Go to the place where the work is performed, that is the Gemba walk. This does not apply just to manufacturing, but also line managers and their respective departments as well as to project management. You want to know what is going on, what could be better, go unto the work space and watch and […]
Muri is waste associated with pushing people, processes and equipment beyond the limits or overburdening. An organization may be enamored of working large numbers of overtime hours, but any benefit for such some at a cost, and this is an example of overburdening. I once worked at a place in which the employees averaged being […]
Risk Management Through the Project In modern life, risk management is a fundamental discipline for success. This does not just apply to work life, or project management but also personal life. Today we are going to discuss the approaches and impacts on the project when there is insufficient attention to the risks to which the […]
In Project Management One size does not fit all. Product development and project management can be very complex and complicated with variations and permutations that make a prescriptive approach impossible to produce successful results. That goes for any brand or type of project management. What is important is to have an arsenal of skills, tools […]
We continue the exploration of the Poka Yoke post. In the last post we discovered in building the product (late iteration) we have found that building the product has some undue complexity. Upon further exploration we find that the design engineers suggested spending some time to Poka Yoke these devices. The project hierarchy decided to […]
Successful product development requires, ultimately, the delivery through manufacturing. After all, we are most likely for profit entity, and even if we were not for profit, in our effort to maximize our resource usage we should act as if we were a for profit. Specifically, we do not squander our available resources. Mass production has […]
by Kim H. Pries Some people find terms such as configuration management and change management to be confusing and they are unsure what they mean and what the difference could be. We consider change management to be a higher order concept that includes the idea of configuration management. Let’s discuss configuration management first! Classical configuration […]
by Kim H Pries When we are engaged in prototype development during the early to late middle phases of our new product delivery process, we usually purchase components through maintenance, repairs, and operation (MRO) purchasing. This type of purchasing is managed on an as-needed basis, and often, is not automated. We purchase the parts we […]
by Jon M Quigley A few recent experiences have led me to believe many do not know the reason for prototype parts. Consider organizations that employ an iterative process for developing products. The automotive world typically uses this sort of product development method. In iterative product development, we build increments of the product learning from […]
by Jon M Quigley Design for manufacturing provides us with the ability to critique the design as it applies or impacts the manufacturing line. Have you ever wondered why the phrase “hits production” exists? It is because insufficient attention to the integration of the design and the manufacturing often result in trauma at the manufacturing […]