Workbooks

Making Materials Flow

Making Materials Flow describes in plain language another step in implementing a complete lean business system by explaining how to supply purchased parts to the value stream in…

by Chris Harris, Rick Harris and Earl Wilson

eBook

Four Types of Problems

When faced with a problem, many business leaders and teams mechanically reach for a familiar problem-solving methodology. The problem is that the methods are often…

by Art Smalley

eBook

The Work of Management

Jim Lancaster tells an inspiring and practical business story in his new book, The Work of Management. It’s a close-up, candid look at Lancaster’s personal…

by Jim Lancaster

Case Study

Fighting Cancer with Linear Accelerators and Accelerated Processes

A series of cross-functional lean improvement teams in the Radiation Oncology Department at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) applied lean principles to processes…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Columbus Public Schools Use Process Thinking to Improve Academic Achievement

Principals and staff at Columbus, Ohio, schools created current states and future states of a diagnostic testing process in order to identify students' weaknesses and to improve the processes…

by George Taninecz

Article

View from the Hospital Floor: How to Build a Culture of Improvement One Unit at a Time

In this follow-up to our earlier case study "Transforming Healthcare: What Matters Most?", we examine how the Cleveland Clinic is accelerating a lean transformation with…

by David Drickhamer

Article

More Crisis Control at Boeing and the FAA – Some Lessons on Building in Quality from NUMMI

As Boeing grapples with recurring quality issues, this Design Brief article from John Shook explores how the NUMMI joint venture between Toyota and GM offers…

by John Shook

Case Study

Massachusetts General Looks to Lean

Northeast Proton Therapy Center uses lean principles to increase capacity to treat life-threatening diseases.

by George Taninecz

Article

Follow-up Q&A to the Webinar: On the Mend - Changing a healthcare organizational culture to continuous improvement

The lean healthcare webinar “On the Mend: Changing a healthcare organizational culture to continuous improvement” drew an engaged audience that submitted hundreds of questions, many…

by John Toussaint

Case Study

Using Lean Thinking to Reinvent City Government

In many cities, stagnant tax revenues from a slowing economy coupled with rising healthcare and energy costs are causing budget shortfalls. To cope with the…

by David Drickhamer

Article

Autoliv: Giving Power to the People

A case study looks at how Autoliv developed and sustained a lean-problem solving culture and how this global company shares best practices.

by Doug Bartholomew

Case Study

Lean Thinking Helps City of Chula Vista with Budget Crunch

After laying off 350 employees and still facing a continuing budget shortfall, the City of Chula Vista, CA, faced a seemingly impossible dilemma: how to…

by Doug Bartholomew

Video

Follow-up Q & A to the Webinar “Getting to Everyday Improvement: How to Connect the Science and Culture of Problem Solving”

A follow-up Q&A with presenters Judy Worth and Beau Keyte for the Lean Enterprise Institute's webinar on Getting to Everyday Improvement.

by Beau Keyte and Judy Worth

Case Study

Lean Transformation Lives and Dies With Tools and Dies

The story of The Wiremold Company's lean transformation is familiar to many Lean Thinkers. But what isn't as well known is how the company transformed…

Article

A Philanthropic 'Lean Internship' Experiment Yields Unexpected Question About Purpose

To understand what could work in a hands-on, gemba-based lean learning experience, the LEI's JPW Fund did what lean practitioners do — they ran a…

by Patricia Panchak

Case Study

Transforming Healthcare: What Matters Most? How the Cleveland Clinic Is Cultivating a Problem-Solving Mindset and Building a Culture of Improvement

Imagine if you could create a culture of excellence and improvement in a large healthcare organization. That’s the challenge that pushed the Cleveland Clinic to…

by David Drickhamer

Case Study

Herman Miller’s Experiment in Excellence

With initial support from the Toyota Supplier Support Center, Herman Miller cultivates experimental thinkers who make process improvements every day. Their work has yielded dramatic…

by David Drickhamer

Podcast

People-First Leadership: A Conversation Between Jim Morgan and Alan Mulally

Leading through challenging times means enhancing your work process and always looking to improve people's lives. Putting people first is just one of the many…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Lean Thinking: A Look Back and a Look Forward

The meaning of lean thinking, how lean got its name, and an example of how it improved a grinding process By LEI President Jim Womack.

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

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