BBC – Radio 4 – In Business COMING MID 2008, A NEW BOOK ON LEAN HEALTHCARE – “Lean Hospitals: Improving Patient Safety, Quality, and Employee Satisfaction,” by Mark Graban Here is a nice program from the BBC, can listen in…
TL;DR: Many so-called “Lean failures” aren’t really Lean at all. They’re examples of L.A.M.E.–Lean As Misguidedly Executed, where organizations misuse Lean to justify understaffing, layoffs, bureaucracy, or demeaning management practices. Real Lean, rooted in the Toyota Production System, focuses on…
By Dan Markovitz Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal ran an article explaining that employees are more likely to embrace changes when they’re fully informed of the rationale behind those changes. What?!?!?!? You mean that performance relates to worker involvement?!?!? Shocking!!! Foremost…
New Detroit Woe: Makers of Parts Won’t Cut Prices – WSJ.com Wah, the latest complaint from the “Detroit Three” (formerly known as the “Big Three”) is that they are having trouble squeezing and stomping on their suppliers for lower prices.…
Manufacturing Engineering December 2006 I was sent the link to this article by Professor Thomas Johnson, noted author of books including Profit Beyond Measure. After reading the article, I’m a bit confused (although he makes some excellent points). Dr. Johnson…
Wednesday, there is a free web seminar on the “Training Within Industry Program.” Click here for the registration page. WEBINAR SPONSOR: SUPERFACTORY (www.superfactory.com) You’ve likely heard and read about the TWI (Training Within Industry) movement. Skeptics are asking what TWI’s…
In the Lead – WSJ.com Maybe the whole Toyota notion of “respect for people” and developing employees is the real “secret” sauce that companies can’t copy (or refuse to). While not mentioning Toyota, this WSJ article caught my eye this…
The LeanBlog Podcast is back with episode #20, our guest is Kevin Meyer, the founder of Superfactory Ventures, which can be found at Superfactory.com. You may know Kevin from his popular blog, Evolving Excellence. We’ll be talking about a number…
Some of you might have read my “ChangeThis” manifesto, “How Toyota Can Save Your Life… At The Hospital.” I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from lean professionals, healthcare professionals (including an MD), and lean healthcare professionals. Thanks for that,…
Study Warns Of Desk Jockey Clot Danger – CBS News You might have heard of “Deep Vein Thrombosis” and blood clots as being a health risk on long plane rides, but what about sitting at a desk or in meetings…
Kent Blumberg: The Gemba – what it is and why leaders should care Kent, a reader of and sometimes commenter on this blog, found a blog (“The Corporate Cynic”) that made a wild and uninformed attack on the Toyota Production…
Restaurants Take Leadership Role with Portion Control Pardon the horrible joke there. One of the types of Waste, defined by lean manufacturing, is “overproduction,” the idea of providing more than the customer wants (or providing it earlier). Portion sizes at…
