Interesting statistic in the local paper, courtesy of the “Harper’s Index.” 6:1 average manufacturing wage in the U.S. to that in Mexico before NAFTA took effect in 1994 8:1 ratio today I thought the conventional wisdom at the time was…
Business – theage.com.au Are you sick of reading about Toyota’s success? I’m not. This reporter does a pretty good job of capturing the main points of the Toyota Production System. “… if they [visitors to the factory] are looking for…
So I’m trying to find a dermatologist to schedule an appoint (no it’s nothing serious). What amazes me is that all of the dermatologists in a reasonable driving distance have no open appointments until September or October. Talk about the…
Democrat & Chronicle: Business Let’s hope this becomes the trend, rather than indiscriminate offshoring of manufacturing work to China. This is the second article now in a short time (here was the first) that talks about companies moving at some…
83 Problems Thanks to Seth Godin for passing this along. I’ll admit that, in the past, I had allow myself to get discouraged because of one, or 83, problems with our lean implementation. OK, so you don’t have top management…
Born in Japan made in USA – 05/30/06 – The Detroit News Online: Here is an article about Toyota’s Fujio Cho. I don’t take the view of another blog, which calls Toyota “racist” for having an solely Japanese board. I’m…
by Jamie Flinchbaugh Any growth story is eventually met wth an industry wide waste of overproduction, or glut of capacity. When this happens, plants have to shutter, jobs are lost and there is tremendous upheavel and angst in dealing with…
Over Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I visited Baltimore and Washington DC. As much as I try to “turn off” that lean part of my brain, it’s tough when historical items jump out that remind me of lean. Here…
I’m about to sign off for the Memorial Day weekend, visiting Washington DC, which seems like a moving time to visit. Best wishes to all, particularly any military veterans reading the blog. Thanks for your service. I presented at a…
I saw this while researching a vacation. This website has given the user the time saving option of “most popular cities” to avoid you having to type the city name. When asking people for data (customers, suppliers, employees), do you…
Event Registration (EVENT: 22786)Here is the archive of the Industry Week webcast from last week featuring Jeff Liker, author of The Toyota Way. You have to register through Industry Week, but they will let you download the slides. “Siren Song”…
globeandmail.com : KODIAK COMES HOME At first glance, this looks like a heartwarming story of a Canadian manufacturer that “came home” after bouncing around different Asian countries most of the past decade. “For the first time in six years, Kodiak…
