Article
How Can Lean Help Manage the Costs and Complications of Satisfying Customers During Rapid Growth?
An entrepreneur shares why and how lean management helps startups innovate and grow.
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Article
From Cradle-to-Gate to Cradle-to-Cradle: A Lean Approach to Sustainable Product Design
Lean Product and Process Development (LPPD) plays a pivotal role in contributing to a more sustainable, less resource-intensive society.
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Case Study
Craftsmanship Revolution: GE Appliances Redefines Appliance Product Development
Explores GE Appliances' transformation journey, where craftsmanship meets cutting-edge digital tools to create a revolution in product development and manufacturing.
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Article
Boston Marathon 2013 – Reflections
In business, as in sports, we like to compete. We believe competing can benefit everyone. “Everyone” means everyone – not just the “winners.” Competing is…
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Article
As a facilitator, how much do I have to know about an area targeted for improvement?
Dear Gemba Coach: As a lean "facilitator" in my organization, how important is it to gain a deep understanding of the "area" that is being…
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Operations
Fully grasp how lean thinking and practice transform operations, yielding workflows that require less human effort, less space, less capital, less material, and less time…
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Article
Kaizen Means You Care
"Lean leaders, and lean consultants (like me), often talk about the organizational benefits of kaizen: lower costs, bigger profits, shorter lead times, higher quality, etc.,"…
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Article
How do I keep visual management from becoming “wallpaper?" A Q&A with John Drogosz
"Many managers try to convince everyone (including themselves) that they are visually managing their projects or departments," writes John Drogosz, "but during the gemba walk…
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Article
Building Problem Solving Muscle at University of Michigan Health System
"We are beginning to realize the wisdom of Henry Ford’s adage: 'There are no big problems, there are just a lot of little problems,...'"
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Article
Look Around You, Find Your Lean Inspiration
After an awful experience with an online travel agency and way too much time spent trying to fix an error the company made, Planet Lean…
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Article
The Mind of the Lean Manager
Several years ago I started to talk about the need to move beyond lean tools - including the very powerful concept of Value-Stream Mapping -…
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Why don’t middle managers practice A3 thinking? (Part 2)
Dear Gemba Coach: I’m a lean consultant, and have been hired by a large service organization to develop an A3 problem solving training program for…
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