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Written by Jason Loo
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Monday, 24 August 2009 |
During the days of my MBA, I was enraptured with the workings of the Toyota Production System (TPS) which incorporated lean manufacturing and Just-In-Time (JIT) Production. Basically TPS is all about efficiency and effectiveness in the automobile manufacturing. A lot of companies have tried to emulate Toyota's success. The fundamental criteria that lies in the success of the TPS implementation lies in the Japanese culture and the discipline as well as thoroughness required to scrutinize every single part of the operations.
Taking this further, from the website Endless Innovation, here's an interesting twist to lean manufacturing : Lean Retailing
Example : Starbucks
http://endlessinnovation.typepad.com/endless_innovation/2009/08/starbucks-and-lean-retailing-innovation.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124933474023402611.html#project%3DSTARBUCKS0908%26articleTabs%3Dinteractive
Conceptual highlight :
Similar to lean manufacturing, lean retailing involves innovating existing business practices by utilizing new information technologies in order to reduce unnecessary waste and thus result in a 'leaner' operation that will yield more profit. Lean retailing was concept pioneered by WalMart. Lean retailing in the retailer sense relies on the use of Barcodes (and perhaps RFIDs) to manage every step of the product value chain, from raw material sourcing through manufacturing through final delivery to the shop floor.
Major attention is given to "just in time" delivery to cut inventory costs, and to investments in IT infrastructures to allow stores to share sales data in Real Time with their suppliers. In many cases, Lean Retailing software systems will automatically place new orders for a given product froim the manufacturer as soon as an item is scanned at the check-out counter, and in some cases even the invoicing for that automatic order is automatized as well. Lean retailing aims to "cut out the fat" (waste) from the retail sourcing process to maximize profits for the retailer.
Article highlight :
- 'Motion studies' conducted to analyze analyze how baristas move and where ingredients are located, to see if they can save a few seconds here and there, in order to make their coffee-making process more efficient
- Analyzing the total time spent at Starbucks drive-in windows, to get that number down as much as possible. This is done by utilizing timers, to make sure that fresh coffee gets brewed every eight minutes
Now, I wonder how this can be applied to IT and computer systems. One particular useful implementation of this is on a background application built to justify multiple factors that includes among others memory handling, network utilization, CPU utilization, I/O throughput, etc. It will analyze and scrutinize every aspect of the system and alert or suggest to the user best practices or ways to trim the corresponding aspect analyzed. I would call it "The Lean Application" :P
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Last Updated ( Monday, 24 August 2009 )
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Written by Jason Loo
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Wednesday, 19 August 2009 |
 | Finally finished watching Lost Season 05. What can i say but to say the series is strictly for fans. The understanding of the story and plot stems from Season 01 and thus requires those who want to watch it to watch over 40 episodes of mindless flashing back and forward scenes.
Anyway, the synopsis of Season is simply one long word .. mind-boggling. In summary, Season 05 continues the story of the lost survivors who escaped from the island after much hoo-ha in Season 04 and then decided to return to the island in Season 06 due to the death of John Locke. It chronicles how the group of island escapees, favorably nicknamed the Oceanic 6 arrive at their respective decisions to board an Algeria Airways flight and head on to the island (crash land is the better word). Somehow, this island reminds me of the first time watching Jurassic Park (also an island involved). In this season also, we are introduced more to Jacob who seems to be the mastermind behind all the going-on around the island and 'coincidences' surrounding all the Oceanic flight passengers.
Watch out for the season finale in which a very huge explosive action-packed episode lies. I wouldn't spoil it by mentioning how it ends but suffice ot say, it leaves the viewer eagerly anticipating the next season. |
| Dark Blue atracted me because of its main star, Dylan McDermott (hope i spelled that correctly). An interesting actor who have potrayed numerous roles and who plays a dark,brooding character (Lieutenant Carter Shaw) in this series. The cityscapes and environment rolls up the alley of another dark and brooding character whom everyone refers to as Batman. Except of course, this character does not have any super-rich heirlooms to afford nifty gadgets or fancy vehicles. While devoid of such technological items, the series relies on a team of down-to-earth heavily undercover police officers who is kinda like the city police department's special dark op forces. The first episode introduces us to the Carter and a 'rogue' undercover who participated in a murder with a crew. It highlights the precarious position that Carter's team is in and signifies any second, anytime what happens when federal and local jurisidiction becomes intertwined. Don't mess with the law simply states the series mission statement. Watch it and live the moments with the team as they go on their operations. |  |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 August 2009 )
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Written by Jason Loo
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Friday, 31 July 2009 |
The current outbreak of swine flu has spread far and wide and doesn't seem to be stopping. Already there are many reported cases of infection (fortunately small percentage of fatalities) around the world. It is a pandemic like no other this decade has seen and it seems flu is the new 'hot' disease. This started from the SARS virus sometime back and luckily was contained swiftly.
A search on Bing.com, WolframAlpha and Google yielded the following results :
Please take note when going out to crowded places and medical facilities. Use a mask if need be. Here are some more info on the outbreak, its symptoms and prevention strategies.
Click on read more to see more details ...
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Last Updated ( Friday, 31 July 2009 )
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