Article
Follow-up Q & A to the Webinar "Integrating Leader Standard Work with Visual Management Tools”
This webinar was one of our most popular and highly rated. From among the hundreds of questions that we received during the webinar, we selected…
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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…
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Article
Lean and Financials
Dear Gemba Coach: During the webinar, you mentioned the importance of quantifying the financial impacts of lean efforts before introducing the system. This is a very…
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Article
What is the hardest conversation you ever had during gemba walks?
Dear Gemba Coach: What is the hardest conversation that you have during gemba walks?
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Article
No Shortcuts: Creating a Lean Environment the Right Way
As much as we may wish there was a way to pull off a lean transformation with only a basic knowledge of its ideals, there…
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Article
Ask Art: How One-Piece-Flow Supports Quality
"One-piece-flow is the key to quality improvements," writes Art Byrne. "In my experience it is pretty common to get a 10x or better gain in…
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Article
Why won't operators use andons?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’re struggling with andons. We’ve set up a button for operators to press and call for help, but they’re not using it…
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Article
Rethinking the Model Line
The model line, once seen as the key to helping organizations learn and share lean thinking, has served a critical purpose, says Jim Womack: to…
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Article
How Respect for People Animates the Lean Spirit
Practicing respect is an animating force of lean leadership that colors how one coaches and develops people. This roundup of articles from our archives shares…
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Article
If lean is valid in all situations doesn't that make it an ideology?
Dear Gemba Coach: Is lean really valid in all situations? That sounds like ideology to me!
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Article
Book Review: Learning to Scale, a "Practical Field Guide" to Lean Growth
In his new book Learning to Scale, author Regis Medina has "successfully translated each concept of the TPS and lean strategy into a clear and…
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Article
Operations IS Your Customer
Discover how redefining operations as the primary customer of engineering can transform product development, enhance collaboration, and drive unprecedented improvements in quality and efficiency.
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Article
What topics, tools, and techniques would you include in an MBA-level course on teaching lean concepts?
Dear Gemba Coach: I am designing an MBA-level course to teach lean concepts. What topics, tools, and techniques would you include in a 7-week, 14-session…
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Case Study
Cultivating a Lean Problem-Solving Culture at O.C. Tanner
O.C. Tanner is in the appreciation business. It develops employee reward and recognition programs and manufactures a wide variety of emblems, rings, trophies, and other…
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Article
Any advice for how to implement real pull across the company?
Dear Gemba Coach: My boss, the operations VP, has asked me to implement a pull system across the whole company. I’ve practiced lean for many…
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Article
Tap the Power of Flow to Develop Lean Thinkers
Flow is personal--a moment of enrichment, and a mental state. It´s stretching oneself just that little bit extra, not because someone else tells us to,…
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Lexicon Term
Pitch
The amount of time needed in a production area to make one container of products. The formula for pitch is: takt time x pack-out quantity…
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What is the worst mistake you’ve made on the gemba?
Dear Gemba Coach: What is the worst mistake you’ve made on the gemba?
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Lexicon Term
Operator Balance Chart
A graphic tool that assists the creation of continuous flow in a multistep, multioperator process by distributing operator work elements in relation to takt time.…
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Article
How Much Control Do I Need (and Need to Give Up) to Lead?
Dear Gemba Coach: I am interested in setting up a team for implementing lean. So far I have been trying to make changes on my…
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