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Would you have a fresh perspective on 5S to make it more motivating?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’m the manager of a plant that has changed hands (again). The new corporate team finds my 5S insufficient (again) and want…
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Should value-stream mapping come before 5S?
Dear Gemba Coach: Shouldn’t VSM come before 5S so we see the whole picture first?
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Do We Need a Truck Preparation Area?
Dear Gemba Coach: As logistics manager, I disagree with our lean expert who insists we should have “truck preparation areas” in the shipping hall. It…
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How should I assess the success of our lean progress?
Dear Gemba Coach: My management is asking for an assessment of our lean progress. How should I do this?
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What's wrong with taking a tools approach to lean management?
Dear Gemba Coach: I keep hearing that a tool approach to lean is wrong, but tools deliver results – how can that be wrong?
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Why don't I see any significant performance improvement from obeya rooms?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve deployed obeyas all across our organization, but I can’t see any significant improvement in our results. We can better see which…
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How do I implement standard work in an office environment?
Dear Gemba Coach: I really enjoyed reading your article on the difference between standard work and procedures back in December. It really helped clarify the…
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What's your definition of lean?
Dear Gemba Coach: My company is adopting lean, which has so many definitions that I find it confusing. What's your definition and why can’t all…
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Why isn’t there more emphasis on lean engineering?
Dear Gemba Coach: Why isn’t there more emphasis on lean engineering?
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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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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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Gemba and Quality
Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve made good progress on quality with Six Sigma, but we’ve reached a plateau. I’ve met a lean consultant who tells me…
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What does “separation of human work and machine work” mean?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve been trying to learn more about Jidoka and I keep coming across references to “separation of human work and machine work”…
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What’s your opinion on setting specific criteria before brainstorming countermeasures?
Dear Gemba Coach: What’s your opinion on setting specific criteria before brainstorming countermeasures?
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What does “separating human work from machine work" mean?
Dear Gemba Coach: What does “separating human work from machine work” mean? How does it matter?
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Two managers I relied on a lot are still fighting a two-year-old pull system and creating a lot of conflict on the team. Is this normal?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’m two years into establishing a pull system through my plant and two of my key managers are still fighting the system…
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Takt Time Thinking for a Low-Volume High-Mix Company
Dear Gemba Coach: Our company produces custom products that cannot be easily forecast in terms of when they will be ordered, and in what format.…
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Is kanban relevant to office work?
Dear Gemba Coach: I understand that kanban is an important part of lean, but I work in an office environment, and it’s hard to see…
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We’re installing an andon system – what should we expect?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’re installing an andon system – what should we expect?
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Why do we hear less and less about lean in manufacturing?
Dear Gemba Coach: Why do we hear less and less about lean in manufacturing? Is it that most companies have implemented lean successfully or at…
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