Curious Cat Management Articles

Curious Cat Management Improvement blog

2008-08-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

This is just a reminder that posts are not made to this blog anymore. See the Curious Cat Management Improvement blog for current posts. Recent posts include:

Better Meetings

Paying New Employees to Quit

Well Managed Companies

Fed Funds Rate Changes Not Strongly Correlated to Mortgage Rate Changes

How Downsizing is Handled When Management Respects People

Customers Get Dissed and Tell

Reminder: New Address for This Blog

2007-02-17T05:43:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that new posts on this topic are made to the Curious Cat Management Improvement blog. Recent posts include:

New Blog Site

2006-06-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

New posts will be made to our new: Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. We hope you will find the new site valuable.

Hospitals, Heal Thyselves

2006-06-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Hospitals, Heal Thyselves by Cal Thomas:

This proven system does not require more staff or expensive consultants and it certainly does not need another bureaucratic, costly and inefficient government agency, which can only make things worse. Improvements can be made, says Mr. Dobyns, starting today and in every hospital in the country. Costs will decline. "So the question now becomes, can we afford not to heal our hospitals? We can, if we want, not do anything. But if we decide not to do anything, we have to accept that every day -- every day -- 500 people will die in hospitals in the United States who did not have to. You and I might be among them."

via Great Exposure for the "Good News" DVD

More on Obscene CEO Pay

2006-06-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

Study site: CEO-worker pay imbalance grows includes the graph above.

Unfortunately this reverse robin hood (steal from the workers, stock holder, customers...) and give to the CEO tale continues. Hopefully someday soon we can at least turn the momentum in the right direction (stopping these incredibly excessive "pay" packages). Even then it will take quite a deal of reducing these ridiculous "pay" packages to reach some sense of decency. CNN article based on the report: CEO Paycheck: $42,000 a day by Jeanne Sahadi:

Put another way, the average worker -- who earned $41,861 in 2005 -- made about $400 less last year than what the average large-company CEO made in one day. That assumes 260 days of pay (52 weeks x 5 days a week).

The CEO-to-worker pay differential in 2005 was the second highest on record. The highest was 2000, when the average CEO earned 300 times what the average worker made.

In 2002, the differential fell to 143 as the bear market took its toll on stock-related compensation. Nevertheless, between 2000 and 2005, median CEO pay rose 84 percent to $6.05 million on an inflation-adjusted basis, according to EPI.

Missing link: CEO pay and results

Home Depot CEO stifles debate about pay

Excessive Executive Pay - link to a study with even more obscene data than that in the graph above.

CEO Pay: Obscene from Apr 2005

Dr. Shigeo Shingo

2006-06-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Norman Bodek responds to, Shigeo Shingo's Influence on TPS by Art Smalley, with: Dr. Shigeo Shingo - The Greatest Manufacturing Consultant. As the title shows this article focuses on the contributions of Dr. Shingo. I still find the original article interesting and valuable. I don't think the original article denigrates Dr. Shingo. It is true the emphasis is different in the two articles however it seems to me the difference is not that large in truth. The largest difference is to what extent Dr. Shingo's contributions (which it seems to me are stated pretty similarly) are admired, it seems to me.

Both support the idea that Dr. Shingo offered valuable contributions. Norman Bodek obviously believes Dr. Shingo deserves more credit than the original article. At least to me though the differences between the articles is much less than the agreements.

New Lessons on Competition from Mother Nature

2006-06-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Surviving the Fittest: New Lessons on Competition from Mother Nature by Joel A. Barker

As a result of this emerging body of research, we now must reexamine our competitive paradigm and factor in the new information. It is now clear that 'the fittest' not only don't win all the time, but are only a piece of the more complex system. This information can lead to new strategies for small companies and new insights for the big companies that presently dominate their industries.

An interesting short article with some ideas to think about.

Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future by Joel A. Barker, 1993.
Joel Barker - his web site
No Contest The Case Against Competition by Alfie Kohn, 1992.

Brainstorming Under Attack

2006-06-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

Brainstorming under attack: 8 errors in the WSJ. The WSJ has there content behind a wall so their content is not part of the web and so I have not seen their article.

The blog post makes good points about mistaken impressions of brainstorming:

People do better on their own than they do in brainstorming sessions. This is really daft. I like to think of myself as a pretty creative guy, but I am never more creative than when I am a small piece loosely joined with other small pieces in the generative circumstances of a brain storming group.

I think both have their place. You pretty much can come up with your own ideas all day long (though it is true we often are too busy doing something to take any time to think but that is a time management choice). Brainstorming is about creating an opportunity to bring new ideas the forefront.

There are other useful tools such as the affinity diagram which can serve as another option (or can serve as a tool to work with the results of brainstorming).

And Edward DeBono has excellent creativity tools, like his 6 thinking hats. Brainstorming is a useful tool when applied properly but it is only one tool and other tools should be used.

Lean Library

2006-06-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Library becomes a lean machine by Morgan Jarema:

"I spent parts of three days looking for that book," Hoyles recalled. "On the fourth day, I found it. I called the patron and he told me he'd gone out and bought it."
...
In November, library employees, who are responsible for checking in from 4,000 to 10,000 returned materials at a time, were asked to help reduce the reshelving time, which could be as long as two weeks.

The average time now is 36 hours, though most materials can be found on rolling carts in the section where they belong the same day they are returned.

Related lean thinking idea: 5s. More lean manufacturing/thinking articles.

Companies in Need of Customer Focus

2006-06-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

You should pay ME - 9 Companies That Don't Get It:

I have been having a hell of a time canceling my old web hosting with Burstband. It's been a few months now and I've called, emailed, filled out online forms, and I have never reached a live person or received confirmation that my account was shut down, and I still get charged. I finally had to file a dispute through my credit card company. It's $8.99/month, so they owe me at least $26.97. I got to thinking about it, and I realized they really should pay me for the two hours of my life I have wasted trying to cancel the damn thing. I usually charge $80/hr for consulting so the total comes to $186.97."

My brother has suggested several times I should arrange for companies to pay me to point out their weaknesses (and suggest improvements). I wish I could get them to do so.

Another opportunity for improvement: Why Doesn't Google Invest More in Blogger? - Google is great (in my opinion, of course) but still has plenty of room to improve. And Blogger is one great example of something in need of improvement. In fact in trying to post this I received:

Down for Maintenance
Blogger is temporarily unavailable due to an unexpected problem.
We will be back up as soon as possible.

Update (2:20 pm PDT): We are fixing a database issue. We hope to be back up in a couple of hours.

Planning 5s? First Know Why!

2006-06-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

Planning 5s? First Know Why! by Jamie Flinchbaugh

he basic principle is that you must know why you want to implement 5S before being concerned about learning how to do it. Most people, when they are asked the purpose of 5S, cite safety, discipline, employee morale, reduced waste of motion and-perhaps the worst reason of all-being tour ready.

All of this is wrong. The true purpose of 5S is to spot problems quickly.

Very clear point. The purpose is to help spot problems and correct them. Making it easy to spot problems, and to correct them, will lead to improved safety and efficiency.

5s definition

TRIZ - Managing Creativity

2006-05-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

The World According to TRIZ by Reena Jana:

TRIZ is the brainchild of late Russian inventor Genrich Altshuller (1926-98), who worked as a patent inspector. In the process of observing invention after invention, Altshuller sought to identify a consistent formula for innovation. In 1946, he published an article laying out his theory of structured innovation, which he titled "Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch." That translates roughly into "Theory of Inventive Problem Solving," or TRIZ, for short.

Creativity related:

Six Sigma Spells Success in India

2006-05-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Six Sigma spells success for BPOs by Pradeep Kapur:

However, while Six SigmaÂs pedigree can indeed be traced to TQM, it is differentiated from these earlier approaches by the bottom-line focus and intensity of its application. Experience has shown that Six Sigma works and if applied appropriately, it can be the key to enhance customer experience by adding to the bottom line. This can provide you a winning edge.

Lessons From Visit to Toyota's Kentucky Plant

2006-05-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

Construction Executive Lessons from the Toyota Visit by Hal Macomber including:

Stopping to fix the problem - jidoka - could lead to far fewer quality problems.
...
Establish standard work - the currently understood best way - for key project operations.
...
As leaders, involve yourself to ease the work of the project team members rather than operating in the illusion that you can control.

via: Constrution Executives Visit Toyota, Learn Kaizen

Lean Transformation Tips

2006-05-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

The 12 ½ Truths of a Lean Transformation by Charles Hagood. A one page article reinforcing what adopting lean methods will require.

The process of improving never ends. A Lean transformation has no end date! The process is ongoing and is never a closed out action item. There is no such thing as the perfect company or process, therefore the closest to perfect you can become is to recognize that it is a continuous process of improvment.

Forget Targets

2006-05-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Forget about targets - and decide what really matters by Simon Caulkin:

The attraction of targets is their simplicity. But it's a fatal one. As part of the misguided managerial obsession with quantification, they misapply partial, linear measures to a complex, shifting world.

While targets and goals can distract from improvement some guidance is useful. Systems thinking is important when using targets. As is an understanding of psychology (given the tendency to manage to what is measured the system can often be distorted to achieve a target). See more in: dangers of forgetting proxy nature of data.

Related:

UK Lean Electronics Manufacturing

2006-05-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

CEO viewpoint: Lean and keen manufacturing by Eamonn Walsh, chairman and technical director of Brainboxes:

At Brainboxes we have been manufacturing for 22 years so far and we believe that the way we work will keep us there. If we adopt the best practice of lean manufacturing methods and apply them to all manufacturing in the UK, electronics or otherwise, then the industry will be transformed for the good. Unreformed manufacturing will fall by the wayside.

Lean Construction

2006-05-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Lean Manufacturing in the Construction Industry by Eric Sander:

In a radical departure from construction on site, Bensonwood Homes of Walpole, New Hampshire, has begun assembling major wall and floor components of their custom homes in their shop. These sections are delivered and assembled on site to reduce the construction time and improve quality. This approach is common in Japan. Toyota Homes and Misawa Home prefabricate custom homes in their factory for onsite assembly. Tedd Benson has recognized the advantage of this approach and is attempting a new approach for custom homes in the US.

Hospital Poka Yoke

2006-05-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hospital Lean: Error Proofing by Mark Graban

Some hospitals are making a systemic process change that they hope will prevent this error. They are banning the typical abbreviation for micrograms. They want everyone to use "mcg" for micrograms and "mg" for milligrams.

Much better than telling everyone to "be careful."

Nice poka yoke example.

Airlines Try Smarter Boarding

2006-05-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Airlines Try Smarter Boarding by Dave Demerjian

An airplane that spends an hour on the ground between flights might fly five trips a day," he explains. "Cut the turnaround time to 40 minutes, and maybe that same plane can complete six or seven flights a day." More flights mean more paying passengers, and ultimately, more revenue.

Good lean thinking and faster boarding is a customer service improvement as well.

Convinced that there was a statistical solution to the problem, Lindemann approached Arizona State University's industrial engineering department.
...
Professor Rene Villalobos and graduate student Menkes van den Briel began reviewing boarding systems used by other airlines. "The conventional wisdom was that boarding from back to front was most effective," says van den Briel. The engineers looked at an inside-out strategy that boards planes from window to aisle, and also examined a 2002 simulation study that claimed calling passengers individually by seat number was the fastest way to load an aircraft.

The two then developed a mathematical formula that measured the number of times passengers were likely to get in each other's way during boarding. "We knew that boarding time was negatively impacted by passengers interfering with one another," explains van den Briel. "So we built a model to calculate these incidents."

Another recent airline post: Airline Quality

Six Sigma and Process Drift

2006-05-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Quality Quandaries: Six Sigma, Process Drift, Capability Indices, and Feedback Adjustment by George Box and Alberto Luceno. This article is for the more statistically inclined.

The Six Sigma specification makes an allowance of 1.5 standard deviations for process drift. Simple ways in which a major part of such drift can be removed are given. These employ feedback adjustment methods specifically designed for SPC applications.

Feedback adjustment can be dangerous: tampering. In fact, I would say attempting it is likely to be tampering, unless those doing so are careful and knowledgeable. It might be wise to read Box and Luceno's book on the topic - Statistical Control: By Monitoring and Feedback Adjustment if you are tempted to try.

Innovation at Google

2006-05-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

Turning Limitations into Innovation by Marissa Ann Mayer:

people working on it have spent so much time and are so personally invested that it's too painful to walk away. They often know the project is misguided, yet they see the effort through to the painful, unsuccessful end. That's why it's important to discover failure fast and abandon it quickly. A limited investment makes it easier to walk away and move on to something else that has a better chance of success.

Production Preparation Process

2006-05-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

The Top 5 Reasons for Using Production Preparation Process (3P) by Jon Miller:

Production Preparation Process (3P) is one part of an overall Lean design approach that includes QFD, design reviews, and post-start up monitoring by a cross functional team to kaizen any bugs in the new system. The benefits of Production Preparation Process are a cross-functional team approach, rapid testing of ideas and the embedding of Lean manufacturing principles into process and product design.

Quality Conversation with Gary Convis

2006-04-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Quality Conversation with Gary Convis by Norman Bodek:

There are two pillars; one is continuous improvement. You might not call this a human issue exactly, but Toyota's success rests on the need for all employees, all management, to be looking for and striving for continuous improvement and never being satisfied.
...
We believe very strongly in what the Japanese call "genchi genbutsu," the foundation of Toyota's engineering strategy, which means "Go, see, confirm and be aware with your own eyes."
...
The other pillar of the Toyota way is respect for people and honesty. If you don't have respect for people who work for the company, you'’re in the wrong business.

More lean thinking articles

Previous posts on Toyota and TPS (lean)

Creativity Overflowing

2006-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Creativity Overflowing:

It was clear that Whirlpool needed to reinvent its corporate culture. To do so, it had to figure out the answers to basic questions that managers everywhere struggle with: How do you define innovation? How do you measure success? How do you teach people to be creative?

How Whirlpool Defines Innovation