Article

How can we remain positive?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am a kaizen coach in a large company, and it never seems to get any easier. We’ve been doing kaizen for several…

by Michael Ballé

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

What Should I Be Looking For?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve just started working with lean with my team, and we’re doing a value-stream mapping project with a consultant. While this has been…

by Michael Ballé

Podcast

Preventing Problems by Thinking Upstream: A Talk with Author Dan Heath

“We should shift more of our energies upstream personally, organizationally, nationally, and globally. We can and we should stop dealing with the symptoms of problems…

by Lean Enterprise Institute

Article

Can Lean Boost Sales?

Dear Gemba Coach: Every one says that lean is not just about cost cutting. But I fail to see how lean techniques can influence the…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Lean Communications: Why Old School is Cool

How often do you send an email when you could talk to somebody or pick up the phone? Read why Erin Urban thinks "old school"…

by Erin Urban

Article

How Do I Reduce Buffers To Zero?

Dear Gemba CoachI run an assembly line for service station equipment. Our product is customized for each customer so we have a huge variety of…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why haven't kanban and value-stream mapping improved delivery from a low-volume/ high-mix process?

Dear Gemba Coach,We work in a low-volume/ high-mix process with component machining and assembly. Our OTD is somewhere between 70% and 80%. Weíve invested heavily…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Green from the Start

LEI faculty member Jim Morgan shares his insights with Kelly Singer, managing editor of the Lean Green Institute, on how companies can increase their environmental…

by Kelly Singer

Article

Reimagining restaurants after Covid-19

The future has never looked more uncertain for restaurants and cafes. The authors share a set of practical lean tips that can guide these organizations…

by The Lean-n-Food-Initiative

Article

Becoming My Own Gemba

Like me, thousands of people suffer from undiagnosed or more complex medical conditions that mimic other conditions. And my TPS training in a way of…

by Tracey Richardson

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

Don't Call It...Anything

Would lean be easier to teach and learn if it weren't called lean? If in fact it weren't labeled at all? Tracey Richaardson explains why.

by Tracey Richardson

Article

How to Handle Fire Fighting, Process Averse Cultures, Naysayers, and More

Summit attendees hosted their own conversations on lean thinking and practice last week, identifying challenges and opportunities for Lean within their organizations. Check out the…

by Lex Schroeder

Article

In TPM, Isn't it needlessly costly to replace parts that are working fine? What do you think?

Dear Gemba Coach: I have a question about Total Productive Maintenance. My management has hired a TPM consultant who makes us systematically replace certain parts…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Getting Started with Lean Product and Process Development

Learning and applying the concepts of LPPD is no different than learning any other new skill in life, says Andy Houk. In this article he…

by Andy Houk

Article

“People who can’t change their minds can’t change anything else”

Many people argue that if lean management really was a powerful strategy, rather than an operational tactic, then more companies would be doing it, says…

by Orest (Orry) Fiume

Article

People Are Not Cars

Tyson Ortiz's challenge in helping his son through a heart transplant clarified to him what a healthcare provider said: "People are not cars." And yet…

Article

Was Steve Lean?

I don’t know that much about Apple. The only gemba I've visited are lots of Apple stores (I don't know if they're lean but they…

by John Shook

Article

How does lean fit together with Lean Startup concepts?

Dear Gemba Coach: I work in IT and discovered lean through the Lean Startup movement. Now, as I read more about it, I find that…

by Michael Ballé