January 2019 | Gemba Academy

GA 252 | Standard Work in the Office with Steve Ansuini

By Jessica Bush - January 31st, 2019

This week’s guest is Steve Ansuini. Steve discussed his time at Toyota, including how he implemented Standard Work and Job Instruction Breakdowns in the office. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In th

How Wrong Should We Be?

By Jon Miller - January 28th, 2019

A Scientific American article titled How Wrong Should You Be? offered an answer to a question that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. Like many answers, this one raises further questions. Taiichi Ohno’s wrote in Wor

What’s the Thinking Behind the Tools

By Steve Kane - January 25th, 2019

I have a small hobby business I run on the weekends. It involves some simple assembly and kitting, which I do in my basement. I’ve come to the point where flow has become the next problem to solve. What’s the Convention

GA 251 | Lean in New Hampshire with Heather Barto and Tommy Lencki Jr.

By Jessica Bush - January 24th, 2019

This week’s guests are Heather Barto and Sergeant Tommy Lencki Jr. Heather and Tommy both work for the state of New Hampshire, and they described their involvement in the state’s continuous improvement initiatives. An MP3 v

New Toyota Kata Resources Page

By Ron Pereira - January 23rd, 2019

Starting this month we are publishing a monthly article on a continuous improvement topic, with an accompanying resources page with resources, videos, and tools to support it. This month’s topic is Toyota Kata (TK) and the Scientific

How to do Direct Observation of Knowledge Work

By Jon Miller - January 21st, 2019

Knowledge workers are people who make their living primarily by thinking. They include software programmers, scientists, academics, physicians, lawyers, engineers, managers, architects, designers, accountants and various other white-co

GA 250 | Using Process Behavior Charts with Mark Graban

By Jessica Bush - January 17th, 2019

This week’s guest is Mark Graban. This is Mark’s sixth episode with us, and this time he discussed his new book, Measures of Success, as well as how Process Behavior Charts can be used in different contexts. An MP3 version

The Importance of Problem Breakdown for New Year’s Resolutions

By Jon Miller - January 14th, 2019

Endings and beginnings are both good times for reflection. Many people set goals for the new year around now. My habit is to carry over most resolutions or personal goals from year to year. A positive way to view this is that there is

Herb Kelleher: Creating Economic Value Based on Human Values

By Kevin Meyer - January 11th, 2019

A legendary CEO, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, passed away last week. Many articles have already been written memorializing him, including this one by Bill Taylor in the Harvard Business Review and this one by our friend Mark

GA 249 | Lean in Thailand, China, and India with John Chacon

By Jessica Bush - January 10th, 2019

This week’s guest is John Chacon. Ron and John discussed John’s career, specifically his experiences practicing lean in different parts of Asia. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode

Month: January 2019