Rhode Island Archives – Lean Blog

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Rhode Island’s Governor Announces Lean Initiative, Declares “Operations Matter”

Mark Graban - April 13, 2015 2

You might know my friend Karl Wadensten, the president of VIBCO, a small manufacturer in Rhode Island. I've interviewed him for episode #84 of...

Zachary Capen on Kaizen: The Improvement System Most Organizations Talk About but Struggle to PracticeMarch 10, 2026
This post really showed me what kaizen really means and why so many organizations struggle to implement it well. One…
Mark Graban on Stop Reacting to Red Light Metrics: Why ‘Two Reds in a Row’ Is a Misleading Rule of ThumbMarch 7, 2026
Is it a good rule to say, "If there are 2 red data points in a row, do a root…
Jack Benedict on Fujio Cho on Standardized Work: The Foundation for Improvement, Not ControlMarch 4, 2026
I enjoyed reading this article and the points that the author made about standardized work and how it is confused…
William Brew on Why a Lean Coach Asks Questions Instead of Giving AnswersMarch 3, 2026
One takeaway I have from this post is that lean leadership is focused on asking questions to develop people's understanding,…
Zachary Capen on The Longer Starbucks Coffee Stopper Is Obviously Waste… Unless It Is NotMarch 2, 2026
I agree! At first glance, the longer stopper did look a lot like a waste. It is so easy to…

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