This 4-day interactive workshop is designed to develop key mindsets, approaches and skills to support business where continuous improvement is integrated into daily operations. Participants will learn and practice; principles of lean, distinction of value within process, waste identification, managing daily improvement, leadership standards, problem solving and A3, 5S, visual management, kamishibai, value stream mapping […]
Sunrise Shine 5S
5S has been around for years, but more often than not it is misinterpreted. 5S typically turns into 1S- cleaning and while that is certainly part of the system, there are critical pieces that are left off that shortchange employees and employers to the true power of a 5S system. In the “House of Lean” […]
5S Thinking and Strategy Deployment, say what!
By Steven Hirt
It’s that time of year where we begin to think about the future and our strategy for getting there. If you are using Strategy Deployment or Hoshin Kanri principles you are likely already there. If not, it may be time to do a little housekeeping or 5S your top strategies and actions. 5S? Yes, […]
Training Within Industry (TWI) – SOUTHERN Wisconsin – Job Methods
One course of Optima’s three-course TWI Certification Program, this one-day workshop focuses on the skills required to improve and document current production/work methods. These skills, traditionally thought of as lean skills, can help your business processes stabilize, improve and thrive. Based on the TWI – JM improvement approach, you will: • Learn and apply the […]
Coaching excellence and being the best version of yourself
By Steven Hirt
I was recently listening to a Norman Bodek podcast on the Harada Method and coaching excellence. He spoke of Kyocera and its Chairman Kazou Inamori which I found intriguing and wanted to learn more. Words like “Trust” and “Respect for People” are often used but rarely practiced, especially in Western Culture. Below is the management […]
What’s the problem you are trying to solve?
By Steven Hirt
Way too often organizations are pursuing the benefits of the Toyota Production System or Lean Enterprise by trying to imitate or copy others. While there is value in understanding what others have done, company and continuous improvement leaders should recognize their own uniqueness and culture and develop countermeasures to their own business problems, not someone […]
Leader Standard Work for LEAN LEADERSHIP
By Christian Wolcott
What is your standard as a Manager or a Leader? Some insight; in vibrant, progressive organizations that strive to integrate continuous improvement with running the business, you need to be both an effective manager and leader fundamentally becoming a Lean Leader. The challenge is creating a standard that comprises both sets of skills and approaches. […]
Value Stream Mapping in the Office
As a manufacturer, you’ve most likely used many of the lean tools to help you eliminate waste and variation in your processes. Organizations sometimes struggle on how to improve processes in the office environment, because you cannot easily see the “waste”. Information is passed from department to department, many times waiting on people’s desks to […]
Lean Yardstick
By Steven Hirt
Thinking about how the Lean Business System and its principles can influence your business is paramount and a key component of establishing your True North. Lean, although filled with tools, is by its very nature a people system. At its very foundation is respect for people. This does not mean just “being nice”, it means […]
4-Day Lean Leader Workshop
This 4-day interactive Lean Leader workshop will cover the relationships between lean tools, organizational leadership, and organizational culture. By exploring these relationships and practicing the skills we share each day, your leaders and your organization will begin behaving and thinking “lean”. While the workshop emphasizes tools and techniques, significant time will be spent on how […]
