Tag: Flow
Lean Is for Speed, Six Sigma Is for Quality? That’s a...
TL;DR: "Lean is for speed, Six Sigma is for quality" is a false trade-off. Lean improves flow by removing obstacles like waiting and rework--and...
Designing Systems That Flex–Not Fail–When Demand Peaks
When I placed a mobile order at Starbucks recently, I was told up front that it would take 17 to 20 minutes to receive...
Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: September 5, 2025
This edition of Ryan McCormack's Operational Excellence Mixtape explores strategy, flow, and culture in environments where improvement is harder than it looks. From how...
How Chick-fil-A Uses Lean “Game Film” to Improve Drive-Thru Flow
TL;DR: Chick-fil-A improves drive-thru flow by using Lean thinking and "game film" to study the work, remove bottlenecks, and design better systems--while showing deep...
Optimizing System Flow for Better Patient Outcomes: Lessons from New London...
When it comes to delivering life-saving care, optimizing the entire system--not just individual components--can make all the difference. This principle is exemplified by the...
Transforming Operations with Lean Leadership: Bill Remy, CEO of TBM Consulting,...
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more
My guest for Episode #520 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Bill Remy, CEO of...
Flow Engineering in Action: Insights from Authors Steve Pereira and Andrew...
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more
My guests for Episode #512 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast are Steve Pereira and Andrew...
Batches Can be Bad, But Might Be Necessary (for Spaghetti or...
At the recent Healthcare Systems Process Improvement conference, David B. Reid, P.E. from Chick-fil-A Restaurants brought up a very interesting point about the batch...
Ryan McCormack’s Operational Excellence Mixtape: July 14th, 2023
Thanks as always to Ryan McCormack for this... there's always so much good reading, listening, and viewing shared here by him! Subscribe to get...
Maybe “Just in Time” (JIT) Should Be Called “Short Lead Time”...
This is the starting point for a blog post that I should expand on... after posting these initial thought fragments on LinkedIn.
JIT might have...
Making Defects Visible at Krispy Kreme, Healthcare, and Elsewhere
Here is a photo that I took a few years ago at a Krispy Kreme store. For health reasons, I don't go there very...
Joy Furnival on Lean in the NHS: Lessons from Manufacturing to...
Joining me for Episode #340 of the podcast is Dr. Joy Furnival CEng MIET, an experienced senior NHS manager, improvement leader, and chartered engineer....
