Case Study
To Successfully Apply Lean Thinking in Distribution, Go to Where the Action Is!
Two years after its first kaizen workshop, Plumbers Supply Company has made significant progress toward a lean business conversion. Starting with daily management walkabouts and…
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Article
Do you use Japanese terms in your lean transformation or purposely avoid them? Why?
Recently we asked our community "Do you use Japanese terms in your lean transformation or purposely avoid them? Why?" Below is a list of all…
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Article
A Philanthropic 'Lean Internship' Experiment Yields Unexpected Question About Purpose
To understand what could work in a hands-on, gemba-based lean learning experience, the LEI's JPW Fund did what lean practitioners do — they ran a…
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Article
How do we get started with lean tools in new product development?
Dear Gemba Coach: My company already has a deep rooted lean culture. However, it would seem that the next evolution would be in my department,…
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Creating Level Pull
Creating Level Pull shows you how to advance a lean manufacturing transformation from a focus on isolated improvements to improving the entire plantwide production system…
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Book
Getting the Right Things Done
For companies to be competitive, leaders must engage people at all levels in order to focus their energy and enable them to apply lean principles…
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eBook
The Gold Mine
The Gold Mine deftly weaves together the technical and human pieces of implementing lean manufacturing in an engaging story that readers will find both compelling and…
View event$30.00
Article
We get good results with kaizen, but why don't they stick?
Dear Gemba Coach: Our teams have good results with kaizen, but nothing seems to stick for long – any advice?
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How do you suggest we should do lean in a foundry?
Dear Gemba Coach: How do you suggest we should do lean in a foundry?
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The Gold Mine (Audio CD)
The Gold Mine deftly weaves together the technical and human pieces of implementing lean manufacturing in an engaging story that readers will find both compelling and…
View book$45.00
Article
Is lean problem solving different from regular problem solving?
Dear Gemba Coach: How is lean problem solving any different from regular problem-solving?
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Now What Do We Call the Karaoke Bar?
We asked the lean community to sound off on whether or not they favored using Japanese terms in their lean transformations. The results were interesting…
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Article
Leadership Without Giving Solutions (from a Fire Fighter's Perspective)
LEI faculty member Greg Lane shares a lean coaching story from his own life, in which he finds himself advising a friend on how best…
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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…
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Case Study
How a Retailer's Distribution Center Exemplifies the Lean Precept “Respect for People,” and Reaps the Benefits
To make sure training engaged and resonated with people after previous attempts at a lean transformation faltered, LifeWay matched lean management tools and principles to…
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Article
In your opinion, is lean thinking a common sense way of working or is it counterintuitive? What makes you think that?
Here are all the submissions to the community sound off question: "In your opinion, is lean thinking a common sense way of working or is…
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Show Up On Time (And Other Instructions from a Cook)
Lean practitioner Matt LeVeque reflects on the concepts of 5S, (JIT) Just-in-Time, and "respect for people" throughout history.
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Article
Lean for Healthcare Organizations in South Africa: An Interview with Lean4NGO Founders Steve Bell and Karen Whitley Bell
In this interview, LEI speaks with Steve Bell and Karen Whitley Bell about a Lean4NGO workshop they offered with Norman Faull of Lean Institute Africa…
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TPS, the Thinking People System
The twin pillars of just-in-time and jidoka help support a full model about how to achieve customer satisfaction from employee satisfaction, through teamwork and respect,…
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Article
How Come Toyota Veterans Don’t Use a Roadmap?
Dear Gemba Coach: Recently I spent a few months working with Toyota veterans at an automotive supplier. I was surprised at their approach. I expected…
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