A culture of learning makes the difference, not “low inventory” Last year, I wrote a post that criticized those, including the Wall St Journal, who claimed that Toyota was “abandoning” the Toyota Production System or that strategically adding some inventory…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #454 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Damon Baker. He is the founder and CEO of the firm Lean Focus. He’s also a Private Equity Partner…
I’d like to thank my friend Skip Steward for inviting me to be a guest on his podcast called “Connecting the Dots.” The podcast is one of their initiatives that’s intended to get the word out (internally and publicly) about…
TL;DR: Akio Toyoda describes the Toyota Production System as a people-centered leadership system focused on Jidoka, short lead times, and making work easier–where productivity is a result, not the goal. I was really happy to see this publication by Toyota,…
Thanks as always to Ryan McCormack for this… Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Healthcare and hospital staff around the world are working tirelessly to provide care during this crisis. I thank everyone that is selflessly sacrificing in service to…
A Toyota team applied the Toyota Production System in a Brazilian hospital to improve emergency care, reduce wasted motion, shorten waits, and make work easier for staff–showing TPS can improve healthcare systems, not just factories. When I was in Brazil…
TL;DR: A hospital president explains how Lean healthcare leadership, Respect for People, and Just Culture help engage frontline staff, reduce blame, and improve patient care. This article made me smile the other day — especially the comments about Lean, front-line…
Hi All – Summer in Manitoba requires part-time work, as the precious weeks of glorious weather need to be savoured and stored up for the grueling winters. As such, I give you a summary of the most frequently clicked links from…
Ryan and I are co-sponsoring a workshop that I’ll be presenting on “Measures of Success” in Winnipeg on May 10. Learn more. Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients In Canada, we wait. A long time. Especially if you are referred…
Last week, a nurse manager downloaded the free first chapter of my book Lean Hospitals and wrote this message in the contact form:
"Interested to see how the disconnect between management and the staff supervised can be helped. Too many managers refuse to help those they supervise. A growing number have never done the work that they are in charge of getting done. Patients and residents feel it, not healthy. Poor PR. It does get back to the consumer. Difficult to fix at that point."
In my experience working with many hospitals, her comments resonate with me. Identifying problems like these doesn't mean Lean provides easy solutions for organizational transformation.
I’m teaching a daylong class on Lean healthcare today in San Antonio. It’s something I’ve done twice a year for the past four years or so. My day here is part of a six-month program for healthcare professionals and different…
Last week, I mentioned it was the 25th anniversary of TSSC — formerly known as the Toyota Supplier Support Center (it’s now called the Toyota Production System Support Center). TSSC helped Children’s Health in Dallas learn how to reduce CLABSI…