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4 Ways to Solve a Problem

8 June, 2016 by James Lawther 2 Comments

The one that got away

An apocryphal story: A man you know is hungry.  There are 4 ways you could solve his problem: Slap him about a bit. This will take his mind of it.  Hunger gone, problem solved. Give him a fish to eat.  Hunger gone, problem solved. Give him a fishing rod and show them how to fish.  Hunger gone, problem solved. Develop a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: continuous improvement, error proofing, problem solving, root cause analysis

Go, Look, Understand

2 June, 2016 by James Lawther 3 Comments

Go Look Understand

Problem solving To solve a problem you need to understand the problem. Understanding comes at all sorts of places: Opinions We all have opinions, mental models of how things work and people behave.  Our opinions help us box off and make sense of the world. Data Numbers and patterns.  Information that helps us see how […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: back to the floor, gemba, problem solving

The Ninth Waste

30 April, 2016 by James Lawther 1 Comment

Missed Opportunity

The Seven Wastes When Womack and Jones wrote The Machine That Changed the World they coined the term Lean and identified the seven wastes: Transport Intellect Motion Waiting Over Production Over Processing Defects Stock The observant among you will notice that is eight wastes not seven. Somewhere along the line somebody thought to add Intellect. On that […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: lean thinking, waste

The Handoff

26 March, 2016 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Hand off

I am not a Luddite Technology is a good thing.  As it evolves we find new solutions to problems: We invent new applications We write new algorithms We build new tools We develop new drugs Technology pushes us forward. Technology needs specialist knowledge All that new technology is difficult to get your mind around. People need […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: complexity, information technology, medicine, systems thinking

Layering Your Problems In

13 March, 2016 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Creating Problems

How to cook a leg of lamb When my wife cooks a leg of lamb she asks me to cut off the last 7 inches – the shank. Cutting the last few inches off a leg of lamb is not easy.  It requires a hack saw and good deal of gusto.  By the time the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: bad process, complexity, quality control, reinforcing behaviour, waste, work around

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