By Christian Wolcott
People closest to the work have the best ideas of how and what to change. Let’s examine this simple yet powerful statement. First people, which ones are we talking about? The employees. Which employees? The hardworking folks that directly handle and build the products and provide the services your customers receive. They are the people […]
By Steven Hirt
In meeting with a new president of a company over a cup of coffee this morning, it dawned on me how hard creating a “one company” culture really is. Reflecting over my years of helping organizations envision, develop and execute strategy, I considered how difficult it is to make these simple words reality. I don’t think […]
By Christian Wolcott
I was traveling last week and overnighted at a swanky hotel at my client’s suggestion. It was new, modern in that glassy, sanitized way with lots of hard surfaces, funky furniture with music cooler than traveling really is playing in the lobby. After checking in I walked the long moody, hallways with helter skelter carpet […]
By Roger Wolfe
In this case Simple means the bare essentials to get the job completed. Most machinery manufacturers create base equipment that has some extras that will never be used in our application, but they are trying to create as much value for a large range of customers as possible. Not only do these “extras” create additional […]
By Chris Schermer
No matter what sector of business you are in, there is some degree of variation. We set out to design reliable, repeatable and capable processes that flow but, reality doesn’t always reflect that. Meetings are scheduled at various intervals, weekly, monthly, to review and address the variation experienced within the processes but, could you do […]
By Laurie Stoveken
Optima facilitates a Safety Special Interest Group that meets periodically to discuss safety related topics. Events are free to attend if you are a CI Alliance Member. Our next event is scheduled at Grande Cheese in Fond du Lac on April 9, 2018, with the discussion topic being, safety observations. For more information contact Laurie.Stoveken@Optimanow.com
By Roger Wolfe
When you hear right sized you are probably thinking of the overall dimensions of the machine. That is one element of Right Sized, but there is another very crucial element – run speed of the machine. Speed When considering a machine design, understanding takt rate is extremely important. A machine that needs to complete a […]
By Laurie Stoveken
At Optima we have a resource library of books, cd’s and videos available for Continuous Improvement Alliance members. Ramp up your knowledge on various subjects from strategy, leadership, to continuous improvement. Click on this link for a listing of what’s available: https://Optima.libib.com. To learn more contact Laurie.Stoveken@Optimanow.com
By Steven Hirt
I recently had a health scare, nothing imminent but a wake-up call for sure. It became crystal clear that I needed to change, that I needed to improve my health situation (why we wait to address these types of things will be subject of another blog because I know you are already thinking that!). So instead […]
By Roger Wolfe
When I was working for a large furniture manufacturer, I was a manager of one of their Machine Build departments. The Machine Build departments supported the kaizen efforts going on at each of the companies’ facilities. Machine Build members participate in the kaizen event, gain an understanding of the need and bring the information back […]
