SM2.3 80/20 and the Theory of Constraints (TOC)
This is 12Faces’s equivalent of Godzilla meets the Hulk! In our language it is the mixing of the 80/20 Rule, which promises up to 16x growth and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) approach, which describes the most liberating aspect of your production line.
How Kaizen Leads to Continuous Incremental Improvement
Most improvement is an incremental process. It is rare to get something completely right the first time so, over time, we improve parts of the system so as to continue to improve the whole. A Japanese word for incremental improvement is “Kaizen”. Read this article for insights into incremental improvement of your business. Incremental improvement, […]
How Kanban Improves Work Flow
Kanbans are a tool for structuring how work flows into the work-in-progress queues so that workers do not get overloaded and can use their time most effectively. Kanbans, and variations on them, are widely used in software projects (e.g. Scrum and Agile) and manufacturing (e.g. Lean and Six Sigma). Blue Belt
How to Track progress with Fever Charts
Very often we would benefit from some visual method of alerting us to the fact that some process is becoming critical and needs our attention. One such visual aid is a “fever chart”.
SM5.0 Theory of Constraints (TOC) and your Bottlenecks
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) has probably had more impact on our prizewinning business than any other management gem! We first heard of it when reading that Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon, required all his managers to read the book that introduced ToC – The Goal. Bezos has done OK so must be something in […]
Manage Workflow and the Local Optima Problem
It is a very widely held belief in managing workflow for business that each station in a production line should be working as hard as it can in order to maximise its efficiency. This might be a car assembly line or an accountant’s office processing tax returns using several different stages in the accounting process. […]
LB4: Getting Stuff Done When There is Lots
As a business manager, there is always more to be done than you possibly have time for. If you want to work reasonable hours and have a life outside the business, you will have to prioritise what you do. This article describes several techniques that can help you reduce the often seemingly overwhelming number of things you have to do to a more manageable approach. If you don’t learn to manage the workload, you will find yourself flitting from one task to another and not getting much of importance done. This article is a Yellow Belt tool to help you manage all the “stuff” to do.
Take Advantage of Agile / Scrum / Kanban to Increase Productivity
In a smaller business there is always plenty to do and many demands on a managers most limited resource; time. Often the owners time is the major bottleneck on the growth of the business (see the introductory article to Theory of Constraints). Plenty of other businesses have struggled with prioritising time before you and several techniques that are very similar have evolved. The three best known of these are named Agile / Scrum / Kanban. Various references cite improvements in team productivity ranging from 25% to 300% by using these methods. This article introduces these concepts and a way of using a free software app named Trello to manage the process. A mix of Yellow and Blue Belt introductory material.
80/20 Principle and the Theory of Constraints
This is 12Faces equivalent of Godzilla meets the Hulk! In our language it is the mixing of the 80/20 Rule, which promises up to 16x growth and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) approach, which describes the most liberating aspect of your production line.
How Dice Games Simulate Profit Generation
Throughout the 12Faces, we talk about several different workflow and inventory models and their respective merits. You can quickly gain an impression of how these models work in practice by playing a simulation game with a set of dice. This will demonstrate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various models and their impact on your profit. Blue Belt