Article

My CEO has asked me to take a hard look at the lean program at our hospital – where should I start?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am ops director of a large hospital. We have been doing lean for several years now, with a lean office of…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Lean and Financials

Dear Gemba Coach: During the webinar, you mentioned the importance of quantifying the financial impacts of lean efforts before introducing the system. This is a very…

by Michael Ballé

Article

What is the hardest conversation you ever had during gemba walks?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is the hardest conversation that you have during gemba walks?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Follow-up Q & A to the Webinar "Integrating Leader Standard Work with Visual Management Tools”

This webinar was one of our most popular and highly rated. From among the hundreds of questions that we received during the webinar, we selected…

by Joe Murli

Article

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…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Rethinking the Model Line

The model line, once seen as the key to helping organizations learn and share lean thinking, has served a critical purpose, says Jim Womack: to…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

If lean is valid in all situations doesn't that make it an ideology?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is lean really valid in all situations? That sounds like ideology to me!

by Michael Ballé

Article

What topics, tools, and techniques would you include in an MBA-level course on teaching lean concepts?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am designing an MBA-level course to teach lean concepts.  What topics, tools, and techniques would you include in a 7-week, 14-session…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Any advice for how to implement real pull across the company?

Dear Gemba Coach: My boss, the operations VP, has asked me to implement a pull system across the whole company. I’ve practiced lean for many…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why won't operators use andons?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’re struggling with andons. We’ve set up a button for operators to press and call for help, but they’re not using it…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: How One-Piece-Flow Supports Quality

"One-piece-flow is the key to quality improvements," writes Art Byrne. "In my experience it is pretty common to get a 10x or better gain in…

by Art Byrne

Article

Book Review: Learning to Scale, a "Practical Field Guide" to Lean Growth

In his new book Learning to Scale, author Regis Medina has "successfully translated each concept of the TPS and lean strategy into a clear and…

by Catherine Chabiron

Case Study

Cultivating a Lean Problem-Solving Culture at O.C. Tanner

O.C. Tanner is in the appreciation business. It develops employee reward and recognition programs and manufactures a wide variety of emblems, rings, trophies, and other…

by Doug Bartholomew

Article

How Respect for People Animates the Lean Spirit

Practicing respect is an animating force of lean leadership that colors how one coaches and develops people. This roundup of articles from our archives shares…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

Article

Operations IS Your Customer

Discover how redefining operations as the primary customer of engineering can transform product development, enhance collaboration, and drive unprecedented improvements in quality and efficiency.

by Steve Shoemaker 

Lexicon Term

Pitch

The amount of time needed in a production area to make one container of products. The formula for pitch is: takt time x pack-out quantity…

Article

Tap the Power of Flow to Develop Lean Thinkers

Flow is personal--a moment of enrichment, and a mental state. It´s stretching oneself just that little bit extra, not because someone else tells us to,…

by Eivind Reke

Article

What is the worst mistake you’ve made on the gemba?

Dear Gemba Coach: What is the worst mistake you’ve made on the gemba?

by Michael Ballé

Lexicon Term

Operator Balance Chart

A graphic tool that assists the creation of continuous flow in a multistep, multioperator process by distributing operator work elements in relation to takt time.…

Article

How Much Control Do I Need (and Need to Give Up) to Lead?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am interested in setting up a team for implementing lean. So far I have been trying to make changes on my…

by Michael Ballé