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…
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Article
Where do I start?
Dear Gemba Coach: I'm the operations manager of a healthcare training company. We conduct technical training to nurses in hospitals. We've had some inquiries about "lean…
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We’re being audited on five levels on fifteen topics. I feel that if we actually worked on all these items, the plant would just stop working. Am I missing anything?
Dear Gemba Coach: Our facility is being rated on a “lean maturity” audit. We’re being audited on five levels on fifteen topics, each having multiple…
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Ask Art: Why Does Setup Time Reduction Matter So Much?
Setup reduction is a necessary step to go from traditional management to lean--or said another way, from batch to flow and from push to pull.…
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Podcast
Preventing Problems by Thinking Upstream: A Talk with Author Dan Heath
“We should shift more of our energies upstream personally, organizationally, nationally, and globally. We can and we should stop dealing with the symptoms of problems…
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Article
What Should I Be Looking For?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve just started working with lean with my team, and we’re doing a value-stream mapping project with a consultant. While this has been…
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How can we remain positive?
Dear Gemba Coach: I am a kaizen coach in a large company, and it never seems to get any easier. We’ve been doing kaizen for several…
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No Shortcuts: Creating a Lean Environment the Right Way
As much as we may wish there was a way to pull off a lean transformation with only a basic knowledge of its ideals, there…
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Article
Lean Communications: Why Old School is Cool
How often do you send an email when you could talk to somebody or pick up the phone? Read why Erin Urban thinks "old school"…
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Article
Can Lean Boost Sales?
Dear Gemba Coach: Every one says that lean is not just about cost cutting. But I fail to see how lean techniques can influence the…
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Building the Enabling Bureaucracy
A conversation with RJ Scaringe about creating the "Rivian Way."
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Article
The U.S. Versus the World Healthcare Cost Gap
Lean thinking dictates that we try to turn any "problem" (or need, however big, however vague) into an actionable problem that can be analyzed. All problems come…
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Getting Started with Lean Product and Process Development
Learning and applying the concepts of LPPD is no different than learning any other new skill in life, says Andy Houk. In this article he…
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Article
Reimagining restaurants after Covid-19
The future has never looked more uncertain for restaurants and cafes. The authors share a set of practical lean tips that can guide these organizations…
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Article
Becoming My Own Gemba
Like me, thousands of people suffer from undiagnosed or more complex medical conditions that mimic other conditions. And my TPS training in a way of…
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Article
Ask Art: Why Should I Be Able to Make Every Product Every Day?
Working on the goal of "every product every day" helps all companies realize the benefits of lean as a strategy, says Art Byrne, by developing…
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Case Study
Respect for People: Making the Job Easier for Workers
How a lean mindset and practices are reining in workplace disruptions, minimizing workers’ physical aches and pains, and improving flow at Turner Construction.
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Article
Green from the Start
LEI faculty member Jim Morgan shares his insights with Kelly Singer, managing editor of the Lean Green Institute, on how companies can increase their environmental…
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