The vast majority of what is written about management and business is about excellence, those people and organizations that excel. Little is written about the dysfunctional side, which frankly we see so much of in our daily work lives. A great reflection of this is the reason why Dilbert, the cult classic Office Space, The Office and the latest in the genre Horrible Bosses are so popular.
Two books written by Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, Bob...
"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory."--W. Edwards Deming
Using Lean concepts can be very powerful; the trick is using them correctly. In an earlier blog I discussed ‘Lean and Six Sigma in Construction’ (available at the following link) where I described the different types of waste and key elements to focus on when using lean.
http://www.housingzone.com/blog/lean-six-sigma-construction
However, when introducing the concept of lean there is the...
Recently I was asked to present to a group of purchasing managers for a Top 20 builder, led by a Corporate VP who truly gets it when it comes to Lean. That is encouraging in itself, because what I see from so many of the Top 20 is either more of the same old “beat the snot out of the suppliers and trades” or misguided strategies under the name of Supply Chain Management and regrettably, even Lean. This VP and the Directors of Purchasing had no stars in their eyes, but were resolved to keep...
"Baby step onto the elevator... baby step into the elevator... I'm in the elevator."
If you have not seen Bill Murray in "What about Bob," make some time for it — very funny movie. Murray plays a whacky character (big stretch) named Bob who has difficulty doing even the smallest of tasks. The humor appears in the way he handles it: he breaks everything down into baby steps to make the tasks easier. This week I am going to look at baby steps toward advanced framing.
Advanced...
Building a home made entirely from American made products from the nails to the bathtub was achieved by Bozeman, Montana builder Anders Lewendal. There are more than 120 products from 33 states. Anders believes that if every builder bought just 5% more American materials this could create 220,000 jobs. He does acknowledge that using American products can be more expensive, however, only 1 to 2 percent more than a foreign-sourced house.
This link will take you to an ABC News...
Henry Ford was a genius and if not father of the automobile per se, he was arguably father of the automotive industry. As usually accompanies genius, Ford was a little wacky in some regards and some of his beliefs about ethnic groups and how to control the behavior of workers not just on, but off the job, certainly give one pause. There are many key principles in Lean Building that can be traced all the way back to Henry Ford so it is with no little irony that 100 years ago some of the...
Imagine yourself walking into McDonalds and ordering lunch (if you are anything like me this would probably not be a huge stretch). You walk up to the counter and ask the cashier for a Big Mac. During your order you ask her to hold the two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions. She looks at you like you are some kind of freak and hands you a sesame seed bun.
A huge misconception about Lean design is that it is a cleverly packaged disguise for value...
Are you curious? Sometimes I wonder just how curious people really are. For example do you talking to those next to you at conferences? I don’t mean about where they are from or other generalities about their company, but rather to find out how and where they can help you improve in your business. I am always surprised to find people attending conferences that listen intently to the speakers but somehow don’t think about talking with fellow, attendees despite the fact that they...
Big Q and little q is a term coined by Dr Juran and is key in fully understanding quality. It contrasts the difference between managing for quality in all aspects of business process, products and services which is Big Q. While little q relates to a much more limited capacity. For example not taking the larger picture into consideration but rather just focusing on a product itself. Big Q is about a broad, strategic and complex perspective and little q is about a micro aspect an...
