Welcome to the May 2007 edition of our monthly newsletter, Learning to Lean. In this month's edition, we focus on a critical tool for success in lean manufacturing and product development, mistake proofing.

Announcements

We have announced dates for our Fall 2007 Lean Training Program. All classes will take place at the Doubletree Club Hotel Orange County Airport in Santa Ana, CA.

Course (click on date to register/read more)	Date
Introduction to Implementing Lean	Sep 12, 2007
Kaizen Events: 5S, Visual Controls, Mistake Proofing	Sep 13, 2007
Value Stream Mapping	Oct 10, 2007
Lean Production Control and Inv. Management	Oct 11, 2007
Entire Fall 2007 Series of 4 Courses (discounted rate)	Sep 12-Oct 11

Click here for details on all of our training offerings, both on-site at your facility and public.

Mistake Proofing

Mistake Proofing is an important part of the Toyota Production System. Recall that one of the pillars of the Toyota Production System is Jidoka. One of the most important meanings of this concept is to never knowingly pass a defective product to the next downstream customer. Mistake Proofing enables us to better achieve this state. Mistake proofing can be applied to more than just manufacturing processes, however. Manufacturers should consider incorporating mistake proofing into their product designs to prevent products from being manufactured incorrectly or used by their customers incorrectly. Finally, mistake proofing is being applied in service organizations such as hospitals, financial institutions, and others.

This month we feature three articles that should help you understand more about mistake proofing. Firstly, we give you an overview of mistake proofing including its benefits. Our second article talks about implementing mistake proofing on the manufacturing floor. In our final article, we talk about mistake proofing in product design.

The materials referenced in this newsletter will teach you more about lean. If you would like to learn more, feel free to call us at 866-559-5598 or visit our website and click on "Contact Us."

To subscribe to this newsletter, visit http://www.emsstrategies.com/newslettersignup.htm. Please feel free to forward Learning to Lean to colleagues or use it in your publication. We only ask that you do so in its entirety.