Introduction The Toyota Production System (TPS) has long been regarded as a paragon of efficiency and effectiveness in the manufacturing industry. One of the primary principles of TPS is “The Toyota Way,” a management philosophy emphasizing continuous improvement and respect for people. In this blog post, we will share a practical problem-solving framework inspired by […]

Spaghetti diagrams help visualize the flow of materials, people, and information through a process. They allow organizations to identify areas of inefficiency and waste and make targeted improvements to optimize operations. This post explores the steps in creating a spaghetti diagram and best practices for analyzing and improving process flow. By implementing these strategies, organizations […]

Project management is essential for small businesses to ensure that tasks are completed on time, within budget, and with the desired quality. However, managing projects manually can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and prone to errors. Small businesses need project management software to streamline and automate their project workflows. This article will discuss the benefits of project […]

In today’s healthcare industry, Lean principles have been adopted to eliminate waste and improve efficiency. The application of lean principles in healthcare has gained popularity over the years as it enables organizations to reduce waste and increase efficiency, resulting in improved patient outcomes. In the lean methodology, waste refers to any process or activity that […]

64. TheLeanSuite Founded: 2021 Founder: Angad Singh and Prabhpahul Singh  Website: www.theleansuite.com Elevator Pitch: We facilitate the digitization and implementation of various Lean programs for our clients by connecting the people, the data, and the processes. With squeezing margins, an increase in competitors, and digital transformation in manufacturing on the rise, companies are struggling to […]

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 […]

Let’s face it. Most, if not all, behaviors-based leadership development training programs are fluff. I’ve been through these programs and so have you. You know it’s true. I am not saying that behavior-based leadership training programs are not helpful to some leaders at different points in the careers. But for most people ascending the corporate […]

In today’s blog, we’ll be discussing how to foster a continuous improvement culture. According to the McKinsey Organizational Health Index, a continuous improvement culture is one of the most important ingredients for a healthy organizational culture. But, before we get into how you can foster a continuous improvement culture, let’s first discuss what continuous improvement […]

The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni is a thought-provoking and insightful guide to unlocking the potential of individuals and teams in the workplace. Lencioni, also known for books such as The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting, identifies six types of working geniuses that can contribute to exceptional results […]

Quality improvement refers to finding and implementing improvements that will result in better outcomes, more effective procedures, and increased customer satisfaction. A popular strategy for quality improvement that concentrates on improving specific projects or initiatives is called “project-by-project improvement.” Setting goals and objectives, defining the project’s scope, recognizing potential risks and difficulties, and then applying […]

Kanban started as a scheduling system developed by Taiichi Ohno that revolutionized the automotive industry and was the foundation of the Toyota Production System. The term Kanban nowadays refers to the Kanban method for knowledge work application, which gained traction at the beginning of the 21st century. The approach gained massive popularity across the software sector, […]

Admit it or not, all companies face challenges. In today’s competitive market, Lean is turning out to be “the solution” to manufacturing industries across the spectrum for survival and success. Lean manufacturing helps organizations to achieve targeted productivity and more by introduction of easy-to-apply and maintainable techniques and tools. Its focus on waste reduction and […]

FEATURE – PL readers will likely be familiar with IOV, the cancer clinic in Brazil that’s become a reference for lean healthcare for countless organizations. Here, Dr Fred looks back at IOV’s 15-year journey. Words: Dr Frederico Pinto Fifteen years ago, lean in healthcare was in its infancy. There were very few examples out there. […]

This post outlines practical job search tips for professionals seeking a career transition. The job market is competitive, and making a career switch can be challenging, but with the right mindset and approach, it is possible to achieve success. The following tips can help you navigate the job search process, develop new skills, and smoothly […]

Donald J. Wheeler, Ph.D. is a world-renowned expert in continuous improvement. He’s worked with W. Edwards Deming and wrote the classic book Understanding Variation.  Wheeler once wrote and said, “Statistical Process Control is, at its heart, about getting the most from your processes. It is about the continual improvement of processes and outcomes. And it […]

Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more Joining us for Episode #471 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dr. Randel Pinkett. He was a guest in Episode 380 in 2020, with Prof. Jeffrey Robinson, his co-author for the book Black Faces in White Places. Today, I’m honored to be joined by Randal […]

The qualification matrix (also skill matrix, competence matrix, or Q-matrix, one of the few examples where Q does not stand for Quality) is a simple tool to keep track of the qualifications of your employees. It keeps track of who can do what and how well. As a tool, it is not overly complicated but […]

Hi, just a quick announcement today: I’ve turned off the Google Ads that display on LeanBlog.org. Over time, they became increasingly intrusive for me as a user. I can only imagine the ads were annoying others. And, despite Google’s efforts to convince me otherwise, the financial reward wasn’t worth the risk of driving readers away […]

An inspiring taster of something big clearly brewing Ryan Behrman, organiser of the Systemic Agility meetup Thank you Ryan! That “something big” is the Leading with Outcomes module Adaptive Organisation: Business agility at every scale and the model behind it, the Deliberately Adaptive Organisation. By happy coincidence, chapter 2 of the module’s latest iteration (beta […]

As the saying goes, “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” It is especially true in business, where unforeseen risks and uncertainties can quickly derail even the most well-planned initiatives. Conducting a comprehensive risk assessment is critical in any business strategy. The risk assessment identifies potential risks, analyzes their likelihood and impact, and […]

In order to achieve great results, you should be constantly thinking about how you can motivate and inspire your team. The ultimate throttle on the growth of a company is the people so keep raising their inspiration and motivation levels. This will ensure a happy energized team always delivering great output. Here are some ideas […]

The principles of Lean Manufacturing have been adopted by many organizations worldwide. The idea behind Lean is to eliminate waste and improve efficiency, productivity, and quality. The concept of waste in Lean is defined as any activity that does not add value to the customer. In the Lean philosophy, there are eight types of waste, […]

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 Transform the right way, for your organization There’s no one way to approach organizational […]

8D Course. A Problem-Solving Method You will get an overview of the 8D method and its significance in Bosch. Learn when and how to perform the steps of the 8D method and recognize the value of this problem-solving method. Link to the Course here Value Stream Q-Basics, for short, are concise, easy-to-understand formulations of basic […]

Lean Manufacturing is a methodology that aims to optimize production processes by minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency. With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, there is an opportunity to improve Lean Manufacturing tools and methods by integrating AI to optimize manufacturing processes further. This post explores how AI can be used in Lean Manufacturing […]

Tomorrow is the 4th anniversary of the paperback release of my book Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. Long story short, I’m running a limited-time sale to celebrate. Looking back to the release, I took an odd approach, perhaps, in that the eBook and Kindle version were available first, in August 2018, […]

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 […]

FEATURE – This year, PL will try to understand what the future of work looks like in a world with AI. To kick us off and make us think, we publish an article that is the result of a one-hour conversation between a human and a machine. Words: Christopher G. Thompson (with a little help […]

With 24/7 operating hours, difficult working conditions, and physically demanding working conditions, employee engagement in manufacturing can be tough to manage. What is Employee Engagement? Employee engagement is often confused and used interchangeably with similar concepts such as employee happiness and employee satisfaction. However, there are some clear differences among these concepts.  Employee engagement does […]

The fishbone diagram is useful to help break down a problem and see many potential causes and contributing factors to a problem. But the traditional breakdowns don’t feel appropriate for many types of problems, especially large, complex, amorphous types of problems. This video suggests an alternative framework to overlap on the fishbone diagram that you […]

How can growing businesses use lean principles to drive sustainable growth? How can entrepreneurs create businesses that deliver superior customer value and reach “unicorn” status by removing inhibitors to scale and speed? How does lean apply to start-ups and technology companies? The new book What a Unicorn Knows: How Leading Entrepreneurs Use Lean Principles to […]

To celebrate 200 episodes of the the “My Favorite Mistake” podcast, I’m giving away three logo coffee mugs with some helpful mantras printed on them: Enter to win by clicking here or filling out the form below: The post Enter to Win a “My Favorite Mistake” Coffee Mug by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean […]

When Jeremy Sochan of the San Antonio Spurs steps up to the free-throw line, he shoots using one hand.  Even if you aren’t an avid basketball fan, you probably know that players typically use two hands for shotmaking, not one. When Sochan, an NBA rookie, switched his shooting form in December of 2022, he intrigued […]

I published a poll on LinkedIn, and I’d love to have you vote or participate. This isn’t pretending to be a scientific survey, but I hoped it would prompt some healthy discussion. You can also comment anonymously here on the blog post… Vote Here Leading up to a poll question, some thoughts: My experience over […]