Article

Jim Womack's Keynote Address from the 2018 Lean Summit

Catch the presentation of Jim Womack on the topic of how to develop better employees by becoming a better employer.

by Lean Leaper

Article

Tending the Roots of Lean with Lean Farmer Ben Hartman

Matt Savas shares the Lean roots found at Ben Hartman's Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, Indiana, illustrating the many ways that lean has eliminated waste

by Matthew Savas

Article

Book Value: Jim Womack on Ford Methods and Ford Shops

Jim Womack, author of Lean Thinking and founder of The Lean Enterprise Institute, reflects on one of the books that greatly influenced his thinking.

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Video

Lean is About Building Organizations that Learn to Learn

In April, LEI's John Shook spoke at the LeanUX NYC conference about how the lean movement has changed (and not changed) over time and what…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Want Better Employees? Be a Better Employer.

Every nation in the world is on a quest to create more jobs. As they should be. But, we don’t want just “jobs.” We want…

by John Shook

Faculty

Henry Li

In his 30-plus years of experience in operations management and consulting, Henry has helped over 100 clients in North America, Europe, and Asia meet operations…

Article

Making Your Work Work in the First 90 Days

In your first 90 days as a lean leader, what path will you take to support transformation? Andrew Quibell details the elements of both a…

by Andrew Quibell

Article

A Consciousness of Reality

There are countless cases of lean thinking being applied masterfully with the word lean (or the Toyota Production System) nowhere in sight, writes John Shook,…

by John Shook

Article

Ask Art: What Was Danaher Like In the Early Days of Lean?

In this personal account of launching lean at Danaher, Art Byrne shares a wealth of insights into how to seed an enduring lean culture and…

by Art Byrne

Case Study

How an Established Company Disrupted an Industry

TechnipFMC confronted a crisis and redesigned its business model using Lean Product and Process Development.

by Patricia Panchak

Article

Lean Leap by Auto Supplier Gets Boost from Leaping Figure Skaters

As part of its lean transformation, a Nexteer Automotive plant in Saginaw, MI, is using video and motion analysis software developed for athletes to improve…

Faculty

Laura Mottola

A seasoned professional mining engineer and business leader with over 25 years of global experience across industries, Laura is recognized globally as a leader in…

Article

How Lean Thinking and Practice Helped Put Shots in Arms, Part 1: Building the Process

Does lean thinking work during a crisis? An in-depth review of its contribution to the design and management of Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's…

by Ryan Haley, Crystal R. Tubbs and Peter Ward

Video

The Art of Lean: Use These Tools to Help You Improve a Process, Part 2

Take a closer look into this four-step approach that will help you "pinpoint the tricky parts" of a process as you work to improve it,…

by Art Smalley and Art Smalley

Article

Turn To Lean in Times of Crisis

Lean thinkers need new tools and new mindsets to face today's daunting challenges, argues Jim Womack, who shares examples of how this has sparked great…

by Lean Leaper

Article

Taking a Value Stream Walk at Firm A

I was out walking through a company this past week, something I often do. The firm I visited had asked what I thought of their…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

Ask Art: How Useful is Six Sigma and the Black Belts and Green Belts that Come with It?

Several specific examples demonstrate why lean continuous improvement practices are usually superior to six sigma for solving problems.

by Art Byrne

Article

Why We Believe that Lean is About Changing Our Own Behaviors, and Not Just Accumulating New Knowledge

Lean repeatedly pushes us to develop new competences (or recover lost know-hows) through kaizen and problem solving. This collection of short articles from seven leading…

by Lean Sensei Women

Article

How Do the Problems of Continuous Improvement Professionals Differ from Those of Line Managers

Dear Gemba Coach: How do the lean-related problems or responsibilities of ci professionals differ from those of line managers or business unit managers?

by Michael Ballé

Article

Cost Saving is Tired--Value Creation is Hot!

Lean affects financial outcomes--dramatically so in firms that incorporate widespread lean thinking over the long term, says LEI Chair Jean Cunningham. And yet she counsels…