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…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

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…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

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…

by Jeff Smith

Lexicon 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…

Lexicon 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.…

Case 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…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

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…

by Ian Glenday

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…

by Freddy Ballé and Michael Ballé

Workbooks

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…

by Art Smalley

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…

by Freddy Ballé and Michael Ballé

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…

by Jeffrey Liker

Case 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…

Article

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…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

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…

by Michael Ballé

Article

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…

by Michael Ballé

Article

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…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

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…

by Michael Ballé

Article

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…

by Mark Reich

Article

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.

Article

Finding a Lean Cure that Respects the Health of Healthcare Workers

In his prognosis of the health care system, LEI CEO Eric Buehrens says we need to improve the work to remove waste and create value;…

by Eric Buehrens