What company doesn't want to be the best in the world? Where do you not find reorganisation and investment? The pressure from low-wage countries is steadily becoming more apparent and product innovation seems to be the new buzzword. Even so, says Arno Koch, senior consultant at Blom Consultancy, merely improving products is not enough to win the battle against low-wage countries like China. Companies can actually become 'World Class' by working not just on product improvement but also on process improvement. Read more

As a specialist in improvement methods, I go to quite a lot of seminars and conferences. I recently overheard a conversation between two production managers. “I’ve had fantastic results with TPM. It’s amazing how much it’s boosted our profits!” one of them said. “Well I’m working with 6 Sigma. Have you heard of it? Brand new! You should try it,” the other replied. And so it went on for a while, as they worked their way through the relative merits of BPR, Business Process Reengineering, TQM, Total Quality Management, and Empowerment. They were both so full of their own experiences that they weren’t really listening to one another. This comparison and promotion of different improvement strategies is reinforced by those who offer the methods. The people who offer TPM - Total Productive Maintenance - for instance, swear by their own method. So, “Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing can’t be the right approach”. Boy, what a waste of time! Read more