I got an update today from the people who are coordinating the joint standardized Lean Certification Program. This is being developed by the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), and the Shingo Prize group (who…
By Mark Edmonson, Lean Affiliates Mark Graban’s post earlier today “Lean Isn’t about ‘Productivity” and “Quality’” was inspired writing. I couldn’t agree more…Marketing and Product Development/Design are critical parts of the product value stream that many “high quality” companies neglect.…
Study: Doctors Don’t Wash Hands Enough Over the weekend, in a trade publication, I read yet another survey about MD’s (especially surgeons) not washing their hands in between patients (under 60% of doctors). That’s not just a matter of being…
Did I get your attention? OK, it was a misleading headline, sort of. Certainly, productivity and quality are important, as are safety and on-time delivery (remember the mantra of Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost). Look at this case here: the…
Interesting statistic in the local paper, courtesy of the “Harper’s Index.” 6:1 average manufacturing wage in the U.S. to that in Mexico before NAFTA took effect in 1994 8:1 ratio today I thought the conventional wisdom at the time was…
A popular search term for people coming to the blog is “lean manufacturing quotes.” I’m not real big on using quotes and don’t have a ready collection handy, but I thought I would reach out to you, the blog readers.…
Following up our series and contest on “Everyday Lean“, I received a very funny email from my old friend, grad school classmate, fellow lean guy, and frequent blog commenter, “JP.” With his permission, here are his entries somewhat mocking our…
Thanks to Bill Waddell for sending me this. Apparently, he requested the now-infamous “Unwritten Rules” book that was plagarized (or plagiarized, as I’ve now learned it is spelled) by Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. He got this postcard in the mail.…
Monongahela Valley Hospital Integrates Automatic Tracking in Emergency Department to Enhance Patient Experience; Busy ED Uses Wireless Technology to Reduce Average Patient Visit Length Where there’s a problem, there’s always a software solution (and salesperson) waiting around the corner. The…
Continuing on the tour (click here for previous stops), we step back into the National Museum of American History, where they had some fantastic displays of early American manufacturing. One display case featured the rifles from the Harpers Ferry Armory,…
MercuryNews.com | 06/04/2006 | Toyota N. America marks a milestone Here is another article about Toyota’s Jim Press, who along with Gary Convis, represents Americans rising high within Toyota’s corporate structure. Later this month, Jim Press will become the first…
I don’t think it’s worth too much time commenting on the Harbour report, but check out these conflicting headlines! These are all from the same paper even (Detroit Free Press). GM closing productivity gap GM stays on top in productivity…
