Article

Any advice for how to implement real pull across the company?

Dear Gemba Coach: My boss, the operations VP, has asked me to implement a pull system across the whole company. I’ve practiced lean for many…

by Michael Ballé

Article

What's new in your new novel "Lead With Respect"?

Dear Gemba Coach: I see that you have a new lean management novel out called “Lead With Respect.” What's new in it?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: Why Should I Be Able to Make Every Product Every Day?

Working on the goal of "every product every day" helps all companies realize the benefits of lean as a strategy, says Art Byrne, by developing…

by Art Byrne

Article

Beware the Comforts of Waste

After a major move, lean thinker Rose Heathcote reflected that with lean thinking comes the responsibility to look inward at oneself before looking outward to…

Video

Building the Enabling Bureaucracy

A conversation with RJ Scaringe about creating the "Rivian Way."

by Lean Leaper

Article

Align Your Continuous Improvement Efforts: Practical Tips from 4 CEOs in 4 Major Business Sectors

Four CEOs who are leading lean management voices in the critical economic sectors of manufacturing, supply chain, healthcare, and education, offer advice on aligning your…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Little and Often

I still encounter a degree of confusion about one of the key mental models that gets in the way of Lean thinking. Making products in…

by Dan Jones

Article

The U.S. Versus the World Healthcare Cost Gap

Lean thinking dictates that we try to turn any "problem" (or need, however big, however vague) into an actionable problem that can be analyzed. All problems come…

by John Shook

Article

Develop Your People Patiently Rather Than Rely on Super Taylorism

Lean starts with quality, argue the authors, who note that by worrying about and improving quality, we are also reducing both the cost of our…

Case Study

Making Lean Leaders -- Ariens Internship Program Develops Lean Management and Leadership Skills in Everyone

Besides making snow-blowers, mowers, and string trimmers, Ariens Co., of Brillion, WI, makes lean leaders. An internal lean internship program steeps factory and front-office associates…

Article

The Birth of Lean: How Practices, Principles, and Tools Came Together as a System

Toyota was struggling to survive when Taiichi Ohno and a handful of innovators began experimenting with methods that ultimately became the Toyota Production System. The…

Article

Meeting the 19-Billion-Dose Challenge

What does it take to meet the historic challenge of rapidly increasing the annual global vaccine capacity from 5 billion to 19 billion doses? And…

Case Study

Respect for People: Making the Job Easier for Workers

How a lean mindset and practices are reining in workplace disruptions, minimizing workers’ physical aches and pains, and improving flow at Turner Construction.

by David Drickhamer

Article

Ask Art: How Important are Your Suppliers to Implementing Lean Production?

You won't reap the full benefits of lean production without involving your suppliers as an essential part of your value stream. Here's how.

by Art Byrne

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Wiring the Winning Organization—Foreword Preface and Section I

Article

Leadership Q&A: Robert Chapman, chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc: “Guiding Principles of Leadership”

Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc. CEO Robert Chapman describes how the company's Guiding Principles of Leadership merge with lean thinking at this $1.1 billion global manufacturer of…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Just a Fish Stick: The Perils of Forcing Your Change Agenda onto Others

Change agendas may look good on paper, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're foolproof. Brent Wahba shares his thoughts on an oft-overlooked hurdle to change…

by Brent Wahba

Article

The Faster We Go, the Behind-er We Get

Speed to market is not just about doing things faster. It’s about taking the time to do things more intentionally. Jim Morgan, former product/process development…

by James Morgan, PhD

Article

After Lean Progress, Fighting the Challenges of Backsliding

After accepting the tough challenge of reducing deliver lead-time, CEO Nicolas Chartier and their entire team learned "to react at the first sign of backsliding…

by Nicolas Chartier

Article

The Tesla Way vs. The Toyota Way

Does Tesla offer a Way of working that can challenge TPS? Perhaps a bit more time, and the development of a complete Tesla Business System,…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD