There’s a long-standing argument that I’ve been dragged into with a group that calls itself “new systems thinkers.” They loudly criticize Lean as being altogether awful (with the alternative, predictably, being their services). One of them wrote a blog post…
Here is attempt #3 in my experiment with a video “Week in Review” series. Please let me know what you think by adding comments to this post. Links mentioned in the video can be found beneath the video.
It’s nice to see examples of Lean Healthcare success in the news, this time on the front page of the Denver Post — “Denver Health saves millions using Toyota efficiency principles.” As the city health system, they are both an…
Mark’s note: It’s great to welcome Andy Wagner back to the blog. Read his older posts here. General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota have been dominating the headlines in recent months with their financial and, now, quality troubles, while some surprising…
Podcast #83 is an in-depth conversation with Jim D’Addario, the CEO of D’Addario, Inc., a manufacturer of guitar strings, drum heads, and other musical accessories. Jim and his family company were featured on CNN late last year, highlighting how lean…
This article from Detroit’s Crain’s Business Journal (“Lean machine: Health care follows auto’s lead, gears up for efficiency”) highlights a growing lean healthcare movement in my home state of Michigan, one that, ironically, traces its origins back to Toyota General…
It’s a not-so-regular feature, but it’s time to clean up the Lean Blog Backlog (say that 10 times fast), the stories that I’ve tucked aside but haven’t gotten the full blog post treatment. Come back tomorrow for Part 2 of…
Park Nicollet CEO to retire In the news story about CEO David Wessner’s retirement, one of the listed accomplishments is their use of Lean methods: Wessner, the first non-physician CEO at Park Nicollet, also brought Japanese-style lean manufacturing techniques to…
Hard times curtail Park Nicollet’s ambition Minnesota’s Park Nicollet health system is often held up as one of the leading “lean healthcare” examples in the U.S. As I mentioned in my book, Lean Hospitals, the system claimed $7.5 million in…
The infamous “Jobs Bank” was created in the 1980s to protect UAW members from job losses that would otherwise result from automation and robotics. An excellent summary is found here: The Jobs Bank was created as GM made its plants…
By Adam Zak, Adam Zak Executive Search: From now through early November we—Äôre on the road again, meetin—Äô and greetin—Äô our Lean colleagues from around the country. Morning mail brought a reminder that it—Äôs that season again. Yes, time to…
I found a few articles lately about Lean being implemented in some Ohio hospitals, so I’ll share two of them here. Crescent-News.com – Hospitals headed to the ER? This first article focuses more on the problems faced by Ohio hospitals…
