Many people think that the mindset for continuous improvement is common, easy to learn, or that they possess it. This does not reflect the true situation. The improvement mindset is rare. In my profession, teaching, I see the result of my work during and after every class. There is always – always! – a gap between […]

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on […]

Today, various organizations work to spread Toyota’s thinking and practices with greater fidelity than ever before. While their efforts are well-meaning, you may want to ask yourself this question: “Is it wise to try and copy Toyota?” Most people would say “no.” Perhaps is it because they heard what Fujio Cho, one of Taiichi Ohno’s […]

How and when did Lean leadership become separate from Lean production and become its own distinct area of study and focused practice? Well, in the mid-1980s through mid-1990s, all anyone really knew or cared about was “JIT” and “Lean production,” the term introduced by John Krafcik in 1988. People’s focus was entirely on Lean in […]

FEATURE – Freeing up beds is an age-old problem for hospitals. The medical area of this Catalan hospital group has found in lean a creative way to solve it.  Words: Dr. Àlex Culla, Dr. Maria Lopez-Dieguez and Dr. Helena Camell Llari Having more beds available is the number one concern for most hospitals, and the […]

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a saying you hear often. But, when it comes to business, this is the worst thing an organization could follow. By not improving your processes, you’d suffer from inefficient and outdated processes. So, no matter how smoothly your business is operating, every business has the potential to […]

For organizations of all types, continuous improvement is vital for building a culture of innovation, remaining competitive, ensuring employee engagement, and meeting evolving customer needs to exceed expectations. However, organizations often encounter challenges when implementing and sustaining continuous improvement programs. Addressing these challenges requires leadership commitment, employee engagement, effective communication, proper resource allocation, and a […]

Recently, we held our fun “cover reveal” party and streaming event. Thanks to everybody who attended and thanks to Elisabeth Swan for hosting! The recording is now available. For those who don’t want to watch a video, I’m going to lay out the iterations that the cover designer, Don Coon, and I went through over […]

There is a great mystery surrounding the emergence and subsequent promotion of “lean production,” the generic name given to Toyota’s production system, beginning in 1988. It is the absence of “Respect for People” for nearly 20 years. “Respect for People” was long part of the Toyota Production System (TPS). So why wasn’t it part of lean […]

What is Lean management if, for all practical purposes, there is no “Respect for People” principle to complement “Continuous Improvement?” The answer is, not much. The thing that makes Lean different, special, and extremely powerful has been removed. “Lean,” the generic term for TPS, quickly became a synonym for “continuous improvement,” devoid of Toyota-style kaizen and “Respect […]

We all make mistakes! But learning from them is what matters. It’s easier to learn and improve when we can view mistakes as being caused by bad systems instead of blaming bad people. For example, I’ve used online scheduling tools (as I’ve blogged about) over the years, starting with YouCanBook.me and recently switching to Calendly. […]

Flipped classroom? Who cares about that? The big news is that the marketplace for higher education flipped from a seller’s market to a buyers’ market starting about 15 years ago. The transition is now complete. The leaders of higher education institutions face an emergency situation, one that most still do not recognize. They still lead and […]

One of things that has long interested me about Toyota’s production system is the role that cost reduction played in its development (obtained through non-zero-sum means). It seems an obvious point of focus for any producer of goods (or services). But what is not obvious is how the unit of measure, the yen, may have […]

Around this time twenty years ago, I was on an airplane traveling to from Connecticut to Los Angeles on a day-trip (a day trip!) to meet with an important supplier to my company, Pratt & Whitney. I had just bought the book Lean Thinking a few days earlier (at an actual bookstore), and I read […]

I remember 14 years ago, as we were finishing the book Better Thinking, Better Results, Orry Fiume (retired vice president of finance and administration at The Wiremold Company) told me: “It’s a good thing not every company is Lean, otherwise there would be 30 percent unemployment.” Fortunately, we don’t have that to worry about. But […]

The 20th anniversary of the book Lean Thinking was marked on 21 September 2016 by an interview of James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. The interview was interesting from a number of perspectives. Below are some thoughts and critiques of selected passages from the interview: Jim Womack: Our aim was to give people a license […]

For nearly 20 years, I have been engaged in teaching the leaders of “brownfield” businesses about Lean leadership. As with all other trainers, we teach company leaders in batches and accept the many abnormal conditions that lay in front of our eyes: Long queue time to align everyone’s schedule Some leaders miss the training due to […]

Continuous improvement is not a one-time project or initiative; it is an ongoing continuous improvement mindset and culture that should be fostered throughout the organization. It involves encouraging all employees to seek opportunities for improvement, identifying and eliminating inefficiencies, and continuously enhancing processes, products, and services. It requires management and employees to embrace change, learn […]

In this edition: Leading in a Transforming Organisation; Train-the-Trainer / Facilitator (TTT/F); Keynote, webinar, and media pages; Agendashift Academy update; Top posts Leading in a Transforming Organisation The “London Event” (June) now has a proper name, a confirmed venue, and already a strong list of delegates signed up. In October it transfers to Melbourne, Australia, […]

The 20th anniversary of the book Lean Thinking was marked on 28 and 29 September 2016 by an interview of James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. Below are some thoughts and critiques of selected passages from the interview: From Part 1 of the Interview Jim: …organizations struggle to make good margins, customers report declining […]

Distinguishing between the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Lean Manufacturing is challenging. The TPS is often considered the original lean manufacturing model, its Western equivalent. While these terms are frequently interchanged, subtle variances in their conceptual bases and application merit attention. Let’s dig in! Terminology Deciphered The Toyota Production System epitomizes Toyota’s managerial philosophy and […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #476 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ken Pilone, who has more than 30 years experience in Organization Development in Government, Retail, Automotive, Distribution, and Aerospace. He recently retired from Providence Health & Services, working most recently as the Senior Manager […]

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of May 2023.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.     Eight Tips for Managing Up – Steve Kane shares some tips for managing up in a rapidly changing, or continuous improvement, environment.   Reflections on True North – Pascal Dennis […]

What follows is a critique of the article “Dealing with Lean’s Crazy Relatives” by James P. Womack published on Planet Lean, 26 September 2016 (Note: bold text is in the original article): Dealing with Lean’s Crazy Relatives Comment: Disrespectful title. Blames people; should blame the process instead. Diminishes the important work of great contributors to the […]

In today’s digital age, ongoing learning is essential to remain up-to-date. The good news is that several companies, such as Google, provide free courses to enhance one’s skills. Whether you aspire to enter a new field or desire to broaden your knowledge, the following five Google courses can be beneficial. Machine Learning Crash Course The […]

One thing we know for sure is that executives of big corporations hate government taxes. They will do just about anything to avoid paying any kind of business tax to any government entity, and they will spend very large sums of money to reduce their tax burden. Corporations spend money on internal tax departments staffed with […]

Welcome to the “Directory of LinkedIn posts with attachments” on leanmanufacturing.online, your one-stop resource for all things related to Lean Manufacturing and Process Excellence. This page serves as a comprehensive directory of insightful LinkedIn posts, each an exploration of various aspects of Lean Six Sigma, TPM, TPS, and other significant methodologies within the field of […]

One thing we know for sure is that executives of big corporations have never been fond of salaried or hourly employees. The reason is simple: They cost too much. Costs include wages, health insurance and other benefits, savings plan contributions, payroll taxes, workman’s compensation, labor lawsuits, and so on. There is even the cost of […]

One thing we know for sure is that executives of big corporations are frustrated at the slow pace and quality of organic innovation. Some of the problem is due to slow decision-making, bureaucracy, and the batch-and-queue stage-gate processes. These combine to reduce the curiosity and thinking required for innovation to flourish. Not knowing the root cause, […]

When I was at KaiNexicon last week, our hotel in Austin had a Starbucks in the lobby. I’m a pretty regular drinker of the Nitro Cold Brew beverage at Starbucks or other coffee shops when I can find it. I like the soothing cool drink on a warm day. Cold brew coffee (in regular or […]

One thing we know for sure is that executives of big corporations are frustrated with leadership development programs. Internally-run programs have a high fall-out rate either through employee performance problems (e.g. book smart, but not practical smart) or poaching by recruiters. Leadership development programs supplied by third parties typically over-promise and under-deliver. Sure, corporate leadership development […]

I have written so many books it can be confusing for people to figure out what they should read. These slides will help you identify gaps in your knowledge that my books can help fill. For additional information on each title, please visit the book web page here. Suggested ReadingDownload

CASE STUDY – By leveraging Daily Management (DM), Supergasbras was able to change its trajectory and add more value to the customer in a critical sector for society. Words: Adriana Carneiro and Robson Gouveia Supergasbras belongs to SHV Energy, a global distributor of off-grid energy, which provides 140,000 tons/month of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to […]

Pull systems like kanban and reorder point are a cornerstone of inventory management and fluctuation reduction in lean manufacturing. The production is managed based on ACTUAL consumption. Theoretically, it is also possible to include expected but not yet actual consumption. In this post, I will explain to you the concept behind it and why I […]