2007 | Page 6 of 17 | Gemba Academy

The Importance of “So What?” in A3 Kaizen

By Jon Miller - July 28th, 2007

One of the things that makes Toyota-style problem solving so effective is the insistence on true root cause analysis and countermeasures. In simple terms this is known as “asking why 5 times” or “5 why”. Instead

5 Why’s Survey

By Ron Pereira - July 28th, 2007

My fellow Keller, Texas lean blogging pal Mark, of Lean Blog fame, is running a survey. Following up on the LEI survey that was released and discussed here, I’ve been talking with a few folks offline about what the “root ca

A Closed Mitt and an Open Mind

By Jon Miller - July 26th, 2007

Sorting through old documents as part of my regular 5S at the office I came across another consulting firm’s Lean training materials, collected about a decade ago. These explained Lean manufacturing and the idea of eliminating wa

Kaizen Rules – 9 & 10

By Ron Pereira - July 26th, 2007

This week has been about all things kaizen. I have to come clean and admit I wrote this entire series last weekend as I was preparing to take off on vacation with my family. Thanks to the greatness of WordPress I was able to delay the

Kaizen Rules – 7 & 8

By Ron Pereira - July 25th, 2007

Want to win $50? Read this entire article to find out how. We have officially rounded the corner on our kaizen rules series. If you are just joining us you can catch up by checking these posts out: Rules 1 & 2 Rules 3 & 4 Rules

Kaizen Rules – 5 & 6

By Ron Pereira - July 24th, 2007

Tonight we continue with our multi-part kaizen rules series. For a recap of previous kaizen rules please check out: Rules 1 & 2 Rules 3 & 4 Rule 5: Correct mistakes at once If you are walking through your office, factory, or ev

TPS & the Tao

By Jon Miller - July 23rd, 2007

Some time ago a woman who was studying Taoism and also reading Taiichi Ohno said, “The more I read Taiichi Ohno’s book The Toyota Production System-Beyond Large-Scale Production, the more I believe that his philosophies are

Kaizen Rules – 3 & 4

By Ron Pereira - July 23rd, 2007

Yesterday we discussed the first two rules of kaizen. Tonight we will discuss excuses and perfection. Rule 3: Stop making excuses. Start questioning current practices. When we encounter a defect or failure we should not make excuses

A Kaizen Team’s Secret Ingredient: Negative People

By Jon Miller - July 22nd, 2007

For many years Toyota people have said “No problem” is a problem (困らない事は困った事だ） so these negative people are a gift, are they not? In fact, you could say that a kaizen team’s secret ingredient i

Kaizen Rules – 1 & 2

By Ron Pereira - July 22nd, 2007

This week my plan is to blog about all things kaizen. I personally believe kaizen is the key to long term success – both professionally and personally. Often times we associate the word kaizen with “kaizen events” which are short

True Essence of Continuous Improvement

By Ron Pereira - July 22nd, 2007

If you have not visited the shmula blog today please do. Pete’s article on Hansei – What is Really Important? inspired me. I hope it does you as well.

Kaizen Song: Downstream Pull

By Jon Miller - July 19th, 2007

This kaizen song is dedicated to all of you materials managers and planners out there working to establish pull systems… Downstream Pull (to the melody of “Downtown Train” by Tom Waits) Line side another yellow andon

The problem with that is…

By Ron Pereira - July 19th, 2007

For some reason some folks seem dead against making things better. One of the easiest ways I can tell if I am dealing with a concrete head is by simply listening to the words they use. For example, whenever I hear someone say (after

There is No Honor in Muri

By Jon Miller - July 18th, 2007

Unreasonableness is a six syllable, sixteen letter word. It’s a lot simpler to say muri in Japanese. Certainly less precious breath is wasted without the four extra syllables. Muri arises when you try to fight variability at the

Final Thoughts of The 4-Hour Workweek

By Ron Pereira - July 18th, 2007

I finally finished “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferris. This book was quite the emotional journey. Before I even read it I was both skeptical and encouraged at the same time. I then came across an interesting concep

Lean for Airports (Dare to Dream…)

By Jon Miller - July 17th, 2007

The new Nagoya International Airport was famously built under budget and faster than scheduled thanks to help in Lean thinking from Toyota advisors. In another example of public-private partnership, a July 17, 2007 Computerworld UK art

Challenge, Kaizen, Genchi Genbutsu, Respect, Teamwork

By Jon Miller - July 16th, 2007

Challenge, kaizen, genchi genbutsu, respect, and teamwork. These are the five ideas that were codified as the fundamental principles that guide the actions of Toyota people in the “Toyota Way 2001”. We might call them ̶

Explaining the Central Limit Theorem

By Ron Pereira - July 16th, 2007

If you hate statistics this post is for you. Why? Because it’s my intention to have you understand AND be in position to teach others one of the more complicated and misunderstood statistical concepts of our time – the central

12 Quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. to Inspire Change

By Jon Miller - July 15th, 2007

Martin Luther King Jr. was a great leader and a historic change agent. Studying his quotes can inspire those of us who work to make positive change each day. King said: A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of c

Cummins Chief Snags Award

By Ron Pereira - July 15th, 2007

Tim Solso, CEO of Cummins, has won the WCBF Six Sigma CEO of the Year award. “Six Sigma is one of the best things we have ever done. Last year we saved $340 million and completed 2,200 projects. Since the inception of the program in

Just Throw it Away

By Ron Pereira - July 15th, 2007

Originally published on July 15, 2007 I sometimes feel like a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to teaching people about 5S. For those not familiar with it, 5S is a philosophy and a way of organizing and managing our workspace, wherever

My Latest Invention Idea

By Ron Pereira - July 13th, 2007

I often come up with some great invention ideas only to find out someone already thought of it. Well, this morning when I was filling my car up with gas I thought of one I am almost sure no one has thought of. Introducing Vacuum while

Q&A During a Recent Gemba Walk

By Jon Miller - July 13th, 2007

Gemba walks are great fun. But it’s become clearer to me only recently that they can be awkward at first to the leader in transition from traditional style to Lean management. With permission and without revealing the identity of

5 Tips to Success

By Ron Pereira - July 12th, 2007

There are a plethora of books on leadership and how to succeed in life. However, in my opinion there is a very simple formula that, if followed, will enable you to succeed at whatever it is you are called to do. Here is my list (no b

Say it ain’t so! Toyota lay people off?

By Ron Pereira - July 11th, 2007

My friend Mark over at the Lean Blog posted a respect for people question from a question he saw on the Lean Insider blog. For those new to this blog, respect for people is an extremely important aspect of lean. In fact many would

Year: 2007