Blog
Posted on May 2, 2012
Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement – Lessons from Elite Sport
Many companies that approach TXM tell us that they want to create a “culture of continuous improvement. Some people tell us that “Continuous Improvement” and Lean Manufacturing are two different things. So what is a “culture of continuous improvement”, what does it mean and how does it differ from Lean Manufacturing? The behaviour of elite sporting teams provides a good model of continuous improvement that can be adapted to manufacturing and other businesses.
Posted on April 24, 2012
Smart Capital Investment – Lean Thinking First – Chequebook Second!
In manufacturing, technology constantly changes. New technology usually offers the opportunity of increased efficiency and lower costs to the machinery we have today. It is often breathtaking to tour trade shows such as the Austech Show about to open in Sydney or the Shanghai Machine Tool show and see the capabilities of the machinery now on offer. However technology is expensive and increasing the fixed asset base of the business means that returns also have to increase. Businesses need to ensure that the cash provided to them by banks and shareholders is used in the most effective ways and generates returns that justify the risks taken by the investors. Unfortunately manufacturing does not have a great track record in achieving outstanding returns meaning that many businesses struggle to attract investment.
Posted on April 19, 2012
Lean Leadership: You Can’t Recruit Your Way to Success
One of the most important skills in business is the ability to attract and select good people. In fact, in my time as a manager I decided that the single most important decision I would ever make is whom I gave a job do. The importance of this decision may lead some to think that the answer to a business’ problems is simply to recruit the best people and actively manage out people who do not perform. Sadly in our experience, this approach is frequently a root cause of business failure rather than success.
Posted on April 14, 2012
The missing metric – Productivity
In many of the companies TXM has visited over past number of years, productivity measusre are very hard to find. When enquiring about productivity, we are more often presented with a balance sheet, rather than a true ratio of operational efficiency. Productivity must be distilled to the cost per unit or one job. This will vary across industries and each company must investigate the best way to present productivity measures to their most important inputs - your staff. This baseline measure can then be compared year on year.
