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Browsing All posts tagged under »poka-yoke«
Mistake-Proofing Mistakes
There is a popular lore provided by Shigeo Shingo, that the original name for mistake-proofing (Poka-Yoke) was “fool-proofing” (Baka-Yoke). Shingo chided managers at Panasonic for using the latter term, as it was disrespectful to workers, essentially calling them fools. Shingo substituted the word “mistake” for “fool”, because, as he aptly noted, making mistakes is part […]
Accidental Revolution
November 26, 2012
Last week I visited with JVS, a terrific Boston-area organization whose mission “is to empower individuals from diverse communities to find employment and build careers, and to partner with employers to hire, develop, and retain productive workforces.” I was reminded of my first experience with workforce development, one that was detailed in a 1986 edition […]
What is Advanced Manufacturing?
June 4, 2012
I am looking for some help to answer this question. Seeking illumination, I recently attended a presentation offered through CCAT, a non-profit Connecticut corporation with a mission not unlike that of GBMP – “to apply innovative tools and practices to increase efficiencies, improve workforce development and boost competitiveness.” The word optimization was used more times […]
Incremental Elimination of Weeds
April 24, 2012
Spring is my favorite season because of the spirit of renewal it brings with it. So here is a post dedicated to spring that is inspired by a comment made recently by my colleague, Menrika Louis: “I am one with the weeds,” Menrika commented jokingly while we were working together on an improvement project. She […]
What does 3P Stand For?
April 19, 2012
3P, “Production Preparation Process,” is a method introduced to the US in the mid-80’s by Chihiro Nakao, a contemporary of Mr. Ohno, and founder of Shingijutsu consulting. I recall the method was called “New Production Preparation” (NPP) early along, but apparently succumbed to a marketing intervention, hence 3P. The basic idea of 3P is to […]
JIT, Boy Scouts, and Stooges
April 6, 2012
I take my work very seriously, but sometimes when I have excess idle time (like on the red-eye from Phoenix to Boston), I’ll have a whimsical idea. Here’s one I’d like to share, to demonstrate the universality of a good idea. My stream of thought begins with recent participation in the Boy Scouts Merit Badge […]
Shingo’s Network
March 30, 2012
With the International Shingo Prize Conference just a month away, I thought a short post about Shigeo Shingo and the Prize named in his honor would be worthwhile. At the time of Prize’s founding in 1988, Shingo was nearly an unknown in the U.S. His first book translated into English (1969, Japanese Management Association) was […]
December 8, 2015
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