| Volume 8 No. 12 December 2007 www.superfactory.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In This Issue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| From the Editor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Superfactory has launched a new Jobs Board, which already has over 200 lean-oriented jobs. Take a look at the available jobs, or post your own openings for a $10 fee (the minimum amount allowed by the system, to avoid spam jobs) to access about 5,000 lean-oriented Superfactory visitors per day. Visit the Superfactory Jobs Board. As always we appreciate your support for our mission to spread manufacturing excellence knowledge. Click here for more information on sponsorships. - Kevin Meyer |
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| Manufacturing Excellence News | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| In the Blog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Join the other 3,000 readers who get their daily dose of blunt manufacturing reality by subscribing to the Evolving Excellence blog! Recent posts in the Evolving Excellence blog include:
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| Upcoming Events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Featured Book | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Firms need performance measurements that reflect the benefits of change made from implementing Lean practices. Too often those benefits are hidden in outdated accounting reports filled with indecipherable, archaic jargon. The need for a clearer, simpler, more strategic performance measurement system in Lean companies is long past due. Solomon and Fullerton present that roadmap in their unique and timely book. Their clear and concise writing take the mystery and fear out of a Lean accounting conversion and their case examples from real-world experiences of successful accounting changes that support Lean conversions are insightful for those wanting reassurance and direction. |
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This article is the first in a series about lean accounting methods. The series will be based on the newest book, published in October 2007, The Lean Business Management System; Lean Accounting Principles & Practices Toolkit. In our practice at BMA Inc., when we first introduce lean accounting to companies, questions always arise, something along the lines of: “Well, that all makes sense, but how do you do it?” or “How do you get this past your auditors?” or “Is this really GAAP compliant?” and the like. This series of articles will examine details or “how to’s” of this evolving discipline and show you how to put it to work in your company as a business management system that supports your lean manufacturing efforts seamlessly. The first national Lean Accounting Summit conference opened its doors in Dearborn, MI in September 2005. The day before the conference began, a group of people with lean accounting knowledge and experience came together . Their purpose: to discuss lean accounting issues and to share their ideas and vision. This group concluded that while there was generally good understanding of the problems, there was not widespread understanding of the solutions. What was needed was a comprehensive framework that would pull together the principles of lean accounting with the practices that support them and the tools and methods that lean companies can apply to the task. After three months of work, the team of lean learning leaders was able to define the principles, practices, and tools that comprise the “state of the art” as it exists, and to chart a path for how it needs to evolve in accordance with a comprehensive lean vision. |
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| Featured Evolving Excellence Blog Post | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Boeing's Outsourcing Hell A year ago we began to question the rationale of the supply chain convolution Boeing was creating for the 787 Dreamliner, and we've chronicled the problems since then. From having to design and build huge Rube Goldberg transportation devices, miscalculating total assembly time, transferring knowledge to a potential competitor, running out of fasteners, and even spinning off a subassembly operation that turned into a profitable company... something just didn't pass muster. Sure there are a lot of political aspects to their selling activities, and the design and technology of the Dreamlifter is extraordinary... but was it worth it? Last month, Mike Bair, former 787 boss, gave a rather remarkable speech where he confronted many of the problems.
If he had to do it over again?
Yes, Bair somehow remains a Boeing employee. Time will tell if he's right, but Friday's Wall Street Journal brought Boeing's supply issues to the forefront. Pardon me if I gloat a bit, although I really wish I didn't have to, but we predicted that out a year ago.
And a major part of the problem is not just the assembly from parts built around the world, but the actual design. Read entire post (you can also view and post comments) |
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This month sees the first in a series of articles on lean accounting by Brian Maskell and his team at BMA Inc. Over the next several months he'll help us dive into several of the theoretical and implementation aspects of lean accounting. 
AME has provided to us over 30 promotional posters for their 2008 Conference in Toronto. These posters can be downloaded at no cost, with resolution supporting up to 30"x38" sizes. Try a lean-oriented poster instead of the traditional ones on your walls! 
Accounting for World Class Operations 
Lean Accounting - Beyond the Back Office 
