A Lean Journey Blog
- Home
- Blog
Not All Groups are Teams0
- Lean Management
- June 24, 2009
Highly empowered and effective teams are the key to compete in today’s world of high technology processes, six sigma quality and continuous innovation. We have all heard the adage that “There is No I in Team” but what does that really mean? A group is two or more people who interact with each other to
READ MORE
No “Fat” Behavior, Please0
- Lean Basics, Lean Management
- June 20, 2009
Transforming a traditional organization to a lean organization is about creating a cultural change. The only way to create a sustainable cultural change is to change behavior. Many lean initiatives have failed from complications in changing behavior. Bob Emiliani who has studied lean transformations and lean behaviors was the first to use the term “fat”
READ MORE
Is it the End of an Era or Just another Lesson?0
- In the News, Lean Basics
- June 17, 2009
With the recent bankruptcy of General Motors, Jim Womack wrote a letter on The End of an Era. Womack is considered one of the originators of Lean Thinking in the US from studying Toyota in the 1980’s. His first book the Machine that Changed the World is the first books I ever read on Lean.
READ MORE
Gemba Academy – A Source of Learning0
- Lean Resources
- June 16, 2009
The Gemba Academy provides high quality online video training for individuals and groups. They currently have the School of Lean but will add later this summer the School of Project Management and the School of Six Sigma. We learned at the Gemba, or the place the work is done, and now we want to help
READ MOREA Great Resource at Gemba Panta Rei0
- Lean Resources
- June 14, 2009
Gemba Panta Rei is a weblog about better ways to make things better from Gemba Research. Gemba Research is a global team of professionals dedicated to teaching kaizen and Lean management practices based on the Toyota Production System. Gemba is the Japanese term for “actual place”, often used for the place where value-creating work actually
READ MORESingle Point Lessons: An Educational Tool0
- Lean Basics
- June 10, 2009
It is often said that lean is 90% people and 10% tools. Knowledge is the factor which determines the rate of change in organizations. How do we learn and teach this knowledge within our organization? Many organizations use a “train the trainer” method where knowledge is handed down from one individual to the next. This
READ MORE
What are Lean Leaders Doing in Today’s Economic Crisis?0
- In the News, Lean Management
- June 4, 2009
A recent poll by the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) shows that companies are giving more emphasis to Lean efforts during today’s economic pressures. Lean initiatives are increasingly being recognized as helping businesses through many challenging periods sometimes referred to as “burning platforms”. Related to this there was an interesting survey done recently by Stiles Associates,
READ MOREIs Inventory Reduction an Objective or a Result?0
- Lean Management
- May 31, 2009
Inventory is one of the eight deadly sins (wastes) in Lean manufacturing. This waste is often one that hides other wastes in our businesses. I think most are familiar with the river and boulder analogy. The water level in the river is the level of inventory and the boulders in the river and the problems
READ MOREFree Lean Resources from Catalyst for Change0
- Lean Resources
- May 28, 2009
I am always looking for lean resources to help along the way on this journey. Recently, I was made aware of a UK company called c4c, which refers to Catalyst for Change. c4c was formed to provide the catalyst and support for businesses to change through implementing Lean and Six Sigma practices and culture. On
READ MORE