Blog Archives

The Metrics of Concern Strips

Across manufacturing sectors we are living in a data-rich world, which is both a blessing and a curse. Data can take man…
Creating a Standard Lean Workstation: Low Volume – High Mix Industry

S & A Stairs craftsman work in a low volume, high mix industry. Designing a standard Lean workstation is the first steps…
Top 3 TXM Lean Minute Videos

Our TXM Lean Minute videos have attracted attention from around the globe and we love bringing them to you! They are a f…
7 Flows to Consider When Designing Your Factory Layout

Whether you are moving into a new factory, changing the layout of your current facility to improve workflow or making ro…
Lean Daily Leadership Process – Which Elements Do You Need?

TXMs Lean Daily Leadership Process brings together our practical approach to the Lean elements of visual management and …
Top 3 Tips for Auditing your Audits

We know that audits are an important part of sustaining our Lean systems. But they are often the hardest part of impleme…
Mastering Meaningful Metrics

“What gets measured, gets managed” is the adage by management expert Peter Drukker and you would be hard pressed to …
The Top Lean Tools for Maintenance

As we implemented and refined our Lean Enterprise Production System the stability of the processes becomes extremely imp…
Building Accountability into a Lean Enterprise

Building accountability into a Lean Program is not so different to creating accountability into any organisation however…
Teamwork in a Lean Enterprise

Today we’re going to look at the importance of using teamwork to develop a lean enterprise. While it is easy to define…
Creating a Lean Human Resources Department

A key element for the lean way is Organisational and Human Resources factors inside our company. How a business is struc…
Lean Implementation Planning

Once the Lean direction and vision is set, the commitment has been communicated across the company and the deployment po…
The Art of Policy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri)

Hoshin Kanri, or policy deployment, is one of the most important foundation elements for implementing the lean methodolo…
Conducting Audits to Sustain Lean

In the last two articles have discussed the importance of sustaining and implementing a Lean Production system has well …
Why do So Few Small Companies Become Big Companies?

Why do So Few Small Companies Become Big Companies? Every big global company started out small. Hewlett Packard was orig…
The Need to Lead People through Change

People who resist change usually do so for a reason – lack of trust, frustration or a desire to have their input in to…
Documented Expectations to Sustain Lean

You and your company have been implementing Lean for the last 12 months and things are starting to look good. We have be…
Is Chinese Quality Bad?

I find it common for people to tell me that “Chinese quality” is bad. If I were to ask the same people about their p…
Implementing Lean is Hard; Sustaining Lean is Harder

As we look back over the last 12 months, can you seen where you've been? Continuous improvement and implementing Lean me…
Lean Manufacturing Goes Hand In Hand with Quality Improvement

How do we use Lean Manufacturing methods improve quality systems? Over the years, while introducing Lean programs into m…
Parts Quantity Analysis

If you are serious about your lean journey, you will need to jump into a Parts Quantity Analysis (PQA), also referred to…
Making My Workplace More Visual

Making our work flows and daily metrics visible is a key to implementing lean and getting our team involved. We want to …
When is “Future State”?

Lean boils down to where are we now? Where to we want to be? and How do we "close the gap"? While there are many tools t…
Improving your Factory Capacity On the Cheap

As TXM Consultants, we venture into MANY factories around Melbourne Instead of talking about new machinery there is SO …
Getting Lean to Stick – The Lean Champion

TXM consultants work across many industries; when tools are mastered getting lean to stick is the next big hurdle. Here …
The Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Lean Leader

We hear a lot about leadership. Hundreds of books (including Mr Coveys, seminars and experts telling you how you should …
Implementing a lean project

All businesses are under pressure at the moment. We're trying to do more with less people and as a result have less time…
Essential handbook for Lean Leaders

At the 2013 Australasia Lean Summit, there was one book that kept coming up in conversation, both by the presenters and …
Advancing Office Productivity with 3 Lean Principles

The Lean principles are so often attached to the manufacturing of goods such as cars, white goods and furniture however …
Setting Practical 5S Standards

Setting Practical 5S Standards At the beginning many people find the idea of a 5S program to be as a daunting undertakin…
Sustaining Practical 5S Workplace Organisation

In preforming 5S activities on site I often see that the initial efforts go well and gains are quickly made to productio…
Growing time for Lean

We hear time and time (and time and time) again that people "Can't find time" for lean, every day is too busy with custo…
Knowing What to Make and When to Make it – The Role of Forecasting in Lean Enterprise

Knowing the future has been a human fascination since the beginning of time. In business, information about the future i…
Implementing Lean – When and How to Start?

A common question we are asked is when should a business start implementing lean and how should it get started. Many peo…
What Personality Type is Best Suited to Problem Solving

Most of us, at some point in recent memory will have been subjected to a personality test. Most likely it will be the My…
Reinvigorating Your Business

January is a funny month as we wind up work mode while the weather is still warming up outside and our thoughts are drif…
How “Losing Face” Might be the Key to Your Continuous Improvement Journey in Asia

One of the first things that westerners learn about Asian culture is importance of keeping face. Public embarrassment or…
Learning to Define the “Problem”

To improve our problem solving skills we need to begin by clearly defining the "problem". Those involved in the problem …
The Lean Manager – Management Mindset

There are three sentiments that are repeated throughout "The Lean Manager", as well as a reminder that lean systems must…
The Lean Manager: Standard Work

The book “The Lean Manager”, by Michael Balle and Freddy Balle is a novel come textbook on understanding Lean and i…