It's mud slinging season again...where has all the humor in politics gone?
The good, the bad, and the...governor?
This candidate puts the bite on the opposition party...
A mudslinger for the movie "Swing vote"...
As they say in Chicago, vote early, and vote often!
Have a great weekend!
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Great Household Purge update 8/27/08
This Kaizen is slowly transforming our home to a leaner and better place for everyone. Here's my latest stats:
Cash generated by selling unneeded items: $1520
Cash recovered: $71.00 (found 2 unused gift cards)
Items donated to date:
1995 Mercury Sable and auto supplies
Two bags of clothes
Several pairs of old shoes
800+ new, unused greeting cards and envelopes of all types
New stuff: Gave an old computer to my relatives and the other PC was donated.
Several computer accessories and bags, blank paper, unused keyboards, old laptops, etc.
Wow moment due to "kaizening" in our home:
We can see the back wall around our furnace once again. Also, our purging helped us discover a leaky pipe. For some time, we thought the leak was coming from the outside but our purging helped us locate it.
Possession arrow this week:
Net reduction in household waste and inventory.
Here's to murdering the muda(waste)!
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Quick and Easy Kaizen #5 - Tools
Quick and Easy Kaizen is an improvement that you can easily do for yourself that improves a process by improving quality, saving time, and so forth. The book, The Idea Generator, by Norm Bodek addresses quick and easy Kaizen and I have been practicing this technique at work for some time. Using the ideas from Norm's book, I have added improvements at home and here are some that have made my life better but didn't require that much time and effort to implement.
#5 Tools at the top of my toolbox.
When I got my Christmas present of a new toolbox, I wanted to organize the top layer. Not only did want the tools to be well organized, I wanted a sampling of the tools that I would use 80% of the time I went to the toolbox. So, these implements are what I would need to take out for various jobs most of the time:
#5 Tools at the top of my toolbox.
When I got my Christmas present of a new toolbox, I wanted to organize the top layer. Not only did want the tools to be well organized, I wanted a sampling of the tools that I would use 80% of the time I went to the toolbox. So, these implements are what I would need to take out for various jobs most of the time:
I also outlined the tools for two reasons:
1) Anyone could see where the tool is to be put back in place
2) If a tool is gone, I would know immediately which one was missing.
Ever since I organized things this way, I have never lost or misplaced at tool!
Time to complete: 8 minutes to add the cardboard and make the outline
Cost: Reused cardboard, nothing.
Benefit: Reduce tool searching time, better organization.
What have you improved today?
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Quick and Easy Kaizen-#4 Ewwww!
Quick and Easy Kaizen is an improvement that you can easily do for yourself that improves a process by improving quality, saving time, and so forth. The book, The Idea Generator, by Norm Bodek addresses quick and easy Kaizen and I have been practicing this technique at work for some time. Using the ideas from Norm's book, I have added improvements at home and here are some that have made my life better but didn't require that much time and effort to implement.
#4 Leaf roll up for dog poop.
Here's my bio-degradable feces quicker picker upper.
Our dog Alek is walked a couple times a day down our street. Until recently, I picked up the waste in plastic bags and discarded it in the trash but I never felt good about it. It seemed like a double waste.
Now, I can discard the nasty stuff in a big shrub area at the front of my driveway and behind my house and not worry about it. I found some trees with really big leaves so taking care of the dog waste is easy. The waste and the leaf will break down organically and nothing goes in the landfill.
#4 Leaf roll up for dog poop.
Here's my bio-degradable feces quicker picker upper.
Our dog Alek is walked a couple times a day down our street. Until recently, I picked up the waste in plastic bags and discarded it in the trash but I never felt good about it. It seemed like a double waste.
Now, I can discard the nasty stuff in a big shrub area at the front of my driveway and behind my house and not worry about it. I found some trees with really big leaves so taking care of the dog waste is easy. The waste and the leaf will break down organically and nothing goes in the landfill.
Time to complete: 3o seconds to collect the leaf.
Cost: Free
Benefit: Reduce plastic use, no longer send animal waste to landfill.
What have you improved today?
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Monday, August 25, 2008
Quick and Easy Kaizen-#3 Security loop
Quick and Easy Kaizen is an improvement that you can easily do for yourself that improves a process by improving quality, saving time, and so forth. The book, The Idea Generator, by Norm Bodek addresses quick and easy Kaizen and I have been practicing this technique at work for some time. Using the ideas from Norm's book, I have added improvements at home and here are some that have made my life better but didn't require that much time and effort to implement.
Been biking to work this summer when the gas prices spiked at $4/gallon. I read that you should lock up your bikes at home in case of a burglary. This is a very good idea so I added a security loop in the garage to secure the two wheeler:
Benefit: Safer and more secure bike at home. Peace of mind when on vacation.
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
#3 Security loop in garage to lock up my bike in the garage.
Been biking to work this summer when the gas prices spiked at $4/gallon. I read that you should lock up your bikes at home in case of a burglary. This is a very good idea so I added a security loop in the garage to secure the two wheeler:
Time to complete: 3 minutes to install.
Materials: Reused an old pipe clamp and a screw so the cost was negligible.
Benefit: Safer and more secure bike at home. Peace of mind when on vacation.
What have you improved today?
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Friday, August 22, 2008
Funny Video Friday - 8/21/08
Silliness from other English speaking countries...
Political fun from Australia...
Pulling the wool over his eyes from New Zealand...
The state of mental health from Ireland...
How things really get done from South Africa...
Have a great weekend!
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Political fun from Australia...
Pulling the wool over his eyes from New Zealand...
The state of mental health from Ireland...
How things really get done from South Africa...
Have a great weekend!
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Quick and Easy Kaizens-#1 Wallet home position
Quick and Easy Kaizen is an improvement that you can easily do for yourself that improves a process by improving quality, saving time, and so forth. The book, The Idea Generator, by Norm Bodek addresses quick and easy Kaizen and I have been practicing this technique at work for some time. Using the ideas from Norm's book, I have added improvements at home and here are some that have made my life better but didn't require that much time and effort to implement.
#1 Home position for wallet, pager, and keys.
Before: For years, my wallet has grown legs and was constantly moving around the house and I could never find it before leaving. I had the same problem with my pager and car keys and this led to blame shifting, aggravation, and great frustration.
After: My dad, a woodworker, created a rack to store my wallet, keys, and pager. This became my home position for those items and made it much easier to keep these organized:
The effect: Wow. Much reduced stress and less time wasted looking for things. This change was simple but it has been one of the best things I have done in the last year.
Time to complete(hanging it up): 3 minutes
This is a really cool rack that my dad made and the wood is all from trees that grow on his farm. It's a family heirloom. I don't know how much time he put into it but it's a beautiful piece.
What have you improved today?
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
#1 Home position for wallet, pager, and keys.
Before: For years, my wallet has grown legs and was constantly moving around the house and I could never find it before leaving. I had the same problem with my pager and car keys and this led to blame shifting, aggravation, and great frustration.
After: My dad, a woodworker, created a rack to store my wallet, keys, and pager. This became my home position for those items and made it much easier to keep these organized:
The effect: Wow. Much reduced stress and less time wasted looking for things. This change was simple but it has been one of the best things I have done in the last year.
Time to complete(hanging it up): 3 minutes
This is a really cool rack that my dad made and the wood is all from trees that grow on his farm. It's a family heirloom. I don't know how much time he put into it but it's a beautiful piece.
What have you improved today?
Dan Lafever
Kaizeneer
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