A hospital CEO who turned around a near-bankrupt organization over two decades credits one thing above all else: the steady accumulation of small improvements. Not a grand strategy. Not a consultancy-led transformation. Just the ongoing discipline of kaizen — and…
Our Kaizen Institute guide, Brad Schmidt (pictured above) talked to us on Monday about standardized work. He said, of the practice at Toyota, that it’s “voluntary standardization.” This is revolutionary thinking, I believe, for much of the Lean community and…
TL;DR: An andon cord is not primarily a line-stopping device. At Toyota, it’s a signaling system that allows workers to call for help immediately. Most problems are resolved before production stops. Its deeper purpose is to protect quality and create…
I know many of you aren’t into the whole Twitter thing, but I’m using my account (@MarkGraban) to share some photos and small batches of ideas that I come across during my trip to Japan. I’ll also share them here…
I had previously blogged about this Lean healthcare study trip to Japan, but I’m really excited that it’s coming up soon! I depart in just over a week and I’m sure the trip will give me plenty to share and…
Last week, I had a chance to see one of the “Deming Library” videos (on loan to me by Claire Crawford-Mason). BTW, I’ll be interviewing Claire soon about her reflections on working closely with W. Edwards Deming for the production…
I first blogged about the possibility in March – doing a weeklong study trip to Japan with Lean Healthcare professionals, in partnership with Kaizen Institute. The dates are set for November 11 to 17 and we have people signed up…
Hat tip to Mike S. for pointing out this HBR article “Why “I’m Sorry” Doesn’t Always Translate.” The piece talks about the differences in cultural norms about apologies in countries ranging from Japan, China, India, and the United States. I’m…
This is all somewhat preliminary, but I’ve been talking to the folks at the Kaizen Institute about helping organize a study trip to Japan, aimed at Lean Healthcare professionals. The trip might take place in the second half of 2012…
TL;DR: Salem Health leaders and frontline staff visited Japan to study Lean and Kaizen–and returned with a deeper understanding that transformation comes from respect for people, teamwork across titles, and leaders going to the front lines to learn. The trip…
Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends in Japan and everybody there dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake and whatever problems are yet to come. This article from Forbes gives some suggestions on how to donate and how…
Video #7 is a continuation of Episode #3 with Norman Bodek recounting his early trips to Japan and learning about kaizen, just in time, and Lean. For audio podcast episodes, please visit www.leanpodcast.org. For video podcasts, you can also go…
