Could Lean Thinking Have Prevented the Recent Disney Tragedy?
Mark's Note: I'm going to be away from the blog through July 15, releasing a podcast or two... but here's another…
Browsing Tag
Travel
The Need for Standardized Work When Ordering Whiskey
Ah, whiskey. I like whiskey. I’m not afraid to say that. I’ve blogged about whiskey (or whisky) once before: Why…
These Two Things Are Designed Badly, But Nobody Gets Hurt…
Last Thursday, I flew to Ohio after my 93-year-old grandfather was moved from the hospital to hospice. He passed…
Helpful Visuals for an International Flight, a Hospital, or a Dentist
My wife and I are getting ready to leave tomorrow night for a two week vacation, so it jogged my memory about this…
A Hotel, Time Quotas, Systemic Problems, and Employees Not Having the Right Tools
I travel a lot and, thanks to my work, I'm pretty well attuned to the idea of not blaming individuals for systemic…
A Warning Sign Means It’s Badly Designed
If you have to add a warning or instruction label to something that should be obvious in its use, then the item is…
LinkedIn Post: American Airlines Cannot or Will Not Serve Their Customers?
I wrote a post for the LinkedIn Influencers series:
American Airlines Should Own Their Situation, Not Just Blame…
Like Lean: Hotels Involve Customers ala “Lean Design”
A few weeks back, USA Today published an article that made me think of some of the approaches being used by…
Learning Not to Blame: “Jerk Bartender”
In the Lean methodology, building upon the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, we work hard to shift away from…
If a Toilet Requires Instructions, It’s Probably Badly Designed
One of the more trivial things I saw on my recent vacation to Scotland and England was a badly designed toilet on a…
Iterating or Improving vs. Doing It Right the First Time
I've added to a new post to my LinkedIn Influencers series: "The Ability to Iterate is Not an Excuse to Do It…
Can SPC Show if American Airlines Pilots are Staging a “Sick Out”?
As a frequent flyer on American Airlines and a former DFW-area resident, I pay a lot of attention to the troubled…
My Flight Attendant’s Coffee Kaizen
As a very frequent flyer on American Airlines, I've learned not to expect much from the company and its employees…
True Story: Funny Canadian Border Agent Asks About My Books
I'm back in Ontario again this week, giving three more short workshops about Healthcare Kaizen at three different…
Said the Unsafe Taxi Driver, “Well, Did I Hit Anybody?”
When I was leaving the recent Shingo Prize conference, last week, I had what can only be described as a taxi ride…
Living in Your Customers’ Shoes – Airport Car Rentals & Lessons…
This might seem like a random topic, but what the heck, it's a Friday. I arrived in Orlando yesterday for the …
A Curious Lack of Error Proofing in the Air
About a week ago, I was flying and the passenger next to me knocked his water over right into my lap. Argh!
I…
Error Proofing the Hotel TV
Error proofing (aka "poka yoke" or mistake proofing) is such a powerful Lean method. Some people, unfortunately,…