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Rule 7: If the Work is Important Write it Down

3 July, 2015 by James Lawther 6 Comments

I have a file on my laptop It is a rather sad file, it is called “Sunday Night”. I travel for work and on Sunday nights I pack a bag for Monday morning.  The file reads a little like this… Sunday Night: Taxi, Train Times, Water Bottle, Hat, Scarf, Gloves, Coat Monday: Shirt, Jacket, Trousers, Belt, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: best practice, gemba, process mapping, standardisation, video, work instructions

Rule 6: Standardise the Work

29 June, 2015 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Heresy! You can’t standardise a service. You can standardise work in manufacturing.  A computer is a computer is a computer. They should all look the same, weigh the same, feel the same and work the same.   Nobody will disagree that you should standardise computer manufacturing. But that is manufacturing… The service industry is different The logic […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: best practice, gemba, service design, standardisation, video

Rule 5:  Understand how the Work Works

26 June, 2015 by James Lawther 2 Comments

It sounds a bit smug doesn’t it? It isn’t enough to study the work, you also need to know how the work works. What does it mean? Let me give you a couple of examples: 1. How do you drive a car? It is one thing to know how to drive; mirror, signal, manoeuvre.  That […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: back to the floor, gemba, systems thinking, video

Rule 4:  Study the Work

21 June, 2015 by James Lawther 2 Comments

queens chauffeur

We all get paid for know how Builders know how to build walls Accountants know how to audit books Dentists know how to fill teeth Cooks know how to cook Drivers know how to drive We are all knowledge workers.  It is just that for some of us the knowledge is harder to gain than for […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: best practice, gemba, knowledge worker

Rule 3: There is Always More Work than People

19 June, 2015 by James Lawther 3 Comments

more work than people

The rules so far: Prioritise the work Don’t make your customer wait This would be OK but for Rule 3 which states that: There is always more work than people. This rule can be expressed in many ways: You never have enough time There is always more you could do You never have enough money Demand […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: backlog, gemba, supply and demand

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