People + Process = Performance

organizational systems

L.E.S.S. ™: The Case for a New Strategy and Approach to Productivity, Quality and Safety-Part 2

In part 1 we looked at current business disciplines, their associated strengths and weaknesses and the reason for why a new strategy and approach is need for proactively and reactively solving productivity, efficiency and safety issues.  In part 2 we are going to explore the power of L.E.S.S. ™

 The Power of L.E.S.S. ™

Impact of Obesity on Productivity

The CDC’s statistics regarding obesity in America is sobering when one considers the impact on our healthcare system and for employers who need to provide jobs that accommodate the physical characteristics that occur with obesity.  According to the CDC, the percentage of Americans adults over age 20 who are obese is 35.9%.  The percentage essentially doubles if t

Ergonomics Management System

Recently I gave a presentation at Safety 2013, ASSE’s professional development conference called the “Nuts and Bolts of Effective and Sustainable Ergonomics Programs”.  The “Nuts and Bolts” focused on the management system of ergonomics, not on the tools and methods used for ergonomic assessment.  I did this because the reasons most programs, whether ergonomics or other, fail is because they lack a management/business system.  Thinking of ergonomics in terms of a management system isn’t routine or common to most people who are responsible for ergonomics.  This was verified by the comments I

Top 10 Reasons for Ergonomics (or Lean) Program Failure: Part 1

“We started off well but things have fallen by the wayside”.  “Employees were trained, they were enthusiastic and then things just started slipping away…”  The previous two statements are ones I’ve heard from companies who wanted to do ergonomics that then proceeded to get a program together and implemented who currently find themselves with a program “in name only”.  Common reasons given for demise of the program were that other priorities came up that took precedence or people just got tired of doing it.  There can be numerous reasons given for program failure but with a closer look can b

10 Excuses to New Ideas For Improving Performance and Safety At Work

Have you ever brought up a new idea at work only to have it “shot down” before you could explain the reasoning and benefits of doing something different?  Or have you been the person who has “shot down” the new ideas?  Chances are we’ve had experience doing both.   Oftentimes we are very quick to put down new ideas because of our bias that new ideas mean more work with a less than certain outcome.  Based upon my experience in working for companies as an employee or as a consultant here the top 10 responses to new ideas that happen but shouldn’t.  Read the list and ask yourself are you sayin

Prevention Through Design or Productivity Through Design: Why Not Both?

Why does there still remain a chasm between productivity and prevention?  In the great majority of companies I’ve worked for and others I’ve known they maintain separate departments and personnel on productivity and prevention, i.e. operations, quality/lean vs. EHS, risk management.  There is little, if any, overlap or regular collaboration between them.  This disconnect often results in work policies, procedures and design that are less than optimal for employee performance.

Systems Thinking and Process Improvement Applied to Deer Hunting Part 6

This is the sixth blog in the series on deer hunting and Lean, Ergonomics (Human Factors, Six Sigma and Systems Thinking (L.E.S.S.).  In my last blog I discuss how I’ve applied process improvement principles to individual components of deer hunting.  In this part I want to focus on systems thinking and systems approach to deer hunting—the final “S” in L.E.S.S.