Workbooks

Making Materials Flow

Making Materials Flow describes in plain language another step in implementing a complete lean business system by explaining how to supply purchased parts to the value stream in…

by Chris Harris, Rick Harris and Earl Wilson

Workbooks

Creating Continuous Flow

This workbook explains in simple, step-by-step terms how to introduce and sustain lean flows of material and information in pacemaker cells and lines, a prerequisite…

by Rick Harris and Mike Rother

Workbooks

Creating Continuous Flow / Making Materials Flow Set

Buy the two workbooks on flow together and save 15%. Continuous flow cells need a lean material-handling system to supply them with purchased parts. The…

Article

Misunderstandings About Value Stream Mapping, Flow Analysis, and Takt Time

Value-stream mapping is not flow analysis, but rather a simple tool that guides you through the process of analysis to improve flows and design better…

by John Shook

Article

Why We Believe that Pull Flows Are Too Often Overlooked

In this incisive series of articles on the essential value of pulled flow, the lean sensei women argue, in the words of Catherine Chabiron, that…

by Lean Sensei Women

Article

Isn’t flow the ultimate aim of lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t flow the ultimate aim of lean?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Tap the Power of Flow to Develop Lean Thinkers

Flow is personal--a moment of enrichment, and a mental state. It´s stretching oneself just that little bit extra, not because someone else tells us to,…

by Eivind Reke

Article

How does continuous flow apply to healthcare or other service industries?

Dear Gemba Coach: I work in healthcare and I struggle with how the concept of flow, which I can well understand in production, applies in…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Do You Have a Capacity Problem or Flow Problem?

"Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint the exact root cause of a problem," writes Adam Hillsamer of Arnett Hospital in Indiana, "especially when one is masquerading…

by Adam Hillsamer

Article

Why does one-piece-flow matter?

Dear Gemba Coach: Recently, during a plant visit, our sensei made a big fuss because there were three parts between two operators and he insisted…

by Michael Ballé

Case Study

New Facility, New Flow, and New Levels of Patient Care The wait is over for patients at the Clearview Cancer Institute in Alabama

Dr. Marshall Schreeder treats cancer and treatment processes at the Clearview Cancer Institute in Alabama.

Article

Why is Flow Easy, and Quality Hard?

Dear Gemba Coach: My lean team has become proficient at teaching flow but it's not gaining traction when it comes to quality issues. Do you…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: How One-Piece-Flow Supports Quality

"One-piece-flow is the key to quality improvements," writes Art Byrne. "In my experience it is pretty common to get a 10x or better gain in…

by Art Byrne

Article

Value-Stream Mapping at FAA Office Improves Information Flow

Lean management principles and tools originated on the shop floor to improve manufacturing processes but in its first value-stream mapping project, a regional office of…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Ask Art: Why Do I Need to Switch From Batch to Flow?

Moving from batch to flow reveals the waste in your processes and simplifies your work at a systems level, says Art Byrne. It creates simplicity,…

by Art Byrne

Article

Lean Thinking and Information Flow

"Most of my career has been spent on making the production floor more efficient, i.e. the delivery of a product," writes Mary Morgan. "I remember…

by Mary Morgan

Article

Turn on the Spigot: Create Flow in R&D

"Flow in R&D is as critical as in manufacturing," writes Terry Barnhart. "It is a little more difficult to see, which is why your company,…

by Dr. Terence (Terry) Barnhart

Workbooks

Learning to See / Creating Continuous Flow Set

Buy LEI's first two workbooks together and save 15%. Learning to See, a key initial step in a lean conversion, teaches you the value-stream perspective that…

Article

Designing the Patient Flow to Fight Covid-19

A Lean Global Network team of lean practitioners and coaches shares a set of lean healthcare tips hospitals can use today to support their battle…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Why does no one ask about production flow anymore?

Dear Gemba Coach: As I read lean posts and papers, no one seems to have problems like this anymore, but I am trying to convince…

by Michael Ballé