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Ask Art: Is there a balance between lean and full automation?
As a followup to his piece last month dealing with another aspect of lean and automation, Art Byrne now explores the oft-misunderstood balance between the…
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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.
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Learning Through Struggle
LEI coach Danielle Blais reflects on one of the most frustrating (and ultimately, most rewarding) coaching moments she's experienced so far in her career.
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GTS6 + E3 = DNA (Break the Code for Standardization, Sustainability, and Kaizen)
There's no "formula" for doing Lean well, but there are principles and practices that keep you on track. Read Tracey Richardson's (memorable) advice for leading…
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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?…
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So, what are you going to do about it?
What a year for global supply chains! It started quietly, with a few leading firms taking the lead in reintegrating hopelessly disintegrated supply lines. Then…
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Why is Flow Easy, and Quality Hard?
Dear Gemba Coach: My lean team has become proficient at teaching flow but it's not gaining traction when it comes to quality issues. Do you…
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Isn’t lean all about culture?
Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t lean all about culture, really?
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What I Could Only Learn from a Sensei
Some aspects of lean can be learned through experience, but other aspects can only be taught by an experienced sensei. Michael Balle reflects on some…
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Why implement lean when it fails so often?
Dear Gemba Coach: Is it true that lean often fails? What’s the point then?
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Why Are There So Many Points of View About What Lean Is?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve been interested in lean for over two years now, and can’t quite understand why after 20 years there are still so…
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Leaning Healthcare
Healthcare is the next great industry to begin the Lean journey. The existing model in which the hospital doctor acting as a skilled craftsperson effectively…
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Mapping a Reading List to Lean
We humans want to see what is happening, understand how we and our colleagues best collaborate, solve problems, make good decisions, and have an insatiable…
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Lean Warehousing and Distribution Benefits Your Company, Customers, and Supply Chain
Lean warehousing sounds like an oxymoron. But in this interview, lean practitioner and Toyota veteran David Graham explains how lean concepts apply to warehouse and…
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Ask Art: Does Lean Really Work Everywhere?
There's a common misconception that Lean is "just some manufacturing thing." Read why Art Byrne believes Lean can be applied any and everywhere.
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Are You Organized for Leadership?
LEI President Josh Howell reflect on a recent learning tour to Toyota and GE Appliances, sharing insights the group gathered about lean transformation.
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Part 2: What is the best lean way to understand VALUE (in terms of what our customers want)?
Dear Gemba Coach, What is the best lean way to understand VALUE (in terms of what our customers want)
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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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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…
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