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Matt Zayko

Matt Zayko

President, Zayko Consulting

Matt Zayko has twenty-five years of experience in leading lean enterprise improvements in numerous industries by helping people transform product development, engineering, manufacturing, service processes, and operating systems.  Matt worked in a variety of staff- and management-level roles under the guidance of former Toyota mentors for Chrysler / University of Michigan, Gelman Sciences, Delphi, and Pall (now part of Danaher) before starting his own consultancy and affiliating with the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI). 

Matt has authored numerous works based on successful transformation, including articles that have been published in “Journal of Quality Engineering”, “IIE Solutions”, and “Journal of Cost Management”, plus a chapter in the 1998 Shingo-Prize winning book “Becoming Lean”, and many white papers for the Lean Enterprise Institute. Matt is a frequent presenter at conferences related to lean transformation and a long-time faculty member of LEI as well as a coach in LEI’s Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) initiative, working closely with smaller, entrepreneurial-minded organizations, as well as larger, global companies.

Matt received his M.S. in Industrial & Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. 

Articles by Matt Zayko
Lean Product and Process Development Group Update: Leading Companies Share and Learn from Common Challenges
October 21, 2018
by Matt Zayko
The Lean Enterprise Institute recently organized a meeting of the Lean Product and Process Development Learning Group that brought together the diverse industries of sub-sea robotics, appliances, consumer electronics, automotive research, contemporary furniture, and drilling equipment. More »
How Does Shop-Floor Lean Compare to Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD)? A Q&A with Matt Zayko
December 14, 2016
Matt Zayko
Matt Zayko was recently asked, "Is my knowledge of shop-floor lean enough for me to get by in product development?" Find out his answer. More »
Innovative Companies Continue to Learn from Each Other: Fall 2016 LPPD Learning Group Event
December 09, 2016
Matt Zayko
Find out what learnings took place at the Fall 2016 LPPD Partners' Meeting in Davis, California. More »
Why Creating Products Customers Actually Want Requires a Great Process
November 20, 2014
Matt Zayko
80% of the cost (and hence, waste) is committed for a new product or service by the time product designs get locked-in during development. Still, most PD leaders focus their improvement efforts where 80% of cost is incurred—the operational value stream, post-launch. Learn why your focus should be on lean process design. More »
Workshops Taught by Matt Zayko
Value-Stream Mapping for Manufacturing Learn how to use this fundamental initial step in a lean transformation to create the "blueprints" for applying other tools and targeting kaizen events most effectively. More »
Value-Stream Mapping for Manufacturing: Gemba-Based Workshop This workshop, now offered live for the first time, shows you how to create and apply this fundamental and critical tool, based on Lean Enterprise Institute's groundbreaking VSM workbook, Learning to See, which has introduced the mapping tool to thousands around the world More »
Additional Lean Resources

Articles

Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System The Lean Service Machine

Books

Lean Lexicon Gemba Walks by Jim Womack Managing to Learn: Using the A3 management process by John Shook

Workshops

Online Course: Introduction to Lean Thinking and Practice Key Concepts of Lean (Online version available)

Webinars

How Lean Leaders Create Productive Problem-Solvers with John Shook and Jim Womack Lessons from "Lean Startups" with Eric Ries

Community

The Lean Post Forums