I want my Mama
January 31st, 2012 // 6:03 pm @ eileenwebb
My four year old niece was on the floor sobbing “I want my Mama!” I had just gotten home from having gall bladder surgery. Her mother had gone to pick up my prescriptions and my niece had chosen to stay with me. I wanted to hold her in my lap and comfort her, but that [...]
Category : Blog
If it weren’t for bad luck
December 16th, 2011 // 6:03 pm @ eileenwebb
I remember watching Hee Haw with my parents when I was growing up. Not high brow entertainment, but we had a lot of laughs. There’s a line from one of their songs that has stuck in my mind for years: “if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” Based on what [...]
Category : Blog
Recession – Opportunity not Tragedy
October 31st, 2011 // 8:37 pm @ eileenwebb
A few years ago, I asked Daddy a question: “I know there were recessions when I was growing up, but I don’t remember them affecting us. Why not?” He sold welding supplies for most of his life and his answer was both simple and wise: “When times were good, I sold to people who were [...]
Category : Blog
Lessons learned from volunteering
October 4th, 2011 // 5:54 am @ eileenwebb
Last month I visited Bogota, Columbia, as part of a team of ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) volunteers evaluating engineering programs at the Universidad de los Andes. This was my eighth year as an ABET volunteer (including the first as an observer for training,) but the first time I had evaluated a program [...]
Category : Blog
10 Years Later
September 7th, 2011 // 5:16 am @ eileenwebb
My sister called me to tell me to turn on the television. As you probably did, I watched the planes fly into the twin towers and watched the towers fall. I saw it over and over and followed the other events of the day. At some point I just couldn’t watch anymore. I knew that [...]
Category : Blog
5S Comes Home
August 18th, 2011 // 8:35 pm @ eileenwebb
I’m in the mid cardboard box stage of moving to a new home – I can eat, sleep, shower, and relax, but there’s still some boxes around. This is way better than early cardboard box – when most everything is still in boxes and it’s a treasure hunt to find life’s essentials. Along the way [...]
Category : Blog
Implementation Strategies
October 15th, 2010 // 6:17 pm @ eileenwebb
Implementation Strategies
There’s really a variety of choices depending on the size of the organization and the amount of support or time set aside to work on improvements. Read More
Category : Blog
No man is an island…
October 15th, 2010 // 6:16 pm @ eileenwebb
Process – the way the work is done is the heart of any improvement. But process is only one piece of the puzzle. In the real world there is a lot more going on. For example, the changes need to support the overall strategy of the organization. Technology often dictates the process or at minimum it interacts with it. Read More
Category : Blog
Process Improvement Results
October 15th, 2010 // 6:16 pm @ eileenwebb
The results are usually fast – usually in a matter of weeks. Most see improvements in speed, cost, and quality. Be clear about what kinds of results you need since there are often trade offs between them. Typical results for a project include:
5-25% Reduction in labor costs Read More
Category : Blog
