Article

When the Toyota Way Meets Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is not a disruptive force that makes TPS irrelevant, but rather can be an enabler that builds on TPS culture and thinking, argues…

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Article

Ask Art: What's So Important About Reducing Setup Times?

An overview of the strategic and tactical benefits of eliminating waste from changeovers demonstrates why it should be a focus of manufacturers’ kaizen efforts.

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Article

Should I pursue waste elimination or lead-time reduction?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’re having a heated debate in our company over whether to pursue cost reduction through waste elimination by accelerating kaizen events, or whether…

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Podcast

Avoiding Lean 'Flatlining': A Podcast with Mark Deluzio, Art Byrne, and Jim Womack

Mark Deluzio, lean consultant, practitioner, and author of Flatlined, discusses enduring challenges with Art Byrne and Jim Womack on this WLEI podcast.

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Article

Dentist Drills Down to the Root Causes of Office Waste

Applying lean concepts to dentistry isn't as difficult as, well, pulling teeth. Dr. Sami Bahri, driven by a gut feeling that the traditional method of…

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Article

Standardize Your Problem-Solving Approach? Why One Size Does Not Fit All

Lean management practitioners know what a powerful tool standardization is for continuously improving processes. Without standards, there can be no improvement as the old saying…

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Article

Is a lean CEO's job different from a traditional CEO?

Dear Gemba Coach: How does the role of CEO in lean management differ from that in traditional management?

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Article

Remembering Norman Bodek, the “Miraculous Life” of an Author, Teacher, and Publisher of Groundbreaking Business Books

Called “Mr. Productivity” and the “Godfather of Lean,” Norman Bodek began 41 years ago translating and publishing groundbreaking books by the Japanese managers who had…

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Article

Keep Calm and Manage Stably: Akio Toyoda’s Response to Crisis

When we read the Bloomberg article Lockdown Leads Toyota Chief to Question Core Tenet for Carmaker, we were surprised, even a bit concerned. Questioning “long-ingrained practices” is…

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Akio Toyoda addressed the 2020 Crisis

Article

How Can Our Back Office Sustain Lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: The improvement program at the back office of the bank where I am a lean facilitator is slipping. For several years, we…

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Article

Isao Kato Interview on Shigeo Shingo's Influence on TPS

Isao Kato believed that people development cannot be separated from production system development. During his career at Toyota he developed training materials under the direction…

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Article

It's Time to See JIT as A Hero Rather than A Villain

Lean and JIT production have never been the primary causes of materials in the world's supply chains reported over the past year, says Ken Eakin.…

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Case Study

Build Your “House” of Production on a Stable Foundation

Faced with downtime on key pieces of sophisticated equipment in a machine-intensive environment, Delphi's Plant 1 launched a successful improvement effort by focusing on rigorous…

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Article

Does A Lack Of Physical Inventory Make Office Work “Different”?

While "waste" is easy to see and address in a factory setting, people working in an office environment have just as much to gain from…

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Case Study

Thrustmaster Comes Around

The following Lean Enterprise Institute case study reveals how Thrustmaster of Texas successfully adopted lean thinking and practices to make sustainable improvements in a short…

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Article

Lean Coffee-Inspired Coaching

Lean Coffee has been praised for making meetings more productive by giving all participants a say in creating an agenda that works for everyone. LEI…

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Article

Lean in the IT Department

Dear Gemba Coach: My company has been doing lean for a while now, and I've been asked to start lean in the IT department. I've…

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Case Study

The Backbone of Lean in the Back Shops

Learn why the lean concept of every part, every interval (EPEI) is the “backbone” of lean in this aerospace machine shop by leveling the mix…

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Article

Isn’t lean just a scam to squeeze teams for more production?

Dear Gemba Coach: Lean is a scam. People like you who write about “respect” are pushing a smoke screen that allows consultants to just squeeze…

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Article

Do We Need a Truck Preparation Area?

Dear Gemba Coach: As logistics manager, I disagree with our lean expert who insists we should have “truck preparation areas” in the shipping hall. It…

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