Lean Roundup #48 - May, 2013

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of May, 2013.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

The Role of The Sensei in Learning – Gregg Stocker explains why the role of a specialist, or sensei, is to guide people in the new way of thinking not to do things.

Hoshin Kanri is Direction Management – David Meier says that while Lean is not a pre-requisite PDCA and leaders that can set effective targets are.

A Practical Approach for Attaining Strategic Objectives – Mike Rother shares a practical approach to hoshin Kanri based on future state mapping.

Where to Start with Hoshin Kanri – Tracey Richardson says you don’t have to be a totally Lean company to benefit or start thinking Lean by focusing on strategy deployment as an example.

Lovejoy, Airlines, and Big Data – Evan Durant explains how the Lovejoy triangle of inventory, information, and capacity applies to service not just manufacturing.

6 Actions to Help Mid Level Managers Transition Into Lean Leaders – Jim Vatalaro shares advice/support/tips that you can provide your middle managers to make them successful in a Lean transition.

PDSA Over PDCA – Michael Lombard makes his case why PDCA should be PDSA where Study and Act are integral to the methodology.

An Overly Simplistic View of PI – Glenn Whitfield says that the Lean Journey must start with process identification (current state) which leads to process improvement (future state) where as too many jump to the latter without understanding the first.

5 Ways to Support Work Force Science to Engage and Change Behavior – Liz Guthridge shares 5 ways to be an activist in your organization that we can all do.

Does Standard Work Destroy Creativity? – Janet Dozier explains what standard work means and how is perpetuates creativity.

Rapid PDCA – Mark Rosenthal shares the story (with photos) of an actual kaizen that demonstrates the PDCA cycle.

Learning Comes First – Matthew E. May explain the difference between learning and training and why learning and innovation go hand in hand, but learning comes first.

Going to the Gemba vs Statistical Analysis – Ron Pereira says an either or attitude on Lean and Six Sigma is not necessary we can learn everything about making things better.

Kaizen At All Levels – Gregg Stocker explains that kaizen is not just for the factory floor it must be done at all levels to be successful.

What is Culture and Why is it so Hard? – Karen Wilhelm looks at what defines culture and what lessons we can learn from this definition.

Hoshin and Purpose – Dan Jones shares three sets of questions that shed light on your business problems as a starting place for Hoshin planning.

Executive Leadership – John Hunter explains the importance of getting the c-level to understand their role in improving the management system.

Avoid Undersharing at Work – Liz Guthridge shares the dangers of undersharing information at work and what you can do to combat this.

Which Came First - The System or the Tools? Building a Lean Management System – Dave Krebs provides specific strategies to help leadership transform a management system to a lean management system.

Use the Right Visual – Matt Wyre uses a real example to illustrate why visual need to be designed to your need and that not all visuals are standard.

Shifting The Learning Zone – Mark Rosenthal shares a cool extension of the Toyota Kata model for establishing target conditions.

Why Do Companies Think They Are Lean When in Fact They Are Not? – Dragan Bosnjak explains that implementing some tools does not make you Lean.

Absence of "Value Added" In The TPS Literature – Michel Baudin analyzes the idea of value added in TPS and America Lean literature.

Is Inventory A Waste Or Cover Up Of Deeper Waste? – Al Norval shares his thoughts on the waste of excess inventory and why it hides other problems.

Live By The Forecast Die By The Forecast – Bill Waddell explains the dangers of managing your supply chain by a forecast with Walmart as a the case study.