Today’s topic for the Project Kaizen group blogging effort is the idea of applying “quick and easy kaizen” to a project setting. “These are improvements that affect the ease of one person doing a job and within ones authority to…
Today’s topic for the Project Kaizen group blogging effort is kaizen for a “workstream.” We’ll look at making improvements across a subset of a value stream. This often crosses organizational boundaries. ————————One workstream I’ve been a part of is the…
Today’s topic for the Project Kaizen group blogging effort is kaizen for a “workgroup,” with that being defined as “making improvements for sub-team members performing the same type of work.” ——————— One sub-team I have been a part of is…
Here is my posting for the Monday “Project Kaizen” group blogging effort, the topic being “Why Project Kaizen?”————————– Why wouldn’t the concept of “kaizen“, or continuous improvement, apply to any activity in or organization? While there are many definitions of…
Project Kaizen Co-Blogging Themes :: Reforming Project Management Starting Monday, I will be joining a group of lean thinkers and bloggers who will be writing all week on the topic of “Project Kaizen”, or the practice of kaizen in project-type…
Hello, blog readers, just a quick update here. It’s been an exciting week on the Lean Manufacturing Blog. Thanks to being included on the Lean Enterprise Institute email blast, blog traffic really spiked, with over 2,000 visitors in the last…
TL;DR: In Part 2 of this interview, the late Norman Bodek explains why Lean fails when leaders cling to control. Drawing on Toyota examples and “Quick & Easy Kaizen,” he argues that long-term success comes from developing people, trusting teams,…
TL;DR:The late Norman Bodek argues that Lean fails not due to poor workers or missing tools, but because management systems prioritize short-term results over developing people. Toyota’s real advantage, he says, is its long-term commitment to respect, learning, and empowering…
CNN – Nov. 22, 2005 How ironic that we’re reading about mass layoffs in the “big, old, and slow” companies (such as the auto industry) while there is a projected shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. There’s no shortage of people…
Kaikaku Norman Bodek now has a lean blog, the link is above. I conducted an interview with Mr. Bodek last week. I’m hoping to get that posted here on my blog over the weekend or early next week. Please check…
In his article “Putting Six Sigma in Perspective”[1], Michael Hammer uses the mantra:”Use the right tool for the right problem”. An excerpt that summarizes what he means (he uses the term “process redesign”, which in this context is synonymous with…
