All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
I normally love the public radio program “Marketplace” and have listened to it (on radio or as a podcast) for 15 years or so. But, I was very disappointed with this recent piece, which you can read here: “Just-in-time” manufacturing…
Year-to-date metrics often mislead leaders by hiding meaningful system improvements and exaggerating routine variation–making Process Behavior Charts a far better way to evaluate performance. Why Year-to-Date Numbers Hide What’s Really Happening in the System In my travels, I see many…
My guest for Episode #359 of the podcast is Prof. Dr. Alfred Angerer, joining me from Switzerland to talk about Lean healthcare. I had a chance to visit a hospital with Alfred, in Switzerland, late last year, as we discussed…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Developing a culture of patient safety requires the ability to raise risks without fear of reprisal. This post from leanblog.org about a nurse who failed to report a critical incident for fear of being immediately…
TL;DR: When the wrong house gets demolished–again–it’s not a rogue worker problem. It’s a system and verification failure. Blame doesn’t prevent recurrence; better process design does. I can’t believe I’m writing about this again. But, I saw in the news…
Today, I’d like to preview the next webinar that I’ll be hosting in our KaiNexus Webinar series. It’s going to be presented by my friend, Dr. Mark Jaben and it’s titled “A Great Idea Isn’t Enough for Successful Change.” You…
Thanks to ASQ for asking me to write this article for their “Statistics Digest” newsletter in October of 2019 – click here to access the whole issue if you’re a member. I’m posting the article here with their permission. Readers…
Here is a story that was sent to me by a blog reader, who needs to remain anonymous. I know the blog reader fairly well and believe what’s written here to be true. The blog reader is a career-long Lean…
I’ve been to the Kennedy Space Center three times, I think… in 1980, 1985, and now in 2020 as an adult. There’s so much that’s fascinating about a visit to the Kennedy Space Center. Some of the lessons are very…
TL;DR: Most organizations say continuous improvement matters, but treat it as optional–while performance reviews are non-negotiable. That choice reveals more about leadership priorities than any strategy statement. There’s a very well-known cartoon that you might have seen where a caveman…
Let’s start today’s post with Point #8 from The Toyota Way management philosophy: “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.” Today’s blog post isn’t about politics or candidates — it’s about process. Two weeks ago,…
Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients “We have a good people in a bad system”. Here’s an excellent interview with Dr. Marty Makary, author of “The Price We Pay”, on how to address the challenges of the US Healthcare system. Who knows…
