All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
It has been over 10 years since the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s study on preventable medical errors: To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. So how are we doing? Are there still nearly 100,000 patients dying…
… I wasn’t impressed in the least. In my previous role as a consultant, I was given a company vehicle to use, even though it was basically for commuting to a local client, the airport, and occasional personal use. I…
Op-Ed Contributor – Health Care’s Infectious Losses – NYTimes.com FINALLY, a major contribution to the discussion about how we need to improve the quality of care delivery. That’s how we are truly going to bring costs down – by improving…
Another interesting discussion that came up during my trip to The Netherlands… my book’s title: Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction (see the 2016 3rd edition). I’d have to admit, the phrase “Lean Hospital” is a tough description…
TL;DR: At GM, fear and poor leadership blocked bad news from flowing both up and down the organization. Executives were shielded from reality, frontline workers weren’t told the truth, and trust eroded as a result. Without leaders going to the…
I’m very pleased to present a guest post from Arizona about the successful use of Lean concepts and, more specifically, the “Training Within Industry” methodology. You may recognize Dr. Pete as a regular commenter here on the blog. We’ve spoken…
After 25 years, GM ditches NUMMI tie-up with Toyota In the news this afternoon: PRESS RELEASE: 2009-06-29 GM Media Statement Regarding GM’s Ownership Stake in NUMMI Attributable to Troy Clarke, president, GM North America “As part of its long-term viability…
I have always learned a lot from John Shook. As I’ve blogged about before, I’ve seen John present about TPS and management (leadership, really) a few times and probably learn more “insights per hour” than anyone else in the Lean…
By Matt Wrye: I have been implementing lean over the last 10 years at five different companies. Only during the last eight years and three companies was I truly learning about and implementing lean (and not just the tools). During…
This sign and picture might be a bit rude, so I saved this for a Saturday. To me, a very powerful and often unknown principle of the Toyota Production System and Lean is the idea that managers must “explain why”…
Toyota Names Akio Toyoda President, Apologizes to Shareholders for Losses This was rumored for a while, but Toyota has formally named Akio Toyoda as the next President. Yes, “Toyoda” with a “d” — that’s the family name. Back when Toyota…
Park Nicollet CEO to retire In the news story about CEO David Wessner’s retirement, one of the listed accomplishments is their use of Lean methods: Wessner, the first non-physician CEO at Park Nicollet, also brought Japanese-style lean manufacturing techniques to…
