Article

Cost Reduction, Waste, and Purpose

"Eliminating waste makes it easier to see and find problems, which is the first step to solving them," writes Katrina Appell. "It removes frustrations, which…

Podcast

What’s the Problem?: Andrew Lingel Discusses Transforming a Family Business through Knowledge, Grit, and Outrage

In this What's the Problem? podcast with Matt Savas, President Andrew Lingel of United Plastic Fabricating shares how he helped lead a transformation in this…

by Matthew Savas

Article

Standardized Work or Kaizen? Yes

Some lean folks LOVE to quote the Taiichi Ohno observation that “there is no kaizen without standards," notes John Shook, adding that it is less…

by John Shook

Article

Nonsense about JIT

In almost every value stream, there will be some inventory at points where the product cannot flow. This inventory will typically consist of finished goods…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Nice Car, Long Journey

2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Model T Ford. This truly is “the machine that changed the world”, even if the…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

How can kanban or lean possibly apply in an office?

Dear Gemba Coach: You often say that one can’t do lean without kanban, and that continuous improvement without kanban is fine, but not lean. My…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Does quality really come first?

Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve been practicing lean for many years and have learned to create flow and one-piece-flow. However I still struggle with quality problems.…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How do I quantify kaizen's small improvements?

Dear Gemba Coach: How do I quantify kaizen's small improvements?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Is There a Right Way to Teach A3?

Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve been teaching A3 problem solving to all our managers, but so far I fail to see any clear improvement of our…

by Michael Ballé

Article

How is leadership engaged and trained in lean?

Dear Gemba Coach: How is leadership engaged and trained in lean?

by Michael Ballé

Article

How Do You Spread a Lean Transformation from One Site to Many?

Dear Gemba Coach: My CEO has asked me to spread lean to 30 other sites. How should I go about it?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Why do lean practitioners use so many Japanese terms?

Dear Gemba Coach: Why do we use so many Japanese terms? I guess experts really want employees and students to think about these concepts.  They make…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Ask Art: Does Lean Really Work in A Non-manufacturing Company?

All companies and organizations, whether manufacturing or not, are nothing more than a group of people and a bunch of processes trying to deliver value…

by Art Byrne

Article

Ask Art: How Should I Re-invest the Gains from Kaizen?

Becoming lean through using kaizen activity allows you to remove a great deal of waste and deliver value to your customers, shares Art Byrne. If…

by Art Byrne

Article

How to Create a Lean Management Book Club that Executives Will Actually Attend

At the start of a lean transformation, a continuous improvement leader convinced her division president that a book club would be a good way to…

by Chet Marchwinski

Article

Boosting Organizational Resilience Through Jidoka

Jidoka enables operators to build in quality into the production process--and forms a foundation of stability helping a company respond to crisis with resilience. This…

by Tom Ehrenfeld

Article

One Idea for Improving Hospital Emergency Room Care

Sami Bahri, dentist and author of "Follow the Learner: The Role of a Leader in Creating a Lean Culture," suggests an idea for improving hospital…

by Sami Bahri

Article

The Hidden Value of Filling Out the Paperwork

Respect for people--and sustained continuous improvement--begins with something as simple as carefully filling out the paperwork for standardized work, says Josh Howell.

by Josh Howell

Article

Michikazu Tanaka of Daihatsu on “What I Learned from Taiichi Ohno”

This week (and in some future columns as well, no doubt) I’ll indulge my deep interest in the history of Toyota by sharing some of…

by John Shook

Case Study

LSG Sky Chefs Caters to New Market Realities

Business at airline caterer LSG Sky Chefs dropped 30% when airlines cut flights after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Sky Chefs responded with a…

by Chet Marchwinski