Lean
The 8 Big Plant Losses
In process industries, products are manufactured in equipment complexes (called “plant”) consisting of columns, storage tanks, heat exchangers, pumps, compressors, furnaces and other such units, all connected by pipes, instrumentation systems, and so forth. Because of this integration, it is more important to focus on maximizing the overall effectiveness of…
Read More »The 16 Big Losses and Related Costs
How does working patiently and persistently to eliminate the 16 Big Losses not only have the benefit of driving up OEEs, but also help greatly to drive down costs? If a plant has been working flat-out to meet demand, for example, with its operators doing overtime and holiday work, increasing…
Read More »How many wastes are in Lean?
The lean methodology defines 8 forms of waste: Transportation Inventory Over-processing Overproduction Waiting Motion Defects Underutilized skills Transportation waste Movement of material, paper, etc. that adds unnecessary time to the flow, increasing the risk of being lost, placed in the wrong location during transportation. Inventory waste Packaging or finished goods…
Read More »Threats and Opportunities Matrix
A tool to help understand the set of reasons why a project is necessary. List of “consequences if the problem is not fixed” and ‘benefits of making the change”. People are motivated by threats and opportunities; Identify the stakeholder group who needs to understand why the project is needed; Brainstorm…
Read More »



