For today's Throwback Thursday, I'd like to look back at some blog posts about the trips I took to Japan in 2012 and 2014 to study Lean healthcare and Kaizen with healthcare practitioners from around the world.
In the two trips I've taken so far, I've learned a lot and have been inspired, not just by our Japanese hosts, but by the global participants of these visits.
I'm again partnering with Kaizen Institute to plan and help lead a trip that will be held in the last week of February, as I wrote about here:
Come Join Me to Study Lean & Kaizen for Healthcare: Japan 2018
Learn more at www.JapanLeanTrip.com
I think these posts give you a sense of the types of things you see, hear about, learn about, and discuss during our next trip:
Posts From the 2012 Trip
Andon Cords at the Toyota Takaota Plant – It Doesn't Come Naturally?
Standardized Work: “Unity in the Essential, Liberty in the Non-Essential…”
A Japanese Hospital CEO on Kaizen, Innovation & Breakthrough
Japan Tour Reflections: Taking Home Lean Artifacts or Lean Thinking?
Japan Trip: Going to Gemba and Seeing 5S at a Japanese Hospital
Posts From the 2014 Trip
“Quality Circles” Are Alive & Well in Japanese Organizations; We Might Call it A3 Problem Solving
The Kaizen Approach to Getting Others Comfortable with Sushi
5S: The Good, the Bad, and the Extreme in Japanese Hospitals
Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. His latest book is Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. He also published the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.