Leanies of the World, Unite! TL;DR: Not everything labeled “Lean” is truly Lean–many worker complaints stem from L.A.M.E. (Lean As Misguidedly Executed), not the Toyota Production System itself. Real Lean is a management philosophy built on respect for people, problem…
University of Michigan looks to lean principles for system-wide improvements – MLive.com Here is some positive news coming out of my home state of Michigan… the U of M health system is a leader in Lean thinking for healthcare. The…
Today’s blog post will be just a bunch of random thoughts. For one, I just got back from London last night after a whirlwind Lean healthcare tour. I visited five hospitals between London and the south of England in three…
In Episode #69 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, my guest is Dr. Sami Bahri, D.D.S., widely recognized as the first Lean Dentist. From his practice in Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Bahri pioneered the application of Lean management principles in dentistry…
Toyota Names Akio Toyoda President, Apologizes to Shareholders for Losses This was rumored for a while, but Toyota has formally named Akio Toyoda as the next President. Yes, “Toyoda” with a “d” — that’s the family name. Back when Toyota…
Clarity Is Missing Link in Supply Chain – WSJ.com Ah, here we go, it’s time for the annual Just-In-Time-bashing article from the Wall Street Journal. Some past “the WSJ doesn’t get it” posts include: This WSJ Article (as do Many…
YouTube – Ford Model T – 100 Years Later A bit of manufacturing and Lean history here…. since Henry Ford’s writings and practices helped influence Toyota and the development of the Toyota Production System. Many of Henry Ford’s methods seem…
TL;DR: Ford wants to learn from Toyota without blindly copying–but Lean isn’t just about continuous improvement and efficiency. Without a deep commitment to respect for people and long-term thinking, copying Toyota’s tools won’t deliver Toyota’s results. Ford CEO Mulally shares…
Hospitals See Benefits of Lean and Six Sigma Regular readers know I often write about what I termed “L.A.M.E.” — Lean as Misguidedly Executed. The ASQ (American Society for Quality) survey that I linked to at the top probably just…
Here are some books that I’ve recently read — been intending to write full reviews, but wanted to share what I’ve read and what I’ve liked. Full reviews to come, I hope. I’ve been doing some of the reading on…
Just a quick blog post for today… I recently did an online presentation for a student Lean club at Utah State University. It wasn’t as nice as actually being there, but with the webcam connection, I could at least the…
John Shook — one of the first Americans to work deeply within Toyota — explains why the A3 is far more than a template. It’s a management process for solving problems, developing people, and leading organizational change. Episode #56 of…