Tag: 5 Whys

TL;DR: In a 1993 speech, Toyota leader Fujio Cho said organizations can create their own Lean systems, but success depends on three principles: leaders...

TL;DR: Emails and warning signs rely on memory and attention. Point-of-use reminders--and better yet, mistake-proofed systems--are far more effective at preventing errors, as a...

Podcast interview with Ken Pilone, author of Lean Leadership on a Napkin, discussing Toyota, TPS vs. Lean, leadership humility, and common misconceptions about Lean...

Today's post is the first contribution from Shrikant Kalegaonkar, a frequent commenter here on the blog, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We had a chance to meet in Austin last year and I appreciate his shared interests in Lean, statistical process control (ala Deming and Wheeler), and quality improvement. He initiated this piece and I ended up collaborating with him on it. I hope it sparks some healthy discussion...

I had a chance to visit one of their community hospitals, Hillcrest Hospital, as well as the main campus. It was a very stimulating visit and it was great to see the progress they were making in building a “culture of improvement.”

I've gotten to know to know Harry Kenworthy (pictured at left) over the past few years after meeting at a conference (the Northeast L.E.A.N....

A number of you emailed me about this report in the Detroit News. I grew up in Detroit and my first job was as...

Another question I get thrown at me very often is something along the lines of “How do we get more buy in for ______” with that space being filled with Lean, Kaizen, 5S, using the EMR system, improvement, or any number of terms. If you do a Google search for Lean “lack of buy in”...

Yesterday, I wrote Part 1 of this post on the Cleveland Clinic Improvement Model. Part 1 covered the left hand half of the model, with...

There’s no magic about the number five. I’ve seen some people write that five is somehow a “magic number.” No, that’s not really the case. Ask why more than once, probably more than twice…

Valentine's Day isn't just about flowers and chocolate. It's about flow.It's about respect.It's about asking "Why?" five times. If you've ever said "gemba," "poka-yoke," or "stop...

In healthcare patient safety circles, there's always a lot of discussion about lessons learned from aviation safety. Aviation has gotten much safer over the...