Article

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…

by David Graham

Article

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.

by Danielle McGuiness

Article

Isn’t lean all about culture?

Dear Gemba Coach: Isn’t lean all about culture, really?

by Michael Ballé

Article

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…

by Michael Ballé

Article

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.

by John Shook

Article

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…

by Dan Jones

Article

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…

by John Shook

Article

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.

by Art Byrne

Article

Why implement lean when it fails so often?

Dear Gemba Coach: Is it true that lean often fails? What’s the point then?

by Michael Ballé

Article

How do we get started with standard work?

How do we get started with standard work? The literature seems to say there can’t be meaningful kaizen without standards, but although we have procedures…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why audit standard work? And what is the best approach?

Dear Gemba Coach: Can you help me determine the best way to conduct audits of standard work (SW)? The Toyota Way Fieldbook describes a layered…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: “Do lean conversions actually go smoothly, like in the books?”

Art Byrne receives many inquiries from people wondering whether lean transformations really are as smooth as they seem in books, or if the way is…

by Art Byrne

Article

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…

by Tracey Richardson

Article

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…

by Michael Ballé

Article

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?…

by Tracey Richardson

Article

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…

by Art Byrne

Article

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)

by Michael Ballé

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Podcast

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.

by Lean Leaper

Article

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…

by Sergio Rattner