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Workers Unite for Better
The local strike by hospitality workers in Boston has led Josh Howell to contrast this situation with the lean culture…
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Thoughts on Digitization, Work, and Continuous Improvement
The opportunities and changes presented by digitization are issues for all lean practitioners not only those in IT. Here are…
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Factory physics was once the rage, but I don’t hear about it any more — was it wrong?
Dear Gemba Coach: What happened to factory physics? It used to be all the rage some years ago, but we…
Read article Four Types of Problems (Introduction)
An excerpt from Four Types of Problems IntroductionThe four types of problems are:Type 1: Troubleshooting: Reactive problem solving that hinges upon quick…
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Not Every Problem Is a “Nail” But Companies Typically Reach for the Same Old “Hammer”
Learn how you can avoid the frustrating, ineffective, but widespread “hammer-and-nail” problem-solving pitfall by recognizing four main problem types so…
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Can Lean Know-How Come Home?
When you decide to stop making things, you lose the ability to make things, argues Eric Buehrens: not just the…
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Use Lean Development Principles to Avoid “Traveling Hopefully” Down the Wrong Path
Lean development is less about creating highly detailed plans based on things you can’t possibly know in the beginning of…
Read article Will changing the standard for supervisors’ morning gemba walks make them pay more attention?
Dear Gemba Coach, We have a standard gemba walk for supervisors to check their areas every morning. I’ve noticed that after…
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Developing Meta-Habits at Baptist Memorial Memphis Hospital Emergency Department
After teeing up a problem in the Baptist Memorial Memphis Hospital ED using a Kata routine, Nursing Manager Melanie Mays…
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Deploying Improvement Habits: From Starter Kata to Meta-Habits
Learners using the Kata routine approach every problem with the “skeleton” of the Kata routine, and understand that they are…
Read article Does it matter if we call lean “lean”?
Dear Gemba Coach: If it works, why worry if it’s called lean, operational excellence, or the company’s excellence system? As…
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Lean Transformation? Not Buying It
Companies often describe their transformation efforts in terms of an end-state: focusing on targeted results. They see transformation as a…
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