July 2011 | Gemba Academy

Respect for Humanity, Now in 3D!

By Jon Miller - July 31st, 2011

Films in 3D have become briefly popular again recently. For someone who has been immersed in thinking about lean and the Toyota Production System, the term 3D is a call to arms for kaizen. Called 3K in Japanese, a workplace or job that

Ambiguous Visual Controls in the Park

By Jon Miller - July 29th, 2011

Walking through a park near Frankfurt, Germany I saw this sign. Checking first to make sure I had not slipped back in time to the 1880s, I snapped this photo. What does it mean? Not reading German, the only way this visual control coul

Questioning the Value of the P-Value

By Jon Miller - July 25th, 2011

The p-value expresses the probability of obtaining a test statistic that is at least as extreme as the one result actually observed, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. The scientific method attempts to disprove the null hypothe

Farewell iSixSigma

By Ron Pereira - July 25th, 2011

As some may have already heard iSixSigma is most likely closing its doors due to its parent company Schofield Media losing its bank financing. A few bloggers and companies selling Six Sigma related products have recently posted their t

Gemba Glossary: Gemba

By Ron Pereira - July 22nd, 2011

Here is the latest Gemba Glossary video focused on the word gemba. If you missed any of the preview Gemba Glossary videos be sure to check them out: Gemba Glossary: 5S Gemba Glossary: 7 Wastes Gemba Glossary: Kaizen Once the video begi

Help! No Management Support!

By Ron Pereira - July 19th, 2011

Most will agree that having top management support is crucial to succeeding at any form of continuous improvement – lean, six sigma, TOC, etc. But what happens when management isn’t behind the employees who are attempting to use le

7 Amish Habits to Make You Lean and Wealthy

By Jon Miller - July 17th, 2011

An article ran one week ago in the Seattle Times, titled “The frugal Amish know about wealth”. The Amish Mennonites are a subgroup of Protestant Christians mostly living in rural communities in parts of USA and Canda. They

Gemba Glossary: Kaizen

By Ron Pereira - July 14th, 2011

Here is the latest Gemba Glossary video focused on the word kaizen. If you missed any of the preview Gemba Glossary videos please be sure to check them out: Gemba Glossary: 5S Gemba Glossary: 7 Wastes And to access more than 165 othe

3 Ways to Break Through Productivity Ruts

By Ron Pereira - July 12th, 2011

We’ve all been there… stuck in rut. Unmotivated. Bored. Possibly even a bit down in the dumps. And, to be sure, when we’re in this dip it’s easy for our personal productivity to hit rock bottom. With this said, here are 3 thing

The New Math of Daily Kaizen

By Jon Miller - July 10th, 2011

The true meaning of kaizen, we like to say at our Institute, is to involve everyone everywhere in making improvements every day. Kaizen is not just about the 5-day rapid improvement events, although these can be great vehicles for brin

Month: July 2011