Lean Archives | Page 38 of 68

GA 162 | Continuous Improvement in the U.S. Air Force with Damien Hocquard

By Jessica Bush - May 11th, 2017

Today’s guest is Damien Hocquard, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces who is stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Ron and Damien discussed Damien’s lean journey working within the U.S. Air Force CPI (Continuou

New Videos: TWI Summit 2017

By Kevin Meyer - May 10th, 2017

Gemba Academy has just released a new Gemba Academy Live! series with the videos from the 2017 TWI Summit that was held in San Diego. In these videos you’ll see Roger Bilas discuss TWI and brain science, learn how TWI can used

New Videos: Practical Problem Solving in Spanish

By Kevin Meyer - May 10th, 2017

We just released our fifth course in the School of Lean in Spanish, Practical Problem Solving. Going beyond Spanish subtitles, which are already available on all School of Lean and School of Six Sigma courses, these new courses use n

Lean is Not About Principles

By Jon Miller - May 8th, 2017

Lately I’ve been involved in several conversations of “Is lean about tools or is it about principles?” Hardly anybody argues for the tools. The popular consensus is that Lean is about principles, but it is a vague and loos

Will Gemba Academy Put You Out of a Job?

By Ron Pereira - May 5th, 2017

Over the years we’ve been fortunate enough to talk to a lot of people about how Gemba Academy could add value to their organization’s lean and/or six sigma journey. Many times these conversations start as sales calls. Fol

GA 161 | Succeeding at Job Relations with Ron Pereira

By Jessica Bush - May 4th, 2017

In today’s episode, Ron discusses one of the three components of TWI, Job Relations (JR). He reviews the different steps, explains how to be successful at it, and shares an example from his personal life. An MP3 version of this e

The Lean Journey: It’s in the Name

By Jon Miller - May 1st, 2017

While attending a recent event showcasing the ongoing lean transformation at a local hospital, I was reminded of the meaning of “journey”. Those of us practicing continuous improvement for our personal benefit or on behalf

Following Their Moral Compass

By Steve Kane - April 28th, 2017

By Steve Kane As an aviation enthusiast and airplane pilot, I take an interest in pretty much all kinds of flying. YouTube provides seemingly endless entertainment for people like me. I recently started watching lots of videos on p

GA 160 | The Power of Job Methods with Steve Brenneman

By Jessica Bush - April 27th, 2017

Today’s episode is a presentation by Steve Brenneman, CEO of the Aluminum Trailer Company, from this year’s TWI Summit in San Diego. In this powerful and informative talk, Steve shares how they use Job Methods, one of the c

To Lead with Respect, Stop Boring People

By Jon Miller - April 24th, 2017

One of the greatest challenges for leaders of an organization is to keep people engaged in the work. Annual Gallup polls tell us that less than a third of U.S. workers are engaged. People who are engaged deliver better quality, produc

Ensconcing Paranoia in Rules

By Kevin Meyer - April 21st, 2017

Silly boy you got so much to live for So much to aim for, so much to try for You blow it all with, paranoia You’re so insecure you, self-destroyer paranoia, they destroy ya It’s been over a week since the United incident wh

GA 159 | Lean and Profitability with Jim Lancaster

By Jessica Bush - April 20th, 2017

Today’s guest is Jim Lancaster, CEO of Lantech. Ron and Jim discussed Lantech’s fascinating history and lean journey, including the obstacles they’ve faced over the years. An MP3 version of this episode is available f

Why Won’t Senior Leaders Attend My Lean Training?

By Jon Miller - April 17th, 2017

Nothing focuses the mind like… Most words that end this sentence are rather unpleasant. The hangman’s noose. Being shot at. Impending death. What these have in common is that they limit our future options. They are constr

GA 158 | The Importance of Employee Engagement with Deondra Wardelle

By Jessica Bush - April 13th, 2017

Today’s guest is Deondra Wardelle, who we met at this year’s KataCon conference in San Diego, California. Deondra is a Corporate Lean Director at MPS, or Multi Packaging Solutions. Ron and Deondra discussed employee engagem

King County Food Safety Rating System Earns a Fail

By Jon Miller - April 10th, 2017

The State of Washington boasts an active Lean community of large corporations, small startups, local hospitals, non-profits, state and local government. Both the State and King County, where Seattle is located, have Lean departments

When Opportunity & Job Instruction Meet

By Ron Pereira - April 7th, 2017

We’re just finishing up another awesome week of TWI Training here in the lovely state of Virginia. Specifically, we’re completing live Job Relations (JR) and Job Methods (JM) training with a room full of Gemba Academy students.

GA 157 | Using Brain Science to Understand TWI with Roger Bilas

By Jessica Bush - April 6th, 2017

This week’s episode is a live talk by Roger Bilas, which he gave at this year’s TWI Summit in San Diego, California. Roger explained why the three main components of TWI are done the way they are, specifically from a brain

Solution-Jumping Creates Problems

By Jon Miller - April 3rd, 2017

In my experience, the most so-called problem solving in this world is just solution-jumping. This is true in business, government policy, personal relationships, sports, personal health. We grease the squeaky wheel. We tamper with syst

GA 156 | The Current State of Lean in Healthcare with Mark Graban and Joe Swartz

By Jessica Bush - March 30th, 2017

This week’s guests are Mark Graban and Joe Swartz, both leaders in lean healthcare. They discussed the past and current states of lean in healthcare, as well as their upcoming workshop, Kaizen Live. An MP3 version of this episod

Lean Thinking Questions for a Provider Delay Board

By Jon Miller - March 27th, 2017

I recently joined a family member’s visit to a local medical center. A new visual control labeled “Provider Delay Board” was displayed prominently in the waiting area. The medical center in question is known for being

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 155 | Toyota Kata and the Power of Networking with Christopher Ferrier

By Jessica Bush - March 23rd, 2017

This week’s guest is Christopher Ferrier, who we met up with at the TWI/KataCon conference in San Diego, California. Ron and Christopher talked about Toyota Kata, the power of networking, ultramarathons, and more. An MP3 version

A Lean Look at Citigroup’s Ethics Improvement Efforts

By Jon Miller - March 20th, 2017

David Miller (no known relation) is a morality improvement consultant. That’s not morale, as in how people feel about their work, but morality, as in whether we are good people or bad people, in ethical terms. Featured in the W

A Painful Perpective from the Goofy Foot Pop Up

By Kevin Meyer - March 17th, 2017

For the past couple years I’ve worked hard at getting into the best shape I’ve been in in decades. In fact, many of us at Gemba Academy have, and we have a wellness program that encourages and rewards positive efforts tow

GA 154 | The Real Meaning of Lean with Art Byrne

By Jessica Bush - March 16th, 2017

This week’s guest is Art Byrne, author and highly respected lean leader. Ron and Art discussed Art’s lean journey, including his days as CEO of Wiremold. You won’t want to miss this one! An MP3 version of this episod

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