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GA 068 | The Model Line Approach with Lee Fried and Kris Box

Avatar photo By Jessica Bush Updated on July 30th, 2021

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Today’s guests are Lean Consultants Lee Fried and Kris Box. Lee and Kris specialize in healthcare and are working on some pretty exciting projects at Stanford University. The three of us discussed the model line approach and how Kris and Lee utilize it in their work. Whether you’re in manufacturing, healthcare, or another industry, there’s a lot to learn from this episode.

An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Lee’s background (4:10)
  • Kris’s background (4:57)
  • The quote that inspires Lee (6:20)
  • The quote that inspires Kris (7:21)
  • What a model line approach is (7:57)
  • What Kris is currently working on at Stanford (9:17)
  • Why organizations choose the model line approach (11:27)
  • The main challenges of this approach (13:44)
  • The balance of standard work and a model line (19:07)
  • Whether Kris and Lee ever use 3P (23:14)
  • How long model lines should operate (26:36)
  • Alternatives to a model line approach (29:53)
  • What “Respect for People” means to Kris (34:00)
  • The best advice Lee has ever received (35:11)
  • Kris’s personal productivity habit (38:13)
  • Lee’s personal productivity habit (39:40)
  • What has surprised Lee in the past year of practicing lean (41:10)
  • What Lee does to refocus and reenergize (42:46)
  • The skills Lee and Kris feel they need to improve (44:05)
  • Advice to anyone looking to apply lean to healthcare (45:50)

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