understood. Others incorrectly use the term “value stream manager” as a substitute for production manager or supervisor in the factory. However, a value stream manager has full… From ‘Just Do It’ to ‘Just Done It’Small, continuous improvements translate to big, lean transformations
Tue, 07/28/2015 - 12:33
I have been working with two multinational companies recently, and the need for “just do it” (JDI) daily improvements came up. One company is a pharmaceutical plant in Europe, the second an industrial equipment manufacturer in Indiana. Although the… Breaking From Standard Cost AccountingA must for lean companies
Thu, 06/25/2015 - 16:41
T here are three ways in which a standard costing system is typically used in a manufacturing company:
1. Performance measurement 2. Decision making 3. Inventory valuation
From an accounting perspective, performance measurement and decision making… Succeeding With Lean When You Don’t Know AnythingKeep calm and plan, do, check, and act
Wed, 06/03/2015 - 12:23
It is vitally important for lean people to know nothing when working on improvement. This sounds like a crazy idea, but it is another 100-percent turnaround from traditional management thinking.
To do this, it’s necessary to do three things: •… Oxymorons: Food for ThoughtToday’s example: inventory management
Tue, 05/27/2014 - 00:00
I’m starting a new series (thought provoking or maybe just provoking…) about some of the oxymorons we find in the “traditional” manufacturing world.
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. We hear these all the time in… A Better Way to Understand Product Profitability‘Contribution per minute’ is one simple calculation that everyone can understand
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 00:00
Many companies calculate product profitability by subtracting a standard cost from the price and calling it a margin. But this calculated margin does not tell you how much money you are making. It tells you almost nothing about profit because the…
