Tag: Standardized Work

Standardized Work: The Foundation for Learning and Improvement

Standardized work is often misunderstood as rigidity or control. In Lean thinking, it’s the opposite: a shared baseline that makes problems visible, supports learning, and enables continuous improvement. This archive explores standardized work as a living system—one that evolves through observation, experimentation, and respect for people.

Examples range from healthcare and service work to manufacturing and everyday systems, showing how clear standards reduce frustration, improve quality, and make meaningful improvement possible.

#TBT: What CFO Magazine Wrote About #Lean in 2009

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I first blogged about this article back in 2009 and it's still online: "Keen to Be Lean" The sub headline talks about hospitals being "desperate to...

Guest Post: Tom Brady (TB12) – Lean Thinker

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Mark's Note: Today's post is by a new guest contributor, Tom Gormley. I first met Tom in 2009 or 2010 when my wife and...

Doing Kaizen Anywhere: What Volunteering at a Distillery Taught Me About...

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One thing I enjoy is the opportunity to basically be a “value adding” worker in a process. The work is pretty repetitive (but, again, it’s a very enjoyable environment) and it lets me think like an industrial engineer or a “Lean thinker” when I’m not talking with...

What Do You (or Your ______) Like or Dislike Most About...

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This article caught my eye at Becker's Hospital Review: We asked 13 physicians what they really think of their hospital Even though organizations do formal physician...

Lean at UCLA Harbor Medical Center Featured by the BBC

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The BBC radio program "The Science Hour" recently aired a program with a segment where an unexpected person (Dr. Kevin Fong) to an unexpected...

Guest Post: Is Your Organization Practicing “Unlean Lean”?

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Mark's note: Today's post is something that Drew Locher originally published in his email newsletter (sign up here), but he's allowing me to post it...

The Shared Interests & Goals of Lean and the Patient Safety...

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Later today and tomorrow, I'll be attending the annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit that's produced by a non-profit called the Patient...

Another Conversation About L.A.M.E. and Lean in Manufacturing and Healthcare

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It's far too common to see somebody with just a little bit of understanding about Lean do things that really shouldn't be described as...

Lean Thoughts at a Toronto Blue Jays Game

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I love what I do and I travel a lot... the travel can sometimes be a drag, such as last Monday's flight delays with...

A Lean Guy Listens to NPR: NICU Waste, Growing a Rural...

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I did a similar post in 2012, but here's a post where I share some recent NPR stories that I've heard recently (through the...

Is Your Lean Journey Being Embraced With “Open Arms?” Are you...

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The phrase "Lean journey" is used widely to describe an organization's transformation over time. It's either a phrase that invokes helpful imagery or it's...

Are Hospitalists Ready to Get Serious About Reducing Waste and Improving...

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I was quoted in two articles that appeared in "Today's Hospitalist": "Discharging Mr. Wood: Time to get serious about waste" and "Standardized work: Improving quality by reducing...
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