Article
Lean and "emotional heijunka" in a Time of Pandemic
In this timely reflection, Jim Womack calls for "emotional heijunka": taking a deep breath, identifying the most important problems that must be addressed in a…
View articleArticle
Maintaining Emotional Heijunka During a Pandemic
In this timely reflection, Jim Womack calls for "emotional heijunka": taking a deep breath, identifying the most important problems that must be addressed in a…
View articleArticle
Heijunka: Mastering the Peaks and Valleys
Struggling to run different types of products down one line? Lean coach Jeff Smith explains the lean manufacturing concept of Heijunka (or production leveling) by…
View articleLexicon Term
Heijunka
Heijunka is leveling the type and quantity of production over a fixed period of time. This enables production to efficiently meet customer demands while avoiding…
Learn moreLexicon Term
Heijunka Box
A tool used to level the mix and volume of production by distributing kanban within a facility at fixed intervals. Also called a leveling box.…
Learn moreCase Study
Lean Thinking Therapy Spreads Beyond the Shop
Medtronic Xomed expanded the lean transformation beyond the shop floor to areas such as international distribution, product development, and domestic shipping. Along the way, company…
View case studyArticle
The Real Lean Challenge: Levelling Production
Most lean practitioners focus primarily on the waste elimination aspect of Lean and ignore levelled production. In his second piece for the Post, Ian Glenday…
View articleWorkbooks
Creating Level Pull
Creating Level Pull shows you how to advance a lean manufacturing transformation from a focus on isolated improvements to improving the entire plantwide production system…
View event$60.00
eBook
The Gold Mine
The Gold Mine deftly weaves together the technical and human pieces of implementing lean manufacturing in an engaging story that readers will find both compelling and…
View event$30.00
Book
The Gold Mine (Audio CD)
The Gold Mine deftly weaves together the technical and human pieces of implementing lean manufacturing in an engaging story that readers will find both compelling and…
View book$45.00
Article
Once Again, Here's Why JIT Matters
Jeffrey Liker argues that recent media snipes fail to understand the crucial role JIT plays in a complete #lean system in surfacing problems & pressuring…
View articleArticle
Mega Mura Bubble Trouble
I started writing my monthly e-letter in October of 2001 to speak to the worries of the Lean Community as the world economy slid into…
View articleArticle
Back to Work
Only a month ago I wrote about going beyond Toyota. And in light of the last month's events, I suppose that must seem prescient. But…
View articleArticle
Why you can't convince your boss to support lean activities, unless ...
Dear Gemba Coach: I work as a deployment champion in a manufacturing company, but I don’t have the support of my managers because they don´t…
View articleArticle
TPS or the Toyota Way?
"Students of lean are often confused by the variety of ways Toyota explains the Toyota Production System," writes Michael Ballé. "For instance, 'what is the…
View articleArticle
How Using Kanban Builds Trust
Kanban functions as a trust machine because everyone using it must understand what they have to do and why, says Michael Balle: "Our purpose here…
View articleCase Study
Sell One, Buy One, Make One: Transforming from Conventional to Lean Distribution
Big batches. Long lead times. Infrequent deliveries. Large inventories to cover fluctuations in demand. These aren't characteristics normally attributed to lean paragon Toyota, but they…
View case studyArticle
LEI In the News: Leading Trade Journal Asks How Lean Principles Performed During the Pandemic
Lean management principles didn’t fail during the pandemic; some companies failed to execute them correctly, especially the practice of just-in-time production, as LEI Senior Coach…
View articleArticle
Embracing Standard Work in Lean Accounting: An Interview with Mark DeLuzio
How standard work catalyzes continuous improvement in lean accounting and finance -- and any other work area.
View articleArticle
Deconstructing the Tower of Babel
As the years have gone by, we seem to be building a lean Tower of Babel. I hear the term applied very vaguely and used…
View article