Case Study

Lean + Circular Principals = a New True North for Manufacturer

SunPower's lean journey resembled most others until it defined a new mission, a new True North. The mission statement changed from the business-like “install 10…

by Doug Bartholomew

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

Article

How Pall Corporation Accelerated the Covid-19 Vaccine Process Development using Lean Thinking and Practice

Learn how Pall Corp developed and deployed a full manufacturing process in eight weeks – an 80% reduction compared to typical development times.

by Mark Ayles, Clive Glover, PhD, Tony Hill, Byron Rees, Kevin Thompson and Matt Zayko

Article

The Case for Lean Thinking in Retail and Service Organizations

Josh Howell, senior coach at LEI, recently joined Ron Pereira at Gemba Academy for podcast conversation on coaching, lean thinking for retail and service organizations,…

by Josh Howell

Article

The 5 Diseases of Prioritization

Prioritization is rarely a problem by itself. Instead, it’s a symptom of a set of illnesses: Swervy, Thickets, Costeoporosis, Planemia, Politicitis. Here’s the cure from…

by Jim Benson

Article

More Evidence That ThedaCare Rocks

LEI coach Danielle Blais reflects on her recent gemba visit to the lean healthcare organization, Appleton Medical Center in Appleton, Wisconsin—a ThedaCare hospital widely known…

by Danielle McGuiness

Article

Lean thinkers, doers unite to discuss workplace challenges

This article is the first in a series exploring the key insights and discussions from the recent Future of People at Work Symposium, a groundbreaking…

by Tonya Vinas

Article

Create Constancy of Purpose

Looking back on the admirable work of two lean leaders who established constancy of purpose, Jim Womack asks: what would have happened to the world…

Article

Personal Kanban: You Can’t Manage What You Can’t See

Think personal kanban can't be applied to knowledge work? Think again. Drawing on examples from Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Berry's book "Personal Kanban: Mapping…

by David Drickhamer

Article

Everyday Kaizen

"With the right teaching and guidance, a good process, and a target of one kaizen activity per day, team leaders should develop [problem solving] skills…

by Emmanuel Jallas

Article

Apples & Oranges: Value-Stream Mapping in a Low-Volume/High-Mix Environment

Here's how one LVHM company mapped its complex value streams — and discovered the path to next-level productivity that enabled it to transform the business…

by Aaron Hunt

Article

Is Your Improvement Project Headed Down the Road to Nowhere?

"The scientific method applied consistently [can mean] beginning a continuous improvement journey that lasts, well... forever," writes Tim Kane. Read Kane's reflections on how to…

Article

Lean in Sales and Marketing

“Half my advertising budget is wasted – trouble is, I don’t know which half,” department store magnate and marketing pioneer, John Wanamaker, famously said. That…

Article

Manage the Contract or Improve the Value Stream?

As much as I would like to, I can't walk frequently along every type of value stream. As a result, it has been a while…

by James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Article

The Question All Healthcare Leaders Should be Asking Themselves

Lean healthcare expert Mark Graban takes a common problem he sees again and again in hospitals (errors with hourly rounds or inconsistent hourly rounds) and…

by Mark Graban

Article

Method vs. Tool

Dear Gemba Coach: I think that TPM, JIT, SMED, Heijunka are methods and the 5S, VSM Kaizen are tools.  Perhaps we could use the expression…

by Michael Ballé

Article

Standardized Work in Business Processes

Dear Gemba Coach: How about standardized work in a business process environment? For example, in a procurement process or supply chain processes? There are not many…

by Michael Ballé

Article

What are the biggest obstacles you are facing in your lean journey?

Company culture, weak management support, lack of lean knowledge – even federal budget sequestration – were among the answers you gave when we asked, "What…

Article

Starting Points for Different Value Streams

No lean transformation story is the same. Read Dan Jones's take on gaining traction for lean learning within your organization and industry.

by Dan Jones

Article

Lean Lessons from Cobra Kai(zen) and the Karate Kid

The unexpected wake-up call of the modest perfection of the original Karate Kid movie was that we need to move beyond defending this or that…

by Michael Ballé