Continuous Improvement Tools

At some point, you might grow weary of fire fighting.

When your team is ready, there are templates and training for every step of your lean journey to lean transformation.

Tip: The place to start is not Hoshin Planning.
The place to start is Value Stream Mapping.

Not just value stream mapping tools.

Value Stream Analysis, with scenarios, filters, and math that Visio simply can't do... to analyze capacity, optimize changeovers, calculate guaranteed turnaround times, answer 'what if' questions, and remind your team leaders of the right questions to ask every time that you lead another value stream mapping event to continuously improve your (real world) high mix / low volume value streams.

With online training and videos to guide you through every step of the value stream mapping process.

8 Categories of Lean Tools

for time observation, process analysis, heijunka flow, and more process improvement tools to empower every team to continuously improve every process

systematically learning to see and eliminate the 8 deadly types of waste wherever they are found.

There are continuous improvement tools to analyze, stabilize, visualize, and standardize every process in every value stream.

There are Process Analysis tools to analyze and improve diverse types of processes for Lean Manufacturing, Lean Healthcare, and Lean Office and Service processes (that are common to every organization).

The Standard Work tools, however, are arguably the most important tools in your continuous improvement toolkit.

Not just the Standard Work template, but also the Yamazumi Chart, Spaghetti Diagram, Machine Balancing, Standard Work Audit, Standard Cost Estimating, and more.

These are the Standard Work tools that "rachet your gains."

If your (lack of) plan is to just allow people to quickly backslide into old habits, then why even start?

It would be better to simply explain to your investors that "lean methods won't work here", without putting your team members through the pain and embarrassment of an experiment that was destined to fail before you even started.

Lean processes require quality.

You can use the 'Insert Sheet' button to add a chart to any Excel workbook that contains your data. And you can do what you always wanted to do with those other Excel macros that you struggled so much with...

you can link your data so that your chart instantly updates as your data changes!

You have the 7 Basic Tools of Quality, (including Excel Pareto Chart, Run Chart, Trend Chart, Histogram, Scatter Plot...) as well as many more DMAIC tools to Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control the quality of ANY process.

There's only so much that your Quality Department can do. Their job is soooo much easier if your engineers attentively listen to the Voice of the Customer, and design your products and services more thoughtfully in the first place.

Your DFSS tools include an FMEA template that has useful features that you never even thought to ask for (and certainly couldn't program yourself). Each FMEA workbook can have an unlimited number of (perhaps interlinked) worksheets for Control Plans and Process Flow Diagrams.

And your FMEA's can be surrounded by an entire suite of supporting optional continuous improvement tools and systems, like the P-Diagram, Characteristics Matrix, DVP&R, and House of Quality QFD.

Whenever you change person's work environment, you're going to need to re-train them.

Your templates include each of the TWI Training Within Industry tools that were popularized by the United States war mobilization to fight World War II.

And there are a suite of Lean Training tools for diverse training requirements that you might encounter.

The most popular lean training tool, however, is the Work Instructions template. It has special features that will dramatically reduce your time (and mistakes) when writing visual work instructions for a product or service 'family'.

It can auto-generate a separate sheet for every product or service in the family, correctly including or excluding steps, correctly renumbering steps, putting the correct header information at the top of each page, and has revision control that vary by product (or be shared by all products in the family).

If you need to write work instructions for any product or service family, you owe it to yourself to give this tool a test drive.

Every lean tool and system needs corresponding lean management tools and lean systems.

A3 Management, Visual Management, Leader Standard Work, strategic planning, tools to launch any type of team, 5S tools, Lean Assessment Audits, and many more tools and systems for lean leadership.

When you download your free trial, you get several lean leadership templates that you can use for the rest of your career — free.

then you know that it is ultimately your responsibility to empower your people with consistent continuous improvement tools, training, and coaching.

And if your organization is international, then you might find it worth your time to request a personal demonstration of the Systems2win features to quickly switch between languages, for both templates and training.

then you (and your clients) need to make a choice:

1. Is it your (shared mutual) goal to hire you to 'do things for them'?
2. or is it your goal to empower your clients with teachable, repeatable tools and systems to lead them around each next corner of their lean journey?

then once you get your process improvement tools installed, be sure to complete the free New User Training

and don't hesitate to use your free support

to get the most from your systems, training, and tools for continuous process improvement

then you might choose to own your own professional tools
that you can take with you through your entire career,

because in the end, your performance evaluation is based on your performance.

And, because you are undoubtedly looking for a new employer, or will be soon...

you're invited to send us your resume

because our (growing) customers are often looking for motivated people who are competent with continuous improvement tools