Here’s an update on the current LeanBlog Contest on visual management. There are three outstanding entries so far, ranging from a factory, a healthcare setting, and a home setting (visual methods for error proofing a pet’s daily shots). This really…
Marketplace: Better health care through better information This commentator points out some shocking waste in the healthcare system: Although cancer doctors work long hours, they still fail, frequently, to provide therapies the medical evidence says the patient needs. Sometimes the…
Toyota’s success pleases proponents of ‘lean’ I know I’ve already linked to this article and other blogs in the lean world have already commented on it, but I have a few other comments. The publicity about Toyota becoming No. 1…
Study: Hospital Goals Sometimes Compromise Safety With Lean, we have realized that improving quality does not run counter to decreasing costs. They go together. Using Lean methods, improving flow, error proofing and reducing defects, leads to decreased costs in any…
shmula » Need a Job, eh? : Business, Technology, and Stuff in Between If you’re in Vancouver BC and looking for interesting Lean work at eBay, check out this post from Shmula.com’s Pete Abilla. Some of his unofficial qualifications: You…
I could have also titled this post “I screwed up!” or “Who Screwed Up? Me!” but we try not to point the finger of blame in the Lean mindset…. it’s especially uncomfortable when you have to point it in the…
Toyota: A Carmaker Wired to Win: Dan Markovitz beat me to the punch, but I also wanted to comment on some things in the article: The article says: “Visit any Toyota plant in Japan, and it’s easy to grin at…
A blog reader, Tom, sent me a PDF of a column from the ASQ “Quality Progress” magazine, the April 2007 issue. The article is “Using Lean to Meet Quality Objectives,” by Dale K. Gordon. The ASQ website has a link…
By Dan MarkovitzBack in October, Lifehacker ran a lengthy article on “personal kaizen.” The thrust of the piece is how we can improve our lives by adopting the kaizen approach of the TPS and applying it to our own work…
Car Keys Could Go the Way of Tail Fins – New York Times So I’ve finally become a Toyota driver, driving an employer-provided Prius for over a month now. Answer to the first question I usually get, 42.9 MPG is…
The Blotter: ABC Report on Pharmacy Errors I first stumbled across this 20/20 report when I saw a preview on the ABC investigative reports video podcast. Pharmacy errors are a major problem (see this story): There are as many as…
Hazard Warning – Brethine and Methergine mix-ups Can you tell the difference between these two drugs? You can even click on each photo for a larger view or compare them on the link above. This isn’t an isolated case, this…