LESSONS IN LEAN.(innovative program on lean manufacturing at Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University)(Brief Article)

Industry Week, August, 2000 by DRICKHAMER, DAVID

PROGRAM MEETS MANUFACTURERS' CALL FOR SHARPER SKILLS.

* "IN LEGOS AND LIFE, COLOR doesn't matter," quips Lisa Johnson of RWD Technologies Inc., a consulting firm in Dearborn, Mich. Earlier this year Johnson and a colleague taught the first two phases of an innovative program on lean manufacturing at the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

Assembling Legos into a miniature crossing gate, M.B.A. students experienced first-hand the trials of traditional manufacturing methods. They applied the techniques of lean manufacturing--including one-piece flow, poka-yoke, simplified work instructions, point-of-use storage, kanban cards, and work teams--to significantly boost output and quality while cutting cycle time and...