Each month new articles, book reviews, and other content are added to the Superfactory website. The new content is featured in the monthly e-newsletter which goes out to 50,000 subscribers worldwide, and we will also post a monthly heads-up on this blog.
New content in February includes:
The featured article is by Jamie Flinchbaugh and is titled 25 Problems or How to Focus on the Right Systems. The following is a brief excerpt, and you can read the entire article here.
Managers get tons of training on how to solve problems. They get no training on their role in problem solving. Their role isn't just about solving problems. But here is the neat trick. It is solving problems that probably got them the promotion into management in the first place.
This happens continually in the management chain. What leads to success in one role is often different in another role. We cannot take a super worker and make them a supervisor, without changing their role and their skills. So what happens to managers when they get promoted? How do they start to engage in the problems of the organization? Many experience what I call The 25 Problems Problem.
If you have five direct reports and each of them has five problems they are working on, how many problems do you have? If you didn't think I was setting you up, most would answer 25 problems. But that's the wrong answer. Your team has 25 problems. But those are NOT your problems. Those are your team’s problems. If you see them as your problems, you will do all the wrong things.
The featured book this month is Fundamental Principles of Lean Manufacturing by Shigeo Shingo. The following is a brief summary, click here for more information.
Fundamental Principles of Lean Manufacturing is the latest discovered and newly translated book from Dr. Shigeo Shingo, the engineering genius and driving force behind the successful realization of the Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. This first-time-in-translation book will give modern readers total access to the fundamentals of improving any process.
Dr. Shingo directs the reader towards the path of flow operations, the ultimate and attainable goal of process improvement. His method of providing numerous examples with easy to understand, yet in-depth explanations of problem solving, is well represented throughout this book.
Gemba Academy has added the first 15 modules of their Practical Problem Solving course to their Lean Package. Take a look at how Gemba Academy is revolutionizing online training, on demand, in High Definition HD quality.
We continually update the other major sections of the website, including:
- PowerPoint Presentations: Over 115 downloadable PowerPoint presentations on lean manufacturing, quality, enterprise, and safety concepts. Special promotion: purchase a Package or Bundle of presentations and receive the Gemba Academy Lean Starter Package DVD ($97 value) at no cost.
- Factory Toolbox: Almost 300 downloadable forms, procedure templates, assessments, and tools to help you not reinvent the wheel.
- Events Calendar: a listing of lean excellence seminars, workshops, training, and conferences worldwide
- Topic Information: Summaries and resources on over 40 enterprise excellence topics.
- Virtual Factory Tours: Web and streaming video tours of over 100 factories.
For all you LinkedIn junkies, we have created a LinkedIn group for Superfactory, which now has over 3,500 members. Join the group to
network with other Superfactory enthusiasts and to show our logo on your profile. If you haven't explored LinkedIn, check it out to see why over 17 million professionals use it for networking.
We are always looking for new articles and other content. Contact us via the Superfactory website if you would like to contribute to our knowledge base.