In Toyota-Land
The Hindu Business Line : In Toyota land Here is an article written by an Indian who visited Toyota City in Japan. The cars seen to the left are tiny electric vehicles that are used to “drive between the helipad,…
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All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
Upcoming Podcast: Jeffrey Liker
Exciting news, I’m going to record a LeanBlog Podcast interview with Dr. Jeffrey Liker, of the University of Michigan and “The Toyota Way” fame. The interview will be Friday morning, Aug 25. Update: Here is the podcast. If you have…
The Lean Library
Click here for the site Here is a growing resource of book reviews of Lean Manufacturing Books, check it out. The reviews have a standardized approach: Book description: what’s the key message? How does it contribute to the lean knowledge…
Some Misguided Error Proofing?
Hilton hotels introduced a new standardized alarm clock that seems to be in all Hilton properties now (including where I am in Midland TX right now). The clock has some nice features, such as pre-programmed music buttons, so if you…
Boeing’s Beer Game
Boeing to shut down C-17 production Boeing is planning to shut down production of a cargo aircraft. It’s a slightly different lesson than the Ford posting, below. Here, the lead times on A&D items are so ridiculously long (34 months),…
Value Stream Mapping Revisited
Mike Rother, an excellent guy and also the guy that brought us all value stream mapping through the book Learning to See, has just written a reflection on pitfalls of value stream mapping for SME’s Lean Directions newsletter. Here are…
Lean Health Care? It Works! (Still)
IndustryWeek : Lean Health Care? It Works! Here is a piece from 2003, still incredibly relevant. There is a great story of how lean methods, implemented properly, are good for all stakeholders — the patients, doctors, other employees, and the…
Welcome Bill Hanover
I’d like to welcome our latest Lean Blog contributor, Bill Hanover (his first post is here). Bill has been a frequent participant with the blog, posting many comments about articles and sharing many emails with me about lean. A little…
Great Little Lean Company
Workers contribute to bottom line | Chicago Tribune This is a great example of how a $2.5M revenue company (Flexible Steel Lacing Co, outside of Chicago) can “do lean right” while huge companies struggle and forget the human element. Some…
KanBan vs. "The Pile" – Lean in the Laundry Room
By Bill Hanover, ThroughPut Solutions With seven children and two adults all living in the same house we have found that applying a little Lean here and there has made our lives together a lot more enjoyable. Our laundry room…
Bad Habits for the Next Generation
Like Father, Like Daughter – 08/12/06 – The Detroit News Online (scroll down for this item) Here is a story that made me cringe about GM’s head of purchasing, Bo Andersson: “Andersson’s cost-cutting zeal has apparently filtered down to his…
GM: Not Braindead, Just Slow
Camaro Homecoming – 08/11/06 – The Detroit News Online Yahoo News Photo So GM and Rick Wagoner aren’t “braindead” after all, as we might have suspected after his 60 Minutes appearance. GM is going to build the new Camaro after…
