As the holidays approach, the days get shorter and seemingly more chaotic; managing the hectic activities that come along with holiday planning can be a real pain. Luckily, our friends over at Kreg Tool shared with us a really neat way they’ve been keeping track of it all while using KaiNexus. 

Earlier this year, KaiNexus launched the new Gantt view feature allowing customers to organize and manage their project plans in a visually powerful manner. Anne Rasmussen, Corporate Continuous Improvement Specialist at Kreg Tool, has even used the Gantt view in KaiNexus to plan and track the status of her company’s Holiday Party. Using dependencies to indicate the order of task completion, and approximately how long it will take to complete each step, Anne was able to manage the chaos efficiently with a lean mindset. Read more about how she did it below:

“So, I was somehow volunteered in January to be the chair of the activities committee here at Kreg after the previous one left the company. The biggest event of the year here is the Christmas party at the beginning of December. Although I had a pretty good idea of how everything goes, I still wasn’t sure on all of the nitty-gritty. I wrote down everything I think I needed to have done, and then put them all in as tasks that were nested under larger “improvements.”

I booked meetings on activity committee members’ calendars and then assigned due dates to the tasks. The owners were all assigned to me since we haven’t yet rolled out this system to all employees. I was able to divvy up those tasks between the activity committee members and use the task reminders to make sure they were all being completed. My favorite thing has been the dependencies. Once a task has been completed, it emails me to say the next task in line is active.

Overall, it’s been a lifesaver for planning. I can basically set it and forget it since it emails me when I have to do the next thing. And I can just click right into the task from the email.” 

Seeing Anne’s clever use of Gantt View got me thinking, what would be the best gifts to give someone with a lean background and is passionate about continuous improvement?

If this has ever crossed your mind, think no more, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to identify some of the best gifts for your favorite lean practitioners.

1. Tile: This handy little device will cut down on the waste produced when spending time searching for keys and other belongings. Find it here.
   
   
   

2. This magnetic cord organizer will be a Huge win with the 5S fans in your life. The sleek and simple design prevents these cords from getting tangled or constantly sliding off their workspace. Find it here.
   

3. Cut down on the waste created during a night in! These crafty tools will keep your wine and beer fresher for longer. Find the beer caps here and a wine saver here.
   
                          
   
   
   

4. For the lover of all things Kaizen, this nice t-shirt allows them to show their passion to the world! Find it here.
   
   
   
   
5. A gift as fundamental to the morning as single piece flow is to manufacturing- this coffee mug will become essential to any lean lover’s morning. Get it here.
   
   

6. Give your favorite lean practitioner the gift of neatly 5S-ed headphones with this handy cord wrapper. Save them time by eliminating the need to untangle headphones, and make their headphones last longer! Find it here.
   

7. And for your favorite Lean Readers here are some great books to expand their lean education:
   
   
   • The Idea Driven Organization (Alan Robinson & Dean Schroeder)
   • Start With Why (Simon Sinek)
   • The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg)
   • Drive (Daniel Pink)
   • Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t (Simon Sinek)