New 5S Store Offerings
There are some new offerings from our sponsor, The 5S Store (www.5sstore.com). I’ve ordered items from them and am happy to report that you get very personal service from folks at The 5S Store. First, we now have a TPM…
Category Blog
All Blog Posts
All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
My Stack of Books: Raw Material and WIP
I love books. I’d also love to have more time to read books, or finish books. People often ask me what I’m reading. Here’s what I’m trying to read or am wanting to read: “WIP” — started, but haven’t finished…
Seth Godin Got "Kanban" Wrong
Seth’s Blog: In praise of a blank page I don’t expect “lean expertise” from marketing blogger Seth Godin (it’s nice he often mentions lean concepts), but he got some details about lean wrong and he doesn’t allow reader comments on…
Thoughts on Handwashing in Healthcare from David Mann
Some good discussion was raised in my original post, where I was thinking out loud about what Lean management methods you should use to get clinical healthcare providers to wash their hands 100% of the time, in the name of…
L.A.M.E.: Thinking Lean = "Zero Inventories"
When inventory is not waste – The Manufacturer.com It’s unfortunate that one of the early (1983) popular books about lean (or “just in time,” as was the fashion of the day) was titled “Zero Inventories.” Many people who didn’t read…
100% is the Only Goal for Hospital Hand Hygiene
Ledger-Enquirer | 03/27/2007 | Campaign’s goal is to reduce infections To those who might have thought I overstated the situation with hand washing in hospitals, here’s another article about maintaining proper hygiene among hospital staff and caregivers. One particular risk…
Training Within Industry Article
IndustryWeek : TWI Promotes Quick Training, Standard Work Here’s an article about the Training Within Industry program, a key foundation of the Toyota Production System. The article features Jim Huntzinger and mentions his upcoming TWI Summit. You can listen to…
Greatest Asset, My…
Circuit City’s harsh layoffs give glimpse of a new world First off, Circuit City is not a “Lean” company. So when people ask “is Lean always good for employees?,” you can also ask “when is traditional management always good for…
Challenges to "Respect for People"?
UAW, Toyota workers to talk We often talk about Toyota and “respect for people” as one of their main pillars. I’m sure most of us paint a pretty idealistic picture of Toyota when we talk to others: Safety and Quality…
Say "No" to Bad Drug Stores
The Blotter: ABC Report on Pharmacy Errors I first stumbled across this 20/20 report when I saw a preview on the ABC investigative reports video podcast. Pharmacy errors are a major problem (see this story): There are as many as…
My Bitchin’, Toyota
With apologies to the band the Dead Milkmen and their song “Bitchin’ Camaro.” Note the comma in my title, though. It’s ironic that my first-ever customer experience with Toyota would have some hiccups along the way. About a month ago,…
Quote from "Getting the Right Things Done"
So after getting such strong recommendations about the book from Norman Bodek and, then today, from Dwight Bowen, I finally started reading “Getting the Right Things Done” by Pascal Dennis. A line in the introduction struck me: “Strategy deployment is…
