My Flight Attendants Coffee Kaizen: A Lean Journey in the Skies Mark Graban May 17, 2012 12 Blog 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 Mark Graban Nov 8, 2011 2 Blog I'm back in Ontario again this week, giving three more short workshops about Healthcare Kaizen at three!-->…
Lessons from a Crazy Taxi Ride: Improving Processes in Unpredictable Environments Mark Graban Apr 13, 2011 19 Blog 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… Mark Graban Feb 18, 2011 5 Blog 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 Mark Graban Jun 5, 2010 9 Blog 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 Mark Graban May 18, 2010 9 Blog Error proofing (aka "poka yoke" or mistake proofing) is such a powerful Lean method. Some people, unfortunately,…
Guest Post: Stamp Out Sugarcoating Liz Guthridge Mar 30, 2010 7 Blog Sugar-coated messages are in bad taste. In survey after survey, people ask for straight talk on all issues. They…
Arbitrary Targets at DFW – What About Your Organization? Mark Graban Feb 16, 2010 7 Blog As I've been re-reading Dr. Deming's Out of the Crisis, stuff like this jumps out at me more and more. I saw…
Of Course An Individual Got Blamed for this TSA Airport Security Breach Mark Graban Jan 5, 2010 15 Blog Update (1/7/10): Turns out the TSA agent walked away from his post. I'd certainly hold someone accountable for…
Hotels Give “Lean” a Bad Name?? Mark Graban Oct 19, 2009 7 Blog Housekeepers' Giant "Hope Quilt" Puts Hotel Job Injuries in Spotlight | Labor Notes Articles like this are…
Defects in Air Travel — At Least I Got There Safely Mark Graban Sep 29, 2009 4 Ah, what a day yesterday. You'd think getting from Boston to Philadelphia would be easy. I'm here, teaching my "Key…
The Power of Explaining Why – A Funny Example Mark Graban Jun 27, 2009 5 Blog This sign and picture might be a bit rude, so I saved this for a Saturday. To me, a very powerful and often…
Today’s Random Cheap Shot Against Lean Mark Graban Feb 13, 2009 6 In-flight food: Heaven or hell on a tray? - CNN.comThanks to Pierre-Yves for pointing this out... I don't…
Lean Concepts at the Airport Mark Graban Jan 25, 2009 6 Blog I had my Lean goggles on at the airport last week and took two pictures of some Lean concepts in action. First!-->!-->!-->…
Moving Backward on Airline Safety? Mark Graban Dec 5, 2008 1 Blog Three airlines drop self-reporting safety program - USATODAY.comDropping this program has got to be one of those…
Follow Up on Mobile Boarding Passes Mark Graban Nov 25, 2008 0 Blog Sorry, not trying to turn this into a travel blog, but I tried the mobile boarding pass again (my earlier…
Is this “Like Lean?” TSA Explains the "Explaining Why"… Mark Graban Nov 25, 2008 1 Blog TSA: Why? The Reasons Behind TSA Security As much as I complain about the TSA, they do some things well. You…
New Technology That Doesn’t Serve The Passenger? Mark Graban Nov 21, 2008 5 Blog Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes. (Rule 8 of The Toyota Way)…