Article

Hoshin Kanri as a Foundational Piece of a Lean Management System

Hoshin kanri is more than a strategic planning tool—it’s a dynamic, socio-technical process that aligns organizations at every level through shared purpose, problem-solving, and continuous…

by Jeffrey Liker and John Shook

Article

Leadership Q&A: Lisa Yerian, MD, Medical Director of Continuous Improvement, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

From the LEI senior executive series on lean leadership: Lisa Yerian, MD, director of Hepatobiliary Pathology and medical director of continuous improvement, Division of Clinical…

by David Drickhamer

Article

Technology-Driven Improvement Initiatives (and Other Amazing Magic Tricks)

"In my experience, projects based on the scientific method are more likely to succeed than projects focused primarily on Information Technology (IT) improvements," writes Tim…

Article

5 Missing Pieces in Your Standardized Work (Part 1 of 3)

John Shook offers an overview of the five most frequent misunderstandings about this fundamental lean practice and expands on three of them.

by John Shook

Case Study

Change in Implementation Approach Opens the Door at EMCO to Greater Gains in Less Time

Many lean thinkers ask how they can accelerate the pace of a transformation or spread it to other facilities. EMCO Enterprise’s Des Moines plant has…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Standardized Work for Kaizen: Define, Achieve, Maintain, Improve

We can all agree that kaizen (continuous improvement to create more value with less waste) is important, but do you have standardized work for kaizen?…

by Tracey Richardson

Article

What is the Theory of Constraints, and How Does it Compare to Lean Thinking?

The following article reviews the Theory of Constraints (TOC), first published in The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox in 1984, and compares…

by Sergio Rattner

Article

Reflecting to Learn: Takeaways and Reflections on the A3 Process

In the wake of yesterday's interview with Mr. Isao Yoshino on the roots of the A3 process at Toyota, LEI Chairman and CEO John Shook…

by John Shook

Article

Achieve Your Deeper Goals Through Daily Work With Hoshin Kanri

Hoshin kanri is a living process of planning, testing ideas, adapting, and learning, says Jeff Liker, in which people work towards clear targets addressing the…

by Jeffrey Liker

Article

The Real Secret to Success with the A3 Process: It is as Much a Social Process as a Technical Problem-solving One

Part one of a seven-part series. Learn how the A3 process is about more than problem-solving, along with the other facets of the practice that…

by David Verble

Article

How Wiremold Reinvented Itself Through Kaizen

Art Byrne shares a seminal 25-year-old article recounting how Wiremold tapped Kaizen to support a complete lean turnaround that continues to inspire and instruct people…

by Art Byrne

Article

No Standard, No Problem? Not Really. It’s a Big Problem

Learn why the A3 is more than a problem-solving tool, and why it's critical to leading change.

by David Verble

Case Study

Seasoned Lean Effort Avoids "Flavor-of-the-Month" Pitfall

What comes first in a lean transformation? What comes next? Where do tools like six sigma fit? Here's an overview about how Freudenberg-NOK answered these…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Meeting the 19-Billion-Dose Challenge

What does it take to meet the historic challenge of rapidly increasing the annual global vaccine capacity from 5 billion to 19 billion doses? And…

Article

The Lean Transformation at Viwinco, Part 2: From Lean Fixes to Lean Redesign   

Viwinco redesigned its custom-window lines for true one-piece flow, cutting WIP by 80% and seal failures by 90% — with zero impact to customer deliveries.

by George Taninecz

Case Study

Creating the Course and Tools for a Lean Accounting System

A unit of Parker Hannifin used a financial kaizen and other lean accounting techniques to bridge the gaps between shop-floor improvements and traditional financial statements.

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Why We Believe that Lean is More Than A Manufacturing Approach

Is Lean thinking a thing of the past from glorious manufacturing times in the late twentieth century? Or, on the other hand, is it possible…

by Lean Sensei Women

Case Study

Best in Healthcare Getting Better with Lean

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN., is famous for the quality of its healthcare, but is using lean concepts to further enhance processes affecting quality,…

Article

Why Creating Products Customers Actually Want Requires a Great Process

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,…

by Matt Zayko

Article

It's Your Career, Own the Work

If an employee doesn’t have a vision for his or her own career, strengths and weaknesses, and development needs, why should a manager feel an…

by Mark Reich