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All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.

First improvement: Your own management system.

Just as your product value streams require brilliant processes to deliver value, your management team also requires a brilliant management process to lead effectively. Here are some questions to ask yourself about your management process: Quick, where does your team…

Toyota Computer Makes You Watch the Road

Article Interesting concept, although I’m sure it would be a bit annoying as a driver. I can’t imagine people accepting these, even if “not paying attention” is a pretty good root cause for accidents.

If You Can Make It Here …

If You Can Make It Here … – New York Times: Here is a surprisingly positive article on American manufacturing, including Harley. The article points out that the U.S. is still #1 in the world in manufacturing, as a percentage…

Lean From The Get-Go (Case Study)

Feature – Lean From The Get-Go – 07/05 Note how, in this case study, the company owners decided lean was going to be their primary business strategy. Many think that lean does not apply, or it tough to apply, to…

Click to Support Hurricane Relief

Sorry, not much in the mood for blogging this week, watching the tragedy unfold on TV.Catholic Relief Services Red CrossUnited Way Don’t get ripped off (CNN article) by fund raising scams. Check out Charity Navigator for tips on donating to…

Upstream Waste Reduction Hurts a Food Bank?

Learning about Lean Interesting story here on Joe Ely’s lean blog… traditional supply/demand mismatch and waste in baking has typically led to “day old” product being donated to food banks. Reductions in overproduction mean less to donate. Maybe bakeries/restaurants/food producers…

Surgeons Remove Wrong Kidney

7Online.com: Investigation on After Surgical Error A scary example of the type of medical mistake that happens far too often. I hope that “augmenting their procedures” includes standard work and poka-yoke (error proofing) steps. Sad, sad case. Please check out…

Toyota Asks "What is Six Sigma?"

Six Sigma Stigma (PDF) Here’s an article from Fast Company magazine. The author visited Toyota in Japan and asked a somewhat uninformed question: Eager to show we knew a thing or two about quality ourselves, we soft-balled our hosts with the…

Lean Guru Henderson Transforming Imation

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 08/26/2005 | Imation pins hopes on growth: It’s no surprise that lean author Bruce Henderson (Lean Transformation) would be using lean as a turnaround strategy at Imation. “Much of Imation’s optimism stems from a more…

New LEI Case Study – Canada Post

Success Stories Good case study (with pictures) on applying lean thinking to non-manufacturing environments. The Canada Post team focused on flow, even going so far as to eliminate a giant automated sorting machine with a manual cell that was much…

Chasing Cheap Labor in IT

siliconindia.com: “Quoting a new report from market research firm Gartner, Inc. CNN says that a labor crunch and rising wages could erode as much as 45 percent of India’s market share by 2007. “ Yes, an article about IT, but…