Overview

If the only tool you've got is a hammer, everything pretty much looks like a nail.
Bob Ford

Two of the more common questions asked in Beta's manufacturing plants are: (1) where should we start with our improvement effort? and (2) what improvement tools best apply to our business? Most of Beta's divisions are looking for a relatively easy way to identify the biggest opportunities they have for improvement. And, many managers are trying to become "systems thinkers," that is to think of their manufacturing plant as a complex system that must be fully understood as to inputs, outputs, and variables. This is in contrast to being "event thinkers," wherein one reacts to an event without fully appreciating all the actions and circumstances that led to the event occurring.

Essentially all Beta's plants have some form of site-wide strategy and improvement plan, and as we've seen, the tools they are applying are numerous. They've been bombarded with promotional material and success stories regarding the use of tools and methods such as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Supply Chain Management, Total Productive Maintenance, Reliability-Centered Maintenance, Root Cause Analysis, and Kaizen, just to name some of the more common ones. They've also used all these in one form or another, and it seems that each one if properly applied, works well, or if not properly applied, does not. The "best" tool seems to depend on the particular business situation, and given that, there may not be one "best" tool. The question that...