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Ron Pereira

Ron has more than 20 years of experience in various manufacturing, supply chain, and senior leadership roles. Ron has held the titles of process engineer, engineering manager, master black belt, and director of manufacturing & continuous improvement. In 2002 Ron was the first American to win the Nokia Global Six Sigma and Overall Quality award in Helsinki, Finland. Ron holds a bachelor's degree in automated manufacturing and an MBA in technology management.

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759 Articles

What’s Faster: One Piece Flow or Mass Production? Watch This Envelope Stuffing Simulation To Find Out!

By Ron Pereira - July 29th, 2014

We recently re-shot the first video I ever created back in 2008. Specifically, this video shows the difference between one piece flow and mass production. I first learned of this simulation many years ago while reading the book Lean

GA 016 | Developing Lean Leaders with Jamie Flinchbaugh

By Ron Pereira - July 24th, 2014

This episode’s guest is Jamie Flinchbaugh, who has over 20 years of lean transformation experience. I’ve followed his work for years and was so excited to finally connect with him on this episode. Jamie is such a down-to-

We Have Met the Enemy

By Ron Pereira - July 21st, 2014

My 7-year-old son and I were recently driving together in the car. My son isn’t normally a big talker (his sisters more than make up for it… ha!) so we were engaged in some small talk while listening to the radio. Then, out

GA 015 | Lean Healthcare in Tanzania with Mike Grogan

By Ron Pereira - July 17th, 2014

Today’s guest is Mike Grogan, who works for CCBRT, a medical relief clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This episode is particularly inspiring…Mike’s answers stayed with me long after our conversation was over. To hear

GA 014 | Lean Leadership with Adam Zak

By Ron Pereira - July 10th, 2014

This week’s podcast guest is Adam Zak, a Lean Executive Recruiter. With a diverse background in lean thinking, accounting, finance, and management Adam uses his unique perspective to share some truly powerful advice. If youR

GA 013 | Lean and Six Sigma in the Service Industry at West Texas A&M with Bryan Glenn

By Ron Pereira - July 3rd, 2014

I’m thrilled to welcome Bryan Glenn as today’s podcast guest. As the Director of Purchasing and Inventory Services at West Texas A&M University, Bryan is responsible for the implementation of the school’s lean ini

GA 012 | Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement with Mike Thelen

By Ron Pereira - June 26th, 2014

Today’s podcast guest is Mike Thelen, Senior Lean Consultant at the Kaizen Institute. Mike is a great guy with a contagious passion for all things continuous improvement.  His advice on getting colleagues, managers, and industry

GA 011 | The Role of Employee Ideas in Continuous Improvement with Dr. Greg Jacobson

By Ron Pereira - June 19th, 2014

I’m excited to introduce this episode’s guest, Greg Jacobson, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of KaiNexus. Also an emergency medicine practitioner, Greg brings a unique angle to the subject of continuous improvement.

The Secret to Lean Success in One Sentence

By Ron Pereira - June 16th, 2014

I was working on an office value stream map module for the refresh we’re doing to our Transforming your Value Streams course. During this module we share several questions that can be asked as team’s work to create an impro

GA 010 | Using Lean to Help NGOs with Steve Bell

By Ron Pereira - June 12th, 2014

This episode’s guest speaker is Steve Bell, a longtime lean thinker. While his background is in the IT and Agile spaces, Steve’s passion is using lean to help NGOs and nonprofits. I think you’ll find Steve’s a

Gemba Academy Culture Code – A Guide to the Way of Life at Gemba Academy

By Ron Pereira - June 9th, 2014

My business associates and I have been busy creating what we’re calling the “Gemba Academy Culture Code.” We’re sharing it with the world since we hope it gives everyone a better idea of what we’re strivin

GA 009 | Applying Lean Thinking at Home to Improve Your Family’s Way of Life with Joel Gross

By Ron Pereira - June 5th, 2014

Do you practice lean thinking at home? And I don’t mean simply 5Sing your garage… I mean really practicing the tenets of what authentic lean is all about. Well, today’s guest, Joel Gross, most definitely does and I

GA 008 | Creating a Kaizen Culture with Jon Miller

By Ron Pereira - May 29th, 2014

In this episode I’m joined by one of the most incredible lean thinkers I’ve ever known, Jon Miller. Jon is the CEO of the Kaizen Institute and one of my business partners at Gemba Academy.  I’m also proud to call J

GA 007 | Using Lean Thinking to Transform the Healthcare Industry with Mark Graban

By Ron Pereira - May 27th, 2014

In this episode I’m joined by one of the world’s leading lean healthcare experts, Mark Graban. During the show Mark and I discuss how lean is being leveraged within the healthcare world.  And even if you don’t work

How I Got to Inbox Zero and Have Maintained It For More Than One Month

By Ron Pereira - May 20th, 2014

My email inbox is currently at 0.  Actually, no, that’s not right.  My email inboxes are currently at 0. You see, I have three different inboxes configured within my Apple Mail – my main Gemba Academy inbox, my personal G

GA 006 | Exploring Why So Many Companies Struggle to Fully Embrace Continuous Improvement with Bill Waddell

By Ron Pereira - May 15th, 2014

In this episode, I’m joined by one of the most experienced lean thinkers I know.  Bill Waddell is a lean author, blogger, and consultant. Bill is, without doubt, one of the most interesting and, some might even say, controversia

GA 005 | Value Stream Mapping: How to Visualize Work and Align Leadership for Organizational Transformation with Karen Martin

By Ron Pereira - May 8th, 2014

In this episode, I’m joined by one of the most passionate lean thinkers I’ve ever met – Karen Martin. During this podcast, Karen and I explore the topic of Value Stream Mapping. Specifically, Karen and I have an excel

GA 004 | Leveraging the Toyota Kata Approach to Learning & Coaching with Michael Lombard

By Ron Pereira - May 8th, 2014

During this podcast Michael Lombard and I explore the Toyota Kata topic. Michael, a long time lean thinker, is the Director of Operational Excellence at a major hospital here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Specifically, during this sho

Lean Thinker Challenge #5

By Ron Pereira - May 5th, 2014

Welcome to another edition of the Lean Thinker Challenge! The Situation Your company has been on the lean journey for a little over a year… things have gone well and while there’s been some resistance to change most associ

GA 003 | Learn What Joyfulness and Lean Thinking Have in Common with Richard Sheridan

By Ron Pereira - May 1st, 2014

How much joy and happiness do you, and your colleagues, feel each and every day?  Are you excited to come to work or do you dread it?   No matter your answer… if you’re interested in learning how to create a more exciting

GA 002 | Learning, Focus, and Innovation with Matthew May

By Ron Pereira - April 30th, 2014

Welcome to Episode 2 of the Gemba Academy podcast! In this episode, I’m joined by Matt May.  Matt is an incredible lean thinker who specializes in helping companies innovate. Originally, Matt and I were planning to talk about an

GA 001 | Welcome to the Gemba Academy Podcast!

By Ron Pereira - April 30th, 2014

Welcome to the first episode of the Gemba Academy podcast! We’re extremely excited for this podcast and hope to reach as many people as possible with the good news that is lean and six sigma! During this first episode we share

My Final LSS Academy Post

By Ron Pereira - April 25th, 2014

I remember it like it was yesterday… it was January 2007 and I was sitting on my couch surfing the web while watching TV. I had just read a lean related blog article by my friend, Jon Miller, and wondered how hard it would be to

Is Home Depot’s Expedited Checkout Lean?

By Ron Pereira - March 31st, 2014

It’s warming up here in North Texas… as such businesses like Home Depot are EXTREMELY BUSY places. Yesterday I joined the crowd to buy some tomatoes and other vegetables to plant in our garden.  And, yes, the checkout line

My Newest Stand Up Desk!

By Ron Pereira - January 23rd, 2014

Friends, I have a confession to make. In November of 2009 I wrote about my new stand up desk. I was quite proud of how I’d managed to prop an old desk up on some crates… I guess you could say I definitely used my wits over my w

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