Avatar photo

Steve Kane

Steve is responsible for Gemba Academy's lean coaching and certifications. Prior to Gemba Academy, Steve had a diverse career ranging from being responsible for a large medical device sales territory, plant manager where he leveraged lean methods to drive improvement, and VP Operations at Specialty Silicone Fabricators where he led the lean efforts of the company. He has served on the western region board of The Association for Manufacturing Excellence and has worked with the Michigan Lean Learning Consortium and the California Central Coast Lean Forum.

Find Steve Elsewhere

82 Articles

Instructions Aren’t Enough

By Steve Kane - May 25th, 2018

During a recent airline emergency, cabin pressure was lost and the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.  Passengers donned the masks, but not quite as instructed. Mobile phone videos of the incident showed many passengers wearing th

Where Do I Start with Lean?

By Steve Kane - April 27th, 2018

Where should I start with Lean? is a common question we receive at Gemba Academy.  Some say starting with 5S is a must.  Others favor eliminating the seven deadly wastes. Others still suggest value stream mapping.  A great question

Avoid the Ambush

By Steve Kane - February 23rd, 2018

As I’m writing this, I’m attending the Toyota Kata Summit in Atlanta.  The early keynotes of the conference touched on several important aspects of Lean leadership.  Among them were the general topic of respect for people

Big Decisions Don’t Lead to Results

By Steve Kane - January 26th, 2018

The Big Idea January’s the month for resolutions–big decisions to make significant changes in one’s life.  Celebration of the new year offers a sense of renewal and opportunity for change.  While the month of Januar

Happy Thanksgiving

By Steve Kane - November 23rd, 2017

During this time of Thanksgiving we would like to express to you our sincere appreciation to each and every one of you for reading our blog, listening to our podcast, and watching our videos.  Because of you, we are able to do the wor

I Feel Better Already

By Steve Kane - October 27th, 2017

A customer recently contacted me to let me know that business conditions had changed and he would be unable to put his Gemba Academy subscription to use.  He was consumed with several business problems to solve at once and was working

There’s Value in Simple, Visual and Manual Systems

By Steve Kane - September 22nd, 2017

The advancement of technology of the years has put the sum of human knowledge at our fingertips.  We can look up pretty much anything we want to know in a matter of seconds.  Data systems have enabled us to see details of our busines

Questions from a Gemba Academy Subscriber

By Steve Kane - August 25th, 2017

When customers start a subscription with Gemba Academy we like to start with discussion about how we can help them meet their Lean goals. A recent new customer was very well prepared for our conversation and had four prepared question

Why I Mow My Own Lawn

By Steve Kane - July 28th, 2017

There are things you should do yourself and other things you should pay someone else to do It seems that, for many people, there is no uncertainty about which category lawn maintenance falls into.  This is why lawn maintenance compani

“I Didn’t Teach the Dog Anything”

By Steve Kane - June 23rd, 2017

The Dog is a Handful I have a Jack Russell Terrier named Kirby.  Kirby has some–how should I put it–less than desirable behavioral traits.  He’s a great dog most of the time.  Other times, he can be a handful.  Fo

Start your Lean & Six Sigma training today.