Enabling Excellence Through Employee Engagement
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has been guiding military strategists for centuries. But what if I told you these same battle-tested principles could be the key to running a successful business? Whether leading a company or optimizing factory operations, the art of strategy remains the same: Know your battlefield. Control your resources. Lead with …
Continue reading "Winning in Business: Lessons from The Art of War"
When I joined a new company as the Plant Manager back in 2019, the General Manager shared his dream with me which started in 2017: “Grow the company 5 times in 5 years.” That vision made me pause and think. At that moment, I knew that Lean, Six Sigma, and TOC would be essential but …
Continue reading "Beyond Improvement: The Power of Breakthrough Thinking"
In my first month as an Operations Manager back in 2009 at an Automotive and Architectural Glass company, I faced a situation that completely shifted my perspective on productivity. One day, a Marketing staff member hurried over to the production line, handed the Quality Inspector a stack of yellow pad sheets—three pages, back-to-back and labeled …
Continue reading "Real Life Story: Is High Utilization Good?"
It was 2002, and I found myself in a meeting that can make or break my career. As a Senior Supervisor, I was the only non-manager in a room filled with 30 Managers and Directors. The air was thick with tension. The factory had failed to meet commitments for weeks, and our General Manager was …
In any production system, identifying the constraint is essential. The constraint shows the process step with the lowest capacity, directly influencing throughput and, ultimately, sales. Any improvements made to a non-constraint process will not enhance overall performance and lead to inefficiencies. Principle #3: Constraint Dictates Throughput Performance Consider a simple three-step production line: Step 1 …
Continue reading "Identifying and Exploiting Constraints in Manufacturing"
Engaged 