Article

Our Burning Platform and Using the 5 Whys to Think More Deeply about Corrective Action

A call to action: As lean thinkers, we should join with our diversity, equity, and inclusion experts to help transform our business cultures. We must…

by Christopher D. Chapman

Article

OU ISE students use ‘Lean Thinking’ to improve operations, optimize space at Humble Design warehouse

The first grant from a new scholarship fund established by the Boston-based nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) is helping Midwest engineering students improve operations at…

by Oakland University

Press Release

11 Lean Manufacturing and Management Workshops Coming to Minnesota

Lean manufacturing, logistics, and distribution will be covered.

Article

ThedaCare Improved Outcomes with Lean Management

This article provides a summary of ThedaCare's lean journey, including improvements in their radiation oncology department. From the article:"The results have been consistantly significant. This…

by Hospital & Healthcare Management

Case Study

Best in Healthcare Getting Better with Lean

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN., is famous for the quality of its healthcare, but is using lean concepts to further enhance processes affecting quality,…

Article

Using Lean to Take Farming to the Next Level in Denmark

"When you start to think and work systematically with Lean (rather than just off the cuff), looking for waste becomes fun," writes Susanne Pejstrup. "You…

Case Study

Linking Lean Thinking to the Classroom

As team members sat down to discuss hiring a new production employee, the conversation gradually centered on the need to determine if operations could be…

by Chet Marchwinski

Press Release

Lean Culture Change Workshop Added to the Summer/Fall Schedule at the Nonprofit Lean Enterprise Institute

The newest workshop, Improvement Kata, is one of five summer and fall sessions designed to deliver practical, how-to answers in plain language about basic and…

Article

If lean is all about people, why are the discussions impersonally cold and rational?

Dear Gemba Coach: Lean thinkers say it’s all about people, but the debates are then all so cold and rational. Where are the emotions and the…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Launching and Sustaining a Lean “Pop-Up”

"It’s not unusual for a lean leader or lean practitioner to feel alone, especially in a company or enterprise early in its lean journey," writes…

by Doug Bartholomew

Article

Avoiding Common Pitfalls of Value-Stream Mapping

Mike Rother, co-author of Learning to See, offers some insights about the dos, don’ts, and maybes of value-stream mapping.

by Mike Rother

Lexicon Term

A3 Report

An A3 Report is a Toyota-pioneered practice of getting the problem, the analysis, the corrective actions, and the action plan down on a single sheet…

Article

“Lean Production” Turns 25

Author and management expert James Womack talks with The Leaning Edge about the state of lean management and what’s new in his latest book, the…

Article

Forward to Fundamentals Webinar with Jim Womack and John Shook

In recent years, most discussions around lean transformation have understandably evolved toward more managerial and strategic matters. Yet there remains an alarming lack of solid…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD and John Shook

Podcast

Crafting Quality Software: a Conversation with Robert Martin

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, LEI speaks with software industry pioneer Robert Martin about craftsmanship, AI, and the industry's most challenging problems.

by Robert Martin and Matthew Savas

Article

My CEO has asked me to take a hard look at the lean program at our hospital – where should I start?

Dear Gemba Coach: I am ops director of a large hospital. We have been doing lean for several years now, with a lean office of…

by Michael Ballé

Podcast

Are You Learning to Learn Faster? A Conversation with Steve Spear

Learning to close the gap in our learning cycle is critical to keeping our promises and achieving our goals, argues Steve Spear in the recent…

by Lean Leaper

Article

5 Guiding Principles to Accelerate Your Lean Transformation

Chief architects for lean transformation have been seeking effective ways of realizing tangible gains for years, says Senior Coach Alice Lee. She shares how a…

by Alice Lee

Article

Coachable: Facilitating Peer-to-Peer Coaching for Effectively Spreading Knowledge

Join the ongoing conversation on coaching by listening to this new episode of the Coachable podcast series, as Deb McGee talks with Lean Coach Bryant…

by Bryant Sanders

Case Study

Manufacturing Balancing Act: Pull Versus ERP

In this follow-up story to our case study about Phase 2 Medical Manufacturing, Inc., the company faces an enviable dilemma: because the lean transformation has…

by Chet Marchwinski