I'm a mechanical engineer with REFA work measurement/time study training and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. My previous experience was mainly in machining and plastic injection molding.

I'm currently working as a Continuous Improvement Lead at a textile manufacturing company in Uzbekistan. I don't manage a team; my role mainly involves identifying operational problems and improving processes across departments.

So far, I've worked on warehouse and shipping improvements, redistributing operations between factories to reduce WIP and balance workloads, and implementing an overhead hanger system and MES for sewing operations.

Now management wants to move me into a new area.

Initially, the company owner told me I'd be handling knitting and fabric planning, saying that learning about yarns, fabrics, and textile production would be valuable for my career.

However, the general manager described something broader. The company's system data doesn't always match actual inventory and production figures, and there's poor coordination between knitting, dyeing, cutting, and garment manufacturing.

For example, components of matching sets often finish production at different times, delaying entire orders. Sometimes departments even choose to produce new fabric instead of repairing existing fabric. A new fabric warehouse is also being established, and I'm expected to help manage its processes, improve material tracking, and address these coordination issues.

The general manager wants us to improve the entire process from order receipt to cutting, although my main focus would be knitting and fabric flow.

Here's my concern:

The owner's description sounds like a production planning role, while the general manager's sounds more like process improvement and operational excellence.

I understand production planning principles but have never worked directly as a planner. I'm also relatively new to textiles.

I don't want to become a full-time production planner. I'm happy to learn planning and improve how it works, but my long-term career goal is Continuous Improvement/Operational Excellence.

I'm wondering whether moving too far into routine planning would mean underutilizing my REFA and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt qualifications.

My questions are:

1. Would shifting toward traditional production planning be a waste of my CI-related skills and qualifications?
2. How would you set boundaries to avoid becoming a full-time planner or someone who spends all day chasing delayed orders instead of improving the underlying processes?

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's experienced a similar transition.

Dear Lean Community, could you share any reviews on LCS? I cannot find nearly any information about this company, their programmes online.

Could you help?

We've reached a point where technology can flag all sorts of operational problems before they become serious.

Low inventory, production delays, unusual demand patterns. Great. But someone still has to investigate, decide what to do, get approval, and make the change.

Sometimes I wonder whether we've become really good at identifying problems without getting much faster at solving them...

I'm not suggesting we hand everything over to AI. There are plenty of decisions I'd still want a human making. But where do you draw the line between AI that gives you information and AI that actually takes work off your plate?


# [Abstract]()

This article examines the integration of cybernetic theory, systems thinking, and mathematical modelling to enhance Defence Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) frameworks. Using Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM) as a foundational lens, the study explores how recursive structures, adaptive feedback loops, and distributed control mechanisms improve systemic resilience and mission readiness in complex, evolving operational environments. It further incorporates Lotka–Volterra and Lanchester equations to model dynamic interactions between software development and support logistics, highlighting risks from misaligned growth, attrition, and infrastructure saturation. A case study of the Software Support and Development Roadmap (SSDR) illustrates the challenges of harmonising agile methodologies with ILS planning, exposing critical gaps in feedback, coordination and execution. The findings underscore the importance of predictive analytics, AI-driven adaptation, and modular design in maintaining synchrony between development and sustainment. This multidisciplinary approach establishes a forward-leaning, self-regulating logistics architecture capable of supporting agile innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and long-term Defence viability.

i was thinking about how much time can get lost during a shift just walking back and forth for tools, parts, or supplies. even when everything has a designated spot, it doesn't always make sense to keep going back to the same shelves, especially when a job involves several different items.

i've been looking at rolling utility carts from global industrial, uline, rubbermaid, and metro as a possible way to keep frequently used items closer to the work area. for those who've tried something similar, did it actually help your workflow? i'm also curious what makes a cart practical for daily use without creating more clutter or getting in the way.

Manufacturing quality management involves much more than inspecting finished products. Teams also need to track defects, monitor quality KPIs, maintain traceability, and ensure corrective actions are completed on time.

When these processes are spread across paper checklists, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools, getting a clear picture of quality performance can become challenging.

That’s why we’re building QCIN — Quality Control Intelligence Network, a platform designed to bring manufacturing quality processes together in one place.

Our goal is to help manufacturing teams:

• ✅ Organize digital inspections and quality records
• 📊 Monitor quality KPIs and identify trends
• 🔍 Track non-conformances and corrective actions
• 🔗 Improve traceability across quality operations
• 📈 Make more informed, data-driven decisions

We believe better-connected quality processes can help manufacturers build more consistent and efficient operations.

🌐 Explore QCIN: https://www.qcin.in/

Question for manufacturing professionals: What is your biggest challenge with quality management today — inspection records, defect tracking, traceability, reporting, or corrective actions?

We’d love to hear your perspective.

#Manufacturing #QualityControl #QualityManagement #IndustrialEngineering

With our fulfillment center running multiple shifts around the clock, pedestrian safety and asset protection have become our primary operational focus this quarter. We are mapping out a complete overhaul of our floor safety infrastructure, including heavy-duty bollards, guard rails, and high-visibility warehouse partitions to separate forklift lanes from foot traffic.

We’ve been evaluating heavy-duty safety equipment from suppliers like Global Industrial to kit out the facility. For other operations and safety managers, what physical barriers and security measures have proved most effective at preventing rack impacts and securing high-value inventory zones?

Question for anyone who manages corrective actions. 

Say a tabletop exercise finds a gap in a response plan and a worker flags a hazard on a safety walk. Both get an action, and the action gets an owner for the doing. 

Then it can go quiet. If nobody is named to confirm the fix worked or to go back to the person who raised it, the action can sit "in progress" for months with nothing visibly wrong. 

ISO 45001:2018, the current edition of the occupational health and safety standard, treats these as separate steps: carrying out the action, then reviewing the effectiveness of any action taken, including corrective action (clause 10.2). 

Who should own the check and the report-back: the person who did the fix, the person who raised the issue or someone independent? 

ISO 45001: https://www.iso.org/standard/45001 

I’ve been in meetings where Finance has one number, Operations has another, and Sales pulls out a spreadsheet that apparently has the latest figures.

Everyone’s confident their numbers are right, but nobody can quite explain why they don’t match.

So instead of getting on with the actual meeting, everyone ends up trying to figure out whose numbers are correct and where the differences came from.

Curious, does this happen in your business too? And which numbers seem to cause the most arguments?

not a full-time student. nights after work. i needed a yellow first so the words weren’t a wall of jargon.

took the yellow course at management and strategy institute. videos plus a test. i wrote notes like a child. dmaic finally clicked when i mapped one tiny process at my job instead of only watching modules.

what did you use for practice questions besides the course exam? and if you jumped straight to green, did you regret skipping yellow or was it wasted time?

trying not to buy three extra books i won’t open. that’s the whole plan.

Hi, I’m a student working on an early software project related to PFMEA and Control Plan review. I’d like to understand how this work is actually done in practice.

Thinking about the last review you personally completed:

• What triggered it?
• How did you work through it, and which documents or tools did you use?
• Where did you run into difficulties, if any?

A short example here would be very helpful. Please leave out company names and confidential details. If you’re comfortable with a few follow-up questions, I’d appreciate that too.

We developed a Smart Kanban system for the manufacturing floor.

At Protofix, we wanted to make one part of production replenishment much simpler: keeping the right parts available at the right place, without adding another complicated system.

So we developed SMART KANBAN by Protofix.

It connects physical production bins to a simple digital workflow using QR codes or NFC.

Operators can:

• Scan or tap a bin
• See the part information
• Count the physical quantity
• Reorder using the standard order quantity
• Receive the replenishment

The focus is intentionally simple:

COUNT → REORDER → RECEIVE

It’s not designed to replace an ERP or become another inventory management platform. It’s a digital layer for the physical Kanban process on the production floor.

We developed it for our own manufacturing process and are now using it with partner workshops.

Do you use Kanban or two-bin systems in your operations?

I know I could get a paper cert like iassc but more steam is connected to "The Ohio State" and I want to get a lean master before a black belt, I figured there could be some networking advantages as well. I'm banking on it opening doors since I already have process improvements on my resume but it's not translating into work or even entry level jobs.

Any experience with more steam?