Queue the music . . .

“Good afternoon lean thinkers and students of TPS.  There is an urgent situation emerging with a provider of a very important good/service.  Operational performance needs improvement, and fast!  Quality is poor, and is resulting in large quantities of rework and complaints from customers.  At the same time. the organization is finding it difficult to react to a rapidly changing market due to its slow and inefficient processes.  Compounding the situation, costs are already lagging behind the competition.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to assist this organization in improving its operational woes.  This post will self-destruct in 5 seconds.  Good luck!”

Mission: Impossible?

The highest quality.  The shortest lead time.  The lowest cost.  We all know these as the three objectives of the Toyota Production System.  But whether it’s recognized or not,  all organizations at all times face the same three challenges to operational performance:  how to improve quality, delivery AND cost.  The emphasis on the word “and” in the previous sentence is intentional.  Here’s why. [Read more…]