I’ve been working with “lean healthcare” in my day job for about a year now. I’m giving a presentation on Friday about lean healthcare for a manufacturing audience, and it provided an opportunity to reflect on what I’ve seen and…
USATODAY.com Sigh, another grand management pronoucement designed to dazzle Wall Street. From the article: “Chipmaker Intel (INTC) plans to slash costs in hopes of pulling out of its recent slump, CEO Paul Otellini said Thursday. Otellini, speaking to analysts in…
Comics and Editorial Cartoons: Ben Sargent on Yahoo! News Honestly, if anyone really uses this story (earlier mention here) as an example of “lean,” I will throw something. The idea of strapping 900 people into a plane is, again, an…
WILSONDAILY.COM: Merck tests method for better outputHere is an article about the first Merck site to implement lean. I’ve harshly criticized Merck’s announced lean efforts earlier, as it seemed focused on cutting jobs. November 2005: I’ll Bet That Merck’s “Lean”…
Ford’s salaried job cuts done for now “For now.” I’m sure that’s encouraging to the survivors at Ford. I got an email from a GM friend about the salaried layoffs and the predictable impact on morale there. “[In a meeting]…
Here is the latest exclusive Lean Manufacturing Blog Q&A With Jim Womack, author of Lean Solutions and founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute. We did an extended Q&A late last year, and here are some new responses to our questions…
01/22/06 – The Detroit News Don’t worry, these skilled tradesmen will go into the famous JOBS Bank and receive almost full pay for doing nothing (something I’ve written about a lot on this blog). It *IS* necessary for Chrysler to…
Kaizen and Lean Manufacturing thoughts | Gemba Panta Rei Here is a sad update on Merck’s “lean” efforts (click the link above). I hate to call what they are doing “lean” but that’s what Merck is calling it. I posted…
The Manufacturer.com – Merck to cut jobs, close plants, get lean Merck was in the news quite a bit today, but this is the first article I’ve seen that mentions any claim to a “lean” strategy. If Merck thinks they…
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…
Here’s an interesting editorial commenting on the position of the US in the latest Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum that I found particularly interesting. Industry Competitiveness: Where Do We Stand? At the very outset of the…
Press-Telegram – News: It sounds like a compelling argument from the union. “Jacki Harris, president of United Aerospace Workers Local 148, said she agrees with the Boeing concept of lean manufacturing, but job cuts shouldn’t just come from the hourly…
