Mini Lean Carnival
Here is a mini “Lean Carnival” of some interesting blog posts I saw last week: Here’s a nice overview of the 5 Whys and Root Cause problem solving:Shmula on asking “Why?” 5 times Mike Wroblewski had an excellent picture of…
Year 2007
Productivity: Industry vs. Health Care
I don’t know the source on the data, but I heard a hospital President today talking about his hospital’s Lean journey. He said: “Manufacturing productivity has increased 3% every year since 1980. In health care, we have LOST 2% productivity…
I Stand Corrected
Are We Creating Problems By Design?: Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms Mike Schaffner’s “Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms” blog linked to my complaining about the lack of root cause problem solving during a tech support call. I proposed that the…
Lean Killed Rover?
Driving on the wrong side of the road — the myth of Japanese efficiency in car manufacturing A new book is out attacking Lean. Or maybe the book is actually attacking “L.A.M.E.”, or “Lean as Misguidedly Executed” at Rover. This…
Just as Bad in Canada
globeandmail.com: Private sector health care: Think quality, regulation I don’t think healthcare and quality is a “Private vs. Public” debate. As we’ll inevitably have debate during the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, I think it’s important to keep quality in mind…
Always Room For Improvement
I had an internal factory tour that reminded me of Mark’s recent blog on the Not So Lean Factory Tour. The plant was not nearly the horror story Mark experienced, and in fact, it was one of best examples of…
Krazy Kwality Posters
I really dislike motivational posters, particularly those meant to inspire quality. I guess it comes from the early Deming training/indoctrination and having been around too many environments where Quality meant a poster that said “Quality is YOUR Responsibility.” Posters are…
Certification and Quality
Modern Healthcare Online (article available to subscribers only, March 12, 2007 Issue) I think it’s been true in the manufacturing world that quality certifications, such as ISO-9001, aren’t necessarily predictors of world-class quality. I’ve seen it be far too easy…
LeanBlog Power User Tip #1
In addition to my “Standard Work” for creating the blog, there are some good practices to share as a blog reader. Here’s one. If you’re interested in following just a particular topic and having email updates sent to you, follow…
Ford: Quality equal to Toyota
Detroit News Article In terms of initial vehicle quality, Ford Motor Co. is in a statistical dead-heat for second place with Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., according to a new study the Dearborn automaker plans to release…
Merger in the Lean World
DemandPoint From their Press Release: Pelion Systems, a market leader in Lean Manufacturing Operating Systems, and JCIT International, the pioneer of award-winning Demand Flow ® Technology (DFT), have entered into an agreement to merge companies and create a new organization…
A New Sponsor: American LED-gible, Inc.
American LED-gible Products I’d like to welcome American LED-gible (www.ledgible.com) as a sponsor on the Lean Blog. About the company: American LED-gible Incorporated has been in business since 1976 providing process control solutions for the workplace. We are a small,…
