New book building on TQM: Breakthrough Management
There is a new book on TQM available. I have not bought the book yet but my assumption is that it builds on TQM. To me, the link between TQM and lean is pretty clear. I would suggest that lean…
Tag Flinchbaugh
Leading Lean One Heart at a Time
Another month has rolled by whch means Assembly Magazine has released another excellent issue of their magazine, of which I am very pleased to contribute. This month, in my Leading Lean column, I tackle the issue of “convincing” those around…
Event Lean versus Genuine Lean
There is a topic that I have found myself talking about more and more lately. Perhaps the reason is that many of my speeches and seminars recently have focused on the lean STRATEGY. I don’t mean how lean affects your…
You are here! The importance of the current state
First, if you’ve read The Hitchhiker ‘s Guide to Lean, you will know that we believe the entire concept of deeply understanding our current state is a vital skill and principle to drive performance improvement. I recently penned an article…
Addendum to Census of Manufacturers
I have something else to add to my earlier post on the state of lean through the eyes of an Industry Week survey. My point is this: we don’t know what to call this stuff, and at the same time,…
Census of Manufacturers
Along with the profiles of this year’s Industry Week’s Best Plants Award, the latest issue includes the latest census data on continuous improvement. Of course, a survey question being checked on a website is far from direct observation (or gemba),…
The Proper Use of Metrics
I was able to tour a hospital laboratory that had already gone through the lean process. One metric was a daily tally of “sticks per day” (that’s what a Phlebotomist — a person who draws your blood — calls it…
Incentives for On-Time, But What About Quality?
Rotorhub: The Information Hub of the Helicopter Industry Here’s an article about some military helicopter part production and a “lean” system. This jumped out at me: At Boeing, a frank Joe LaMarca, divisional communications director, said it was true that…
Leadership and Lean Manufacturing: A Conversation with Jamie Flinchbaugh – LeanBlog Podcast on the Role of Leadership in Driving Change and Improvement
Here is LeanBlog Podcast #6, the second part of my discussion with Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean. You can find the first part of the podcast here. In this Podcast, we talk about how leadership needs…
Reducing Waste and Improving Efficiency in Manufacturing: Insights from Jamie Flinchbaugh
Here is LeanBlog Podcast #5, with a new guest: Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean. In this Podcast, we talk about the “language of waste” and how waste reduction is a critical tool in the implementation of lean…
Hoshin Kanri for the Lean Enterprise
by Jamie Flinchbaugh, co-author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean I just got my copy of Hoshin Kanri for the Lean Enterprise. Of course, I did have the chance to read a review copy, and offered up my endorsement for…
Lean Lessons from Pluto
There are certain things we learn while we grow up that are unquestioned – in fact, unquestionable. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, 5 x 5 = 25, there are 4 sides in a square, and there are 9…
