Gotta Go Lean by Jeff Hajek

Office Space Meets the Real World

Jeff Hajek — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:45:40 +0000

An interesting story caught my eye today. Apparently, an employee decided not to come to work…for 12 years. Amazingly, the paychecks never stopped. It reminded me of this exchange from the movie ‘Office Space’: Peter Gibbons: …. I uh, I don’t like my job, and, uh, I don’t think I’m gonna go anymore. Joanna: You’re [...]

Value, Shmalue

Jeff Hajek — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:10:55 +0000

As I troll the Internet looking for juicy new Lean topics to sink my teeth into, I frequently come across questions from people asking about how to classify tasks as value-added or non value-added. Now, the concept of value-added and non value-added work is great. It is important to understand how the tasks we do [...]

Find a Factory Whisperer

Jeff Hajek — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:33:26 +0000

Most people look at a factory, and just see a building where people make things. They just see chaos. They see people mixed with inanimate objects, sprinkled with the occasional robot. But there is more to it than that. A factory is a living, breathing, active thing. It has a pulse. It grows. It gets [...]

New Lean Terms Update for September 1, 2010

Jeff Hajek — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:10:19 +0000

Just a quick update for today. I’ve gotten several new terms posted to The Continuous Improvement Companion. Enjoy. Change Management Current State Map Design for Manufacturing

The Unforgiving Minute

Jeff Hajek — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:10:28 +0000

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem titled “If” in 1895. Among many pearls of wisdom in the poem, he makes a reference to the ‘unforgiving minute.’ It struck a chord with me because of how competitive the business world has become. There is no free time, and every minute a company is not moving forward is [...]