Kai – “rapid change” Zen – “for the better” Masaaki Imai CEO of Kaizen Institute also says that Kaizen means Continuous Improvement. Many organizations practice kaizen […]
Know Your Kaizen Events
By Christian Wolcott
Paint Your People Gold
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? […]
Creating a “One Company” Culture
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 […]
Kaizen Décor
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 […]
Machine Design Principle 2 – Simple
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 […]
What the Flow?! Where did it go?!
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 […]
Safety Special Interest Group
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 […]
Machine Design Principle 1 – Right Sized
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 […]
Did you know?
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 […]
Easier, Better, Faster, Cheaper – Can it possibly be that simple?
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 […]
