Lean Office Archives | Page 7 of 12

GA 192 | How to Use Visual Management with Julie Lushbough

By Jessica Bush - December 7th, 2017

This week’s guest is Julie Lushbough. Julie works for Hallmark and shared her lean journey with us, including her experience using visual management. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode

GA 191 | How to Reflect on the Roles of Fear and Love in Continuous Improvement with Renée Smith

By Jessica Bush - November 30th, 2017

This week’s guest is Renée Smith, a Lean Transformation Services Director for the State of Washington. Renée shared her fascinating findings on fear, love, and their roles in continuous improvement. An MP3 version of this episo

GA 190 | How to Use Lean in Software Development vs. Operations with Tom and Mary Poppendieck

By Jessica Bush - November 23rd, 2017

This week’s guests are Tom and Mary Poppendieck. Tom and Mary discussed the role that lean plays in software development, versus in more traditional operational contexts. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download h

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

GA 179 | How to Leverage Continuous Improvement in the Office with Jim Pecoraro

By Jessica Bush - September 7th, 2017

This week’s guest is consultant Jim Pecoraro. Jim and Ron discussed applying continuous improvement beyond manufacturing, specifically in an office or otherwise administrative context. An MP3 version of this episode is available

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

GA 172 | How to Apply Lean Through Virtual Coaching with Karyn Ross and EKemp

By Jessica Bush - July 20th, 2017

This week we have three guests: Karyn Ross, Elaine Camm, and Oliver Thompson. Karyn, a past podcast guest, provides virtual coaching to Elaine and Oliver, who are UK-based. The group discussed their lean journeys and the nature of virt

Lean Outside of Manufacturing

By Steve Kane - May 26th, 2017

There are so many examples of lean in manufacturing that it can be easy to understand how well-suited the methodology is for that industry. Folks in other types of organizations and roles often comment that it is difficult to transla

Getting Executive Buy-In

By Steve Kane - March 24th, 2017

A common struggle in the lean community is the perception that if senior leadership doesn’t drive lean, then the rest of the organization can’t be lean. As Masaaki Imai put it, the three most important requirements in em

GA 147 | How to Succeed at Value Stream Mapping with Beau Keyte

By Jessica Bush - January 26th, 2017

This week’s guest is Beau Keyte, an author and performance improvement coach with an impressive background. Ron and Beau discussed both editions of The Complete Lean Enterprise, the evolution of Value Stream Mapping, and more. An

How Do I Teach My Team?

By Steve Kane - January 20th, 2017

I like to think that a large part of a leader’s job is to teach, coach, mentor and inspire. And, working for people who do this well is often a great experience. The trouble is that there is typically little, if any, training

Facing the Firing Squad

By Steve Kane - December 16th, 2016

By Steve Kane I recently had the opportunity to watch a value stream mapping training event in an administrative process. These types of events are enjoyable for me because I always learn something new. The lesson learned th

Monitoring Agency Revises Date for Peak Lean

By Jon Miller - October 19th, 2011

October 19, 2011 Brussels (AP) One of the world’s leading efficiency trends monitoring agency, the Organization of Practitioners in Lean Enterprise Advancement and Sustainability (OPLEAS) issued a statement today revising the exp

With New Technology, Where Should We Go?

By Jon Miller - September 15th, 2011

According to a Wall Street Journal article from September 15, 2011, With New Technology, Start-Ups Go Lean start-ups are purportedly adopting a lean approach with the aid of new technology. However, this claim can be deceptive if we in

Lean Government Example: Defect Display Board

By Jon Miller - September 3rd, 2011

Here is a photo I took while on a hike through a state park with some family members one summer. Whether through an individual initiative by a park ranger or as part of a lean government initiative by Washington State, it is a great ex

Knowledge Workers Stand Up for a Healthier Workplace

By Jon Miller - September 2nd, 2011

The use of standing desks by knowledge workers is starting to go mainstream, according to an article by the Wall Street Journal titled Standing Desks Are on the Rise. Focusing mainly on Silicon Valley firms such as Google and Facebook,

The Non-Standard Semantics of Standardization

By Jon Miller - October 31st, 2010

The words standard, standards, and standardization with their associated concepts and meanings cause a lot of trouble for lean thinkers and others whose intentions are to promote continuous improvement without the lean label. A basic p

Practical Pokayoke: Preventing Phone Charger Loss

By Jon Miller - October 19th, 2010

This is an example of a great pokayoke (mistake proofing). My road warrior colleague Kent is prone to forget his phone charger, leaving them plugged in when he departs. The photo above shows the simple yet brilliant application of the

Wasting Time in 3 Billion Meetings

By Jon Miller - October 8th, 2010

Meetings are one of the few times when humans have the opportunity to positively and constructively interact with one another, yet it seems businesses and organizations large and small struggle to make them effective. In fact often mee

Here It Comes, the Lean Burrito!

By Jon Miller - September 9th, 2010

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5 Ways the Obeya (Big Room) Increases Profit

By Jon Miller - August 28th, 2010

Walls. If you live in the modern world or work within a secondary or tertiary industry, look up and you will see a wall. Ahead, behind or to the side of you the wall is there. We walk along, past and through them every day but think no

What’s Next for Lean?

By Jon Miller - August 21st, 2010

Whether I am speaking about lean to an audience of one or one hundred if the conversation goes on long enough the question inevitably arises; what’s next for lean? I always manage an answer, typically tying it to the theme of the

New Video Training for the 7 QC (Quality Control) Tools

By Jon Miller - July 17th, 2010

Some say “lean reduces waste, six sigma reduces variation” but this is a misconception. Both aim to reduce waste and both rely on a variety of common sense tools and sophisticated statistical methods to improve quality and

Three Questions about Standardized Work in the Office

By Jon Miller - April 27th, 2010

A client asked an earnest question. I have my opinions but not observed facts. In fact I have heard conflicting information on this issue, with respect to Toyota. How does Toyota manage their support staff documentation? Around what %

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