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Lean Landscapers
HighGrove Partners, an Atlanta landscaping company, needed some time to figure out how to apply lean management principles. After all,…
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It Takes 2 (or more) to A3
No one can create a useful A3 in isolation. It takes at least two individuals and often many more. Developing…
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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,…
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Fighting Cancer with Linear Accelerators and Accelerated Processes
A series of cross-functional lean improvement teams in the Radiation Oncology Department at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS)…
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Putting Lean Principles in the Warehouse
While lean principles and practices have been widely adopted in manufacturing over the last couple of decades, their use in…
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The Worst Form of Muda
One of the souvenirs I collect on my visits to different countries is special reasons why lean is impossible in…
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5S for Information
When a Lean Thinker asked how to apply the principles of 5S to the company server, Dan Markovitz responded with…
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From Staffs Conducting Programs to Line Managers Solving Problems
Jim Womack, founder and senior advisor of LEI, introduces the concept of 'touzen'—kaizen that should not have been necessary.
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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…
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Nice Car, Long Journey
2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Model T Ford. This truly is “the machine that changed…
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Knife Company Hones Competitiveness by Bucking the Status Quo
Family-owned Buck Knives needed to reduce costs by at least 30% to keep its U.S. operations open. In turning to…
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Creating Value or Shifting Wealth?
How do we judge the progress of the Lean Movement? One critical indicator is our success in extending lean thinking…
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