5S is a much used Lean tool that is often seen as a good launching point for business transformation projects. In many cases however, its application into the office environment is rather lacking . This is a shame because it can offer some really good benefits for the business who does embrace the five steps (sort, set, shine, standards and sustain) fully. For example, when you implement 5S on your computer server files become easier to find and time that was wasted trying to get the information that you need is now used for more important tasks (plus it's less frustrating!). Physical files and information are better organised and clutter in the workplace reduces. Again, this makes retrieving information quicker, trip hazards reduce and morale can improve. Also, if you run some form of software to manage your business (such as a CRM system, or MRP/ERP system) then having this same mentality with the data in the system will allow you to improve the quality of the business

'Business Process Improvement' is a practical how to guide based on the author's experience of helping businesses to improve their operational performance. It is aimed at the person whose job it is to make operational and on time delivery improvements happen. During the time he has worked as a business improvement consultant, the author, Giles Johnston, has identified a number of approaches that work for his wide range of clients time and time again. Different clients, different businesses, different needs… but similar approaches.. ‘Business Process Improvement’ outlines these approaches in a simple way that makes them easy to apply to your business. If you are short of time and need to quickly make tangible changes in your business, then this practical guide book is for you. Shorter lead times, improved on time delivery performance and less fire fighting are just around the corner. Click here to view on Amazon.com. Smartspeed Consulting Li

I heard a statement recently about how SMED was something you do to ‘polish’ a process, after you have done everything else you need to do to that production process. When I worked through the experience part of gaining my Engineering Chartership I had never heard of the term SMED, it was just something you did to streamline a process – to remove the ‘dead time’ when changing over. Since the lean movement has grown (where I first heard the term SMED) we understand better the need for flexibility within production environments and how quick changeovers can really help. As you can imagine, I disputed the statement that SMED was something you do at the end. I’m sure that you agree that it is just good working practice. If you aren’t familiar with SMED it is a really useful method for taking the work out of a changeover and minimising the time where the process is not running at full speed. A common approach is to: 1 - List all of the activities required to changeover.

If you need to increase your effectiveness in the workplace and need a visual tool to help with day to day task management then this short guide is for you. Giles Johnston, a business improvement consultant for small to medium sized businesses, takes you through the steps needed to implement a low / no cost solution to your day to day management problems - a 'Kamishibai' board.  A Kamishibai board can help to improve discipline within the workplace and ensure that the working days / weeks / months are more effective. Common within businesses that use 'lean' methods to improve efficiency and performance (and very effective to use when implementing 5S), a Kamishibai board can be used in its own right, in any kind of business, whether you are going through a lean transformation or not.  Click here to view on Amazon.com. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

Planning and execution (the doing part) are often treated as the same activity. They are clearly separate; they have different names to begin with. When I say that they are treated as the same activity what I mean is that I often find that people will think about what they are doing (planning) as they are doing the task (execution). By this time they are already on a specific path and so the effect of their planning is limited. Planning can be seen as another task to be completed. Another thing to do on an already straining ‘to do’ list. This is understandable with how workload’s seem to be nowadays. However, planning can be done very quickly, and can help to reduce the amount of work required to complete a task. So, a small amount of planning could actually reduce the total workload you have in front of you. Coming up with a quick planning method that suits the way you work is the trick here, and that requires you to have a think about how you work best and what results you n

A daily meeting to organise, prioritise and focus team efforts are invaluable. They also need to be quick. Businesses that have put these ‘huddles’ into place run the risk of the meeting becoming stale, boring, routine and long. The first three of these problems are OK, but the fourth ( huddles becoming long) is the real stumbling block. If you become quick at running the meeting then the first three problems can disappear altogether. If your huddles are becoming stale and long winded then refresh the meeting through speed. A daily meeting to increase productivity and performance is just too good to miss. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

When I first start working with clients, one of the complaints they often make  is that their projects are not progressing quickly enough. Upon further inspection their diary seems so stuffed full of things that they don’t have time to get anything done in the first place! Sometimes this problem is due to procrastination, and when that is the case then breaking the overall project down into small packets is a great way to move forward. Small chunks of time that are easy to schedule that have a clear start, middle and end. These small packets of time work even better when they are done at the start of the working day. You can also put a number of small packets together if you feel inclined. If you are feeling stuck with your projects then consider re-planning the work and putting it into palatable chunks of work and trying to schedule those instead. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

There is a great saying 'it is better to have a short pencil than a long memory'. Getting things out of your head and on to paper can do great things for your own personal productivity. When you have ideas and tasks crammed into your head then you run several risks: 1 - You might miss the tasks deadline or never do the task. 2 - Your mind will probably be constantly running on overtime just so that you don't forget. 3 - You might miss the other opportunities and ideas that arise. How you keep your lists and how you choose to use them is up to you. People who are organised, thorough and not bogged down with a thousand things in their heads usually get the job done quickest. How do you organise your thoughts?   Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

In 2006 the James Bond franchise was given one of the most successful reboots in film history with the release of Casino Royale. This rebooting of famous franchises has become something of a trend but it’s not just the movie world that can use it for renewal and reinvigoration. Giles Johnston of Smartspeed Consulting Ltd believes that rebooting your business is essential – and it shouldn’t only be done on a periodic basis. In fact Giles has been working with clients in utilising what he calls Daily Reboots. He explains, “Regular well focused meetings are a great way of reviewing the status of a business and for planning ahead.” Giles has worked as a business consultant for eight years, specialising in helping companies become more efficient and effective. He uses a variety of methods for this, including Lean Management techniques, Kaizen and Operations Management. Giles also delivers training workshops that focus on such areas as on time delivery and continuous improvement t

When you get into the thick of things it can be very difficult to see what needs to happen to a process or a business. The noise from the day to day activity can blur the distinction between what the business needs to do and what it is currently doing. Knowing what the 'design' of the business should be is something that you need to keep visible at all times. If the business is not working in the right way then the design becomes the compass for you to guide your actions by. Bad practices form over time and when you are looking for ideas for improvement comparing where you need to be with where you are is a way of providing this guidance. Also, when you look at the design of a business, you can work out backwards how things are meant to work. So if you know how many 'things' you need to do in a day, for example, you can work out how fast your process needs to be in order to cope effectively. If you are getting lost with your improvements then look at the design.

We've just had our 6th birthday. Despite the (low key) celebrations we have compiled a new report that is available from our main website. There is also a link above on the menu to give you more information. The report comes from a review of the themes that have been present during our projects over the last six years and provides some ideas on how you can avoid these various pitfalls so that your business can deliver its products and services on time more easily. Sometimes delivering on your promises can be a lot of hard work. If this is you then follow the link to download the report and then make some basic changes to your business and see what happens. You can also click here to download the report (see top left corner of the page). All the best, Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

One of the commonly bandied about phrases is 'added value'. This has led to a number of analyses to be done for businesses when considering how they can make improvements. If the improvement actually delivers a real benefit then it can be considered to add value, for example: If you save someone's time on doing something, but don't get them to do something else that makes profit then you haven't realised a benefit - you are still paying them the same. On the flip side if you reduce shift working / overtime thanks to an improvement then that is a real saving. If the improvement allows you to do something strategic, but that doesn't ultimately make your business a better place to work or create more profit then you haven't made an improvement. I hope you can see that once you have identified an improvement and worked out its potential to benefit the business then you need to find a way to use this extra capacity / capacity to increase the profi

Many business don't see how they can make improvements. "We don't have a process, every project is bespoke!" is a usual response. However if you stand back far enough you can see your process. Most businesses progress their orders through similar steps, or stages. If you can identify these steps then you have identified the overview of your process. The bits in-between the steps might be different on each 'project', but as long as you can identify the correct deliverables at the end of each stage then you will be able to make gains. The handover is usually a critical point in a process to reduce lead time and improve quality. You may not need to flog the continuous improvement ethos on the bits in-between! If you find your generic process then you can find a route to make improvements. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.