Article

Nine Tips to Better Process Development

Achieve exceptional results with your next product launch. Master nine proven techniques for designing successful, waste-free processes.

by Eric Ethington and Matt Zayko

Lexicon Term

Takt Image

Creating an awareness of takt time in areas of a production process where products cannot be delivered and taken away at the frequency of takt…

eBook

The Birth of Lean: Conversations with the Founders of TPS

Fascinating interviews with the founders of lean. Learn about the origins of the Toyota Production System from the people responsible for its creation. As its pioneers…

by Takahiro Fujimoto and Koichi Shimokawa

Article

Reflections From Ten Years of Michael Ballé's Gemba Coach

Since his first Gemba Coach column of ten years ago, Michael Balle has consistently tied his advice to a faithful application of core Toyota Production…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

Article

You Are Not Different: Make universal lean principles work locally

Lean principles are universal, argues Orry Fiume, but the application of them is always local. Don't use this challenge as an excuse to avoid Lean.

by Orest (Orry) Fiume

Case Study

Sustain Your Lean Business System with a “Golden Triangle”

When medical device maker Phase 2 fought off an overseas challenge by meeting the global price, margins took a big hit. With help from customer…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Lean WX – An Rx for Making Things Better

As someone whose understanding of lean/TPS grew exponentially by working on the line, Josh Howell encourages every would-be lean enterprise out there, even those who…

by Josh Howell

Case Study

For Athletic Shoe Company, the Soul of Lean Management Is Problem Solving

When it began a lean transformation in 2003, New Balance, the only athletic shoe manufacturer that still makes some products in the U.S., focused on…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Ask Art: Do You Prefer a Handwritten or Computerized Process for Visual Management?

You can — and should — focus on more critical operational questions than how to set up your visual management systems. Here are the questions…

by Art Byrne

eBook

Lean Lexicon 5th Edition

The fifth edition of the Lexicon, first published in January 2003, is 140 pages, containing 60+ illustrations and 207 key terms from A3 Report to…

by Lean Enterprise Institute

Article

Why you can't convince your boss to support lean activities, unless ...

Dear Gemba  Coach: I work as a deployment champion in a manufacturing company, but I don’t have the support of my managers because they don´t…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How Does Lean Apply In a Job Shop?

Dear Gemba Coach: In our job shop we make high precision modules and tools, work that involves a great deal of variety and very little…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Method vs. Tool

Dear Gemba Coach: I think that TPM, JIT, SMED, Heijunka are methods and the 5S, VSM Kaizen are tools.  Perhaps we could use the expression…

by Michael Ballé

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

Emerging Stronger

Learn how GE Appliances and Herman Miller leverage lean practice to design new standardized work for assembly to ensure a safe working environment for employees.

by John Shook

Article

Ask Art: What Foundational Items Must I Be A Zealot About?

Be a zealot on the foundational items such as 5S, visual management, and setup reduction, says Art Byrne, and your chances of succeeding with lean…

by Art Byrne

Article

Time To Make Time

When the people in a lean system don't value time, everyone is cheated, says John Shook, in this fascinating reflection on the role that time…

by John Shook

Article

What is the lean approach to quality – is that what six sigma is all about?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’m a frequent reader of your columns and you always seem to emphasize quality first, but I can’t find many books detailing…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Which is best for a lean environment, a U-shaped cell or assembly line? Why?

Dear Gemba Coach: Which is best for a lean environment, a U-shaped cell or assembly line? Why?

by Michael Ballé