Blog

8D report: complaint as a project, not a form

Quality in Practice · 5 min read · 08.09.2026

A complaint should run like a small project with a team, deadlines, and verified changes — not like a form signed and forgotten. We will walk through all eight steps of 8D, including the places where they tend to get cut short.

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Cutting 14% Downtime: How a Weaving Mill Handled Growing Demand Without Buying a New Machine

Costs · 3 min read · 02.09.2026

In a weaving mill running seven days a week, we reduced unplanned stoppages by categorizing downtime and introducing autonomous maintenance — growing demand was managed without purchasing a new machine.

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3.5 Weeks Past the Deadline: How a Special-Purpose Machinery Manufacturer Mastered Penalty-Free Deliveries

Lean · 3 min read · 26.08.2026

Client A machine-building company manufacturing custom special-purpose machines — welding, testing and assembly equipment for industrial customers. 85 employees, one shift, supplemented by on-site assembly call-outs at customer facilities.…

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What the customer won't pay for: 8 signs of hidden waste on the shop floor and in the office

Lean · 5 min read · 24.08.2026

Transfers, redundant second passes, or reports nobody opens — the customer doesn't pay for them, yet they sit in the cost per piece. How the question "Would the customer pay for this?" helps uncover hidden waste on the shop floor and in the office.

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Mini management audit: how to translate company goals into requirements for foremen

Management · 5 min read · 20.08.2026

When company goals are not translated into requirements for leaders, team evaluation is left to gut feeling and development to chance. A mini management audit puts this right in two to three weeks — in three steps, from goals to actions.

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40 % Repeat Complaints: How an Automotive Tier 2 Supplier Stopped Closing 8Ds on Paper

Quality · 3 min read · 19.08.2026

How we helped an automotive Tier 2 supplier of welded assemblies, where 8D reports closed purely as a formality were leading to 40 % repeat complaints and a threat of CS2 escalation from the OEM customer.

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Value Stream Mapping (VSM): Seeing the Entire Process on One Sheet of Paper

Lean Foundations · 4 min read · 04.09.2026

In the third lesson of Lean Fundamentals, we will show you how to draw a value stream map of a single product family on one sheet of paper, count how much time in the process actually adds value, and uncover where waiting piles up.

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Daily Production Management: 10 Minutes That Hold the Shift Together

Management Essentials · 5 min read · 28.08.2026

The second lesson of the Management Essentials series: we take on daily shift management. You will learn how to run a ten-minute meeting at the board, pick the numbers that belong on it, and avoid the mistakes that most often kill the ritual.

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5 Whys and Ishikawa: finding the true cause, not the culprit

Quality in Practice · 5 min read · 25.08.2026

In the second lesson of the Quality in Practice series, we show how to get to the true cause of a defect using the 5 Whys method and the Ishikawa diagram. Human error is not a cause — it is where the search begins.

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5S: Order That Lasts Beyond the Third Month

Lean Foundations · 4 min read · 21.08.2026

In the second lesson of the Lean Basics series, we introduce 5S — a tool for making waste visible right on the shop floor. We explain why 5S falls apart at most companies by the third month and what it takes to make order stick.

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21 of 28 8D reports blamed the operator: how an automotive welding plant found the real causes

Quality · 3 min read · 19.08.2026

As many as 21 of 28 closed 8D reports in the welding plant blamed the operator. In an audit we uncovered three systemic failures of the method and introduced a rule: a cause is only proven when we can deliberately trigger it and suppress it.

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The Role of the Foreman: From Best Craftsman to Team Leader

Management Essentials · 4 min read · 19.08.2026

In the first lesson of the Managerial Essentials series, we explain why the best craftsman isn't automatically a good foreman, what he should do instead of working with his own hands, and what first step to take this week.

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