My 2022 April Fool’s joke that was posted on LinkedIn More than a simple joke, the image satirizes the relentlessly excessive focus on Toyota in Lean-world, the massive overproduction of books related to Toyota, and the freakish desire to buy said books to gain personal knowledge while doing little or nothing to actually implement was […]

The five lean manufacturing principles can help manufacturing companies to operate more efficiently. Putting lean concepts into practice can be beneficial for your bottom line since greater efficiency results in improved productivity. Moreover, it aids in creating a positive customer experience which improves customer satisfaction and enhances your brand’s reputation. Before we get into what […]

INTERVIEW – In 2020, GE Appliances had to stand up a brand-new assembly process for a new dishwasher. The leader responsible for the program explains how LPPD helped them to get it right. Interviewee: Alison Seward, Executive Director, Manufacturing Quality, GE Appliances Roberto Priolo: In 2020, you ran a very successful project to stand up […]

Here is a Ted Lasso-themed blog post that I wrote for the KaiNexus Blog: It Starts With BELIEVE – Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement The post begins… At KaiNexus, many of us are excited that Season 3 of the show “Ted Lasso” is here. I love this graphic that our team created, based on […]

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 […]

Introduction In continuous improvement, the Lean Six Sigma methodology is a proven approach for reducing waste, increasing efficiency, and driving business success. At the heart of Lean Six Sigma lies the DMAIC framework, a structured process for solving complex problems. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. In this blog post, we will […]

Whether your company has ten employees or 10,000, coming up with an employee engagement strategy can be a challenge. It’s easy to fall back on the same old engagement and training activities, but they tend to lose effectiveness with too much repetition. Don’t worry; we’ve got your back. Here are 22 ideas that can help […]

I know I’m not alone in being frustrated by something as simple — seemingly simple — as transferring electronic medical records from one physician’s office to another. I do have a more unusual situation, and forgive me if this is obnoxious to point out, but my wife and I have two homes and addresses. One […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #473 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Elisabeth Swan, author of the new book Picture Yourself a Leader: Illustrated Micro-Lessons for Navigating Change. It’s currently the #1 new release in the Amazon TQM category… and #1 best seller, in general, there! […]

For any business, waste strains profitability. Waste can come in the form of time, resources and labor; it shows up through poor process planning, inventory imbalance, or poor warehouse layout. Essentially, waste is any expense or effort that does not transform raw material into a finished product. By optimizing processes and eliminating waste, businesses can […]

At KaiNexus, many of us are excited that Season 3 of the show “Ted Lasso” is here.

FEATURE – In this new series, the author will walk us through some uncommon ways to apply lean – with a particular focus on establishing productive and enjoyable relationships. In the first instalment, he introduces the concept of lean parenting. Words: Sérgio Caldeirinha, President, Lean Academy Portugal As parents, we all want our children to […]

The slide in question: In the background, two models: Klaus Leopold’s Flight Levels, described in his book Rethinking Agile (2020) The Deliberately Adaptive Organisation, my 21st-century take on Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model, and here in particular, what’s happening in the relationships between different scales (between team and team-of-teams, for example) And in the foreground, […]

I wrote a blog post that was published last week on the KaiNexus Blog: Experimenting with an “Audience View” for Webinar Presenters In a nutshell, the problem statement can be seen in this visualization of what one normally sees as a webinar presenter: Doing a webinar presentation is like presenting into a black hole. Your […]

Problem solving is an important part of manufacturing because it allows companies to identify and address issues that can impact product quality, production efficiency, and overall profitability. However, it is not to be confused with actual improvement. While problem solving (hopefully) makes the problem go away, actual kaizen is something different. Problems… If you’re in […]

Introduction: Finding fresh business ideas can be challenging in a world of constant innovation. The SCAMPER framework offers a powerful technique to help entrepreneurs and business professionals generate groundbreaking ideas. By starting with something that already exists and examining it through seven areas of questioning, this method can lead to innovative products, services, or processes. […]

Change management has become an essential part of organizational development, particularly in the ever-evolving manufacturing industry landscape. The plant floor, a crucial component of the manufacturing process, requires a flexible approach to change management to achieve efficiency, innovation, and profitability. This article will discuss the importance of change management in the manufacturing sector, exploring key […]

Since the turn of the 21st century, the possession of data has become a greater source of economic power than ever before, dwarfing, in particular, analytics. It’s data about us humans, not about the physical world: our demographic segment, where we live, what we buy, our opinions, and our relationships. This is a development that […]

There are numerous studies on the relationship between managers and employees regarding engagement. It is quite notable that most of the google searches focus on employee engagement. Or on what a manager can do to increase employee engagement. But what about the managers? What if they are disengaged? According to the Gallup Business Journal, 70% […]

On Forbes: 3 Reasons to Kill the 60-Minute Meeting Open Outlook or Google Calendar and start a new meeting. It will default to 60 minutes. One hour is the most common length for a business meeting. But that’s just wrong. It’s not wrong sometimes; it’s wrong all the time. We need to kill the 60-minute […]

At Kanbanize, we believe that the essence of agility lies in our ability to cut through the noise and focus our most valuable asset, TIME, on the things that truly matter! After all, that’s why we built our product in the first place: to help people do meaningful work and, by that, accelerate innovation.   But […]

Chapter 4 in my book The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation is about preventing mistakes — mistake-proofing. In the chapter, I share a few examples of everyday error-proofing at gas stations. I also share an example related to electric vehicles for those who no longer have to pump gas […]

Introduction Scrum is a widely-used agile framework for managing projects. This article breaks down key concepts and terminologies from a Scrum Cheat Sheet, providing a comprehensive guide to help you master the Scrum framework. We will discuss user stories, estimation techniques, roles, artifacts, and processes involved in Scrum. User Stories and Estimation User stories are […]

Abstract: This study aims to elucidate the differences between outcomes and outputs in a business context, exploring the nature of value creation, goal-setting, and performance measurement. By examining the quantitative and binary dimensions of these concepts, we seek to provide a more nuanced understanding of the necessary capabilities and flexibility required to achieve overarching outcomes […]

A Holistic Approach to Customer Satisfaction and Quality Management The Kano model, developed by Dr. Noriaki Kano in the 1980s, is a valuable framework for understanding customer satisfaction and quality management. Rooted in the principles of Genchi Genbutsu and influenced by Herzberg’s 2-Dimensional Theory, the Kano method helps businesses identify and address the factors that […]

DMAIC – reduce variation and eliminate waste DMAIC should be used when an existing product or process requires improvement to meet or exceed the customer’s requirements. This initiative should be consistent with the business goals of the organization. Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control Define Customer expectations: VOC and CTQ parameters Project goal Project team Milestones, Budget Basic process flow Measure Process mapping […]

Introduction In today’s fast-paced business world, the need for efficient and streamlined processes is more important than ever. One approach that has proven to be effective in addressing process inconsistencies is the DMASC methodology. DMASC, a simplified version of the DMAIC change roadmap, focuses on standardizing processes rather than making substantial changes. This approach is […]

WEB SERIES – In Episode 2 of our docuseries on lean in Brazil, we learn how the pioneering efforts of a cancer clinic have inspired the city of São José dos Campos to transform into a lean healthcare cluster. Scripted, edited and narrated by: Roberto Priolo Join us as we visit two healthcare organizations in […]

Over the past decade, I’ve presented countless webinars in different settings, and I’ve hosted and moderated more than 100 for KaiNexus. For a long time, I’ve said that webinar presenting is the most difficult format and venue. You don’t get the energy, body language, and feedback that you get from a room full of people. […]

Thanks as always to Ryan McCormack for this… there’s always so much good reading, listening, and viewing shared here by him! Subscribe to get these directly from Ryan via email. Insights about improvement, innovation, and leadership… Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation Up in the air Southwest Airlines has responded with a 5-page action plan on how it […]

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 […]

Nurturing Growth, Empowering Individuals, and Shaping the Future Introduction “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but allowing them to create themselves.” — Steven Spielberg Mentorship is a vital yet often overlooked aspect of personal and professional development. At its core, mentorship empowers individuals to reach their full […]

What is Overall Equipment Effectiveness? Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a manufacturing metric that was established by Seiichi Nakajima, the pioneer of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), in the 1980s. It is used to measure the productivity level of equipment and is made up of three factors. These three factors identify how efficient equipment is during […]

Introduction: The food packaging industry is vital in delivering safe and high-quality products to consumers. In a highly competitive market, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are critical to maintaining a strong market position. One of the key challenges food packaging companies face is extended changeover times between different Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), which can lead to reduced […]