Article
Understanding the True Cost of Care
"Today, frontline clinicians are being asked to provide even more cost-efficient care to patients yet few understand how to do so," writes Jordan Harmon of…
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Article
No Such Thing As a Funny Lean Joke?
Does a good lean joke exist? LEI staffer Josh Rapoza really wants to believe it's possible for Lean and humor to come together.
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Article
"Roll"-ing Out Lean at Kura Sushi
Self-professed "lean geek" Katie Anderson has eaten several meals at Kura Sushi restaurants and shares her observations on what she sees as lean principles at…
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Article
"What Do I Need to Know?"
"What do I need to know?" A simple, but powerful, question to ask at the gemba and beyond. Kelly Moore muses on how this question…
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Article
One Year Later, How Toyota Has Helped Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts
There are few processes that are more critical to get right than those involved in disaster relief. Check out how Jamie Bonini and Lisa Richardson…
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Article
Standardization is a Countermeasure, Never the Goal
"If you're excited about standardized work and standardization, especially if you're new to Lean, please stop and think about the problem that's being solved and…
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Article
Combat Isolation with Productivity by Using HoRenSo – A Communication Structure that Engages People, part one of two
How to make your meetings more productive, the Toyota Way.
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Podcast
Mindfulness and Leading with Respect
Mindfulness is both more essential today than ever, and a foundation for organizational lean excellence. Here John Shook and Mike Orzen explore this theme. “The…
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Article
Feeling the Gemba Magic
After months of work at the gemba with his factory manager helping line workers grapple with problems, CEO Nicolas Chartier realized the true source of…
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Article
Taiichi Ohno's Birthday and 100 Years of Lean
Today is Taiichi Ohno's birthday. Were he alive, the primary developer of the Toyota Production System would be turning 100 years old. Much has happened…
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Article
Is Lean Thinking Art or Science? Yes
Calling the recent book Lean Conversations a landmark initiative on lean and the arts, John Shook observes that "If Jean Cocteau’s famous observation that 'art…
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Article
The Joys of a Brownfield
“Lean experience teaches us to enjoy and make the most of going to see. Go to the gemba, go there a lot, and learn to…
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Learning Lean - Collaboratively
John Shooks reflects on the importance of continual learning in lean practice, emphasizing the distinction between being a passive knower and an active learner.
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Video
Getting Started with Lean Thinking and Practice
This brief animation answers the novice lean thinkers’ most common question.
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Article
Lean Information Management
Recently I was walking through a manufacturing operation and found myself wondering about the principles of lean information management, in particular with regard to production…
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My management team feels tense and pressured about going to the gemba. Is this normal?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve decided to take my management team to the gemba to get them to solve real problems but this is creating a…
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How Do I Lead An Existing Lean Initiative as a Newcomer?
Dear Gemba Coach: The head of the lean initiative in our company has left and they gave me the job. I’ve been asked to review our…
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What does customer focus really mean?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’re discussing improving our customer focus, but we’ve realized we’re not quite sure what the phrase really means. Any pointers?
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Our technical guys are really resisting the idea of standard work. What should we do?
Dear Gemba Coach: Our technical guys are really resisting the idea of standard work. They believe they each have their own way of working and…
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Could you clarify the difference between cause and root cause?
Dear Gemba Coach: Could you clarify the difference between cause and root cause?
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