Article
Do We Need a Truck Preparation Area?
Dear Gemba Coach: As logistics manager, I disagree with our lean expert who insists we should have “truck preparation areas” in the shipping hall. It…
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Ask Art: Why Implement Lean During A Pandemic?
Implementing lean during this pandemic will allow many more companies to emerge from this economic crisis in far better shape than they were in before,…
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As head of a lean office, what must I do to really walk the talk?
Dear Gemba Coach: I am the head of a lean office. I’d like to lead by example, but it occurs to me that we often…
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The Road to Becoming a Lean Leadership Team Has Potholes
Lean veteran Orry Fiume shares the story how the leadership team at The Wiremold Company took on the challenging work of transitioning from being traditional,…
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What is the difference between standard work and procedures?
Dear Gemba Coach: What is the difference between standard work and procedures?
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As a business unit manager who is new to lean, what is the one thing I must know to get it right?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’m a business unit manager new to lean, and our CEO has decided to embark us on a lean transformation program. What…
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If I turn off MRP in favor of kanban, will the factory collapse around us?
Dear Gemba Coach: Our sensei wants us to turn off MRP and work with kanban cards. I’m really nervous about this. We’ve been doing a…
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The Lean Bakery
Food should be fresh. Yet we produce it in big batches. If fast-moving, small batch, one-piece flow can work with car parts, why can’t it…
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Article
Why We Believe that Lean is About Changing Our Own Behaviors, and Not Just Accumulating New Knowledge
Lean repeatedly pushes us to develop new competences (or recover lost know-hows) through kaizen and problem solving. This collection of short articles from seven leading…
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I’ve just been named team leader with zero training and my team is not co-located – where should I start?
Dear Gemba Coach: I’ve just been named team leader with zero training and my team is not co-located – where should I start?
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Lean Accounting Is Simpler, Faster, Cheaper, and More Accurate Than Traditional Management Accounting, so Why Don’t More Companies Use It?
Five thought leaders of the movement recently held a special conversation about what lean accounting is and isn’t, why it is vital to sustaining a…
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What? My Pull System Is Supposed to Fail?
Dear Gemba Coach: We’ve given up on installing a pull system – every time we try, our on time delivery rate plummets, and we can’t…
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Art of Lean on Problem-Solving, Part 6: Team-Building Tools and Practices
The storming phase of the Tuckman model of team formation can be tough to get out of, with Art Smalley sharing a technique that will…
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Are You Managing By The Right Numbers?
Knowing the key metrics to track will help you and your team start your learning journey, says Tracey Richardson. She shares the key figures that…
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Which Will Prevail: Batch Thinking or Worker Leadership?
For most of two centuries, batch and queue production was the golden key that opened the factory doors of mass production and led many nations…
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How is lean different from Taylorism?
In a special column, Michael Ballé breaks from his standard practice of answering readers’ questions to weigh in on the controversy comparing lean management to…
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If lean really is about innovation, why does so much of it seem to be about logistics?
Dear Gemba Coach: If lean really is about innovation, why does so much of it seem to be about logistics, with truck preparation areas, leveling…
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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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Sell One, Buy One, Make One: Transforming from Conventional to Lean Distribution
Big batches. Long lead times. Infrequent deliveries. Large inventories to cover fluctuations in demand. These aren't characteristics normally attributed to lean paragon Toyota, but they…
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For Athletic Shoe Company, the Soul of Lean Management Is Problem Solving
When it began a lean transformation in 2003, New Balance, the only athletic shoe manufacturer that still makes some products in the U.S., focused on…
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