Episode #86 is a conversation with David Lawrence Sundahl, PhD, Managing Director of Rule 4 Consulting. They are a firm that works with healthcare providers to drive improvements using Lean and what they call “Adaptive Design” methodologies. Sundahl was a…
Regular followers of my blog know that I’ve been creating audio podcasts since 2006. Later today (at 3 PM), I am publishing #86 in the series, an interview with David Sundahl, PhD of Rule 4 Consulting. I’ve made mistakes every…
If you’ve searched for “Lean methodology,” you’ve probably seen definitions about waste reduction or efficiency. That’s part of it — but Lean is much more than that. It’s a leadership system for building better organizations. I’ve been studying and practicing…
Stepping away from serious issues, let’s talk about things that can really get heated — like washers and dryers (rim shot). Sorry for the bad joke… plus, I’m a drummer, so I love the chance to do a nice rim…
We had a lot of spirited debate last week around the case of the pharmacist who was jailed after the tragic medical-mistake death of a two-year old girl (“A Pharmacist’s Jail Cell Interview – What Good Does Blame Do?“). There…
Mark’s Note: Don’t know Liz? Check out her Lean Blogger profile video on YouTube. One world is getting bigger—at least from my vantage point as a specialist in LEAN COMMUNICATIONS principles and practices. The lean community gathered at the Lean…
One of my colleagues from across the Pond, James Marsh at Sheffield Hallam University, is currently researching his PhD exploring Lean Six Sigma and its environmental benefits and/or tradeoffs. For his thesis, James is analyzing the key differences among different…
Episode 84 is audio from Video Podcast #10 (available on YouTube). This is a conversation with Karl Wadensten, President of VIBCO, a manufacturer in Wyoming, R.I. and host of the now-retired radio program The Lean Nation. Karl shares the remarkable…
TL;DR: Standardized work, influenced by Toyota and Dr. Atul Gawande, is crucial for improving safety, quality, and efficiency in healthcare. It should be created by those who do the work, be flexible, and serve as a basis for continuous improvement.…
TL;DR: An NPR story about workplace “efficiency” illustrates L.A.M.E.–Lean As Misguidedly Executed–where tools like 5S are applied without respect for people or employee engagement. True Lean builds capability with the people doing the work, not through top-down cost cutting. Oh…
As I’ve been re-reading Dr. Deming’s Out of the Crisis, stuff like this jumps out at me more and more. I saw similar signs at Heathrow Airport last month bragging about the airport exceeding targets for customer service. This is,…
For a number of reasons, I’ve decided to re-read my copy of one of the most influential books I’ve ever read: Out of the Crisis by the late, great Dr. W. Edwards Deming. In the light of Toyota’s recent quality…
