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The State of Lean 2005
As we enter the New Year, I find my attention turning from the history of lean (as described last month)…
Read article Lean Beyond Production
Read how Lean Thinkers, using the same lean tools that worked in production, now are making improvements and benefits off…
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Toothbrush Plant Reverses Decay in Competitiveness
Faced with competition from plants in China and Mexico, Oral-B's Iowa City plant was slated for closure. But the rapid…
View case study A Lean Walk Through History
Most of us don’t realize that we are heirs to a remarkably long struggle in human history to see beyond…
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Lean Information Management
Recently I was walking through a manufacturing operation and found myself wondering about the principles of lean information management, in…
Read article Deconstructing the Tower of Babel
As the years have gone by, we seem to be building a lean Tower of Babel. I hear the term…
Read article The Anatomy of Innovation
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside enjoys a reputation for innovation, due, in part, to its recognition that finding…
Read article Competition Equals Lean?
Those of us in the lean movement know that even in highly competitive industries like autos, companies can go for…
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Creating Basic Stability
The lean movement's founder explains why you must achieve consistent operational availability before introducing continuous flow.
Read article The Backbone of Lean in the Back Shops
Learn why the lean concept of every part, every interval (EPEI) is the “backbone” of lean in this aerospace machine…
View case study Standardized Worrying
Years ago when Dan Jones and I first visited Toyota in Japan, we were struck by something that seemed out…
Read article Helpful Hints about Mapping off the Plant Floor in Support of Administrative Operations
Off the shop floor, the distinctions between material and information flows often blurs. Here are nine suggestions from LEI author…
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