Lean Archives | Page 41 of 68

GA 133 | How to Create a Visual Workplace with Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth

By Jessica Bush - October 20th, 2016

Today’s guest is Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth, an author and consultant who specializes in the visual workplace. Gwendolyn shared her fascinating background with us and explained the importance of visuality. This in-depth conversati

How Lean Thinking Can Relieve Traffic Jams

By Jon Miller - October 17th, 2016

Seattle owns the dubious distinction of having one of the 10 worst traffic experiences in the United States. This is due to a combination of geography, lack of long-term transportation planning, population growth, and driver behavi

Designing a Lean Home

By Kevin Meyer - October 14th, 2016

I’ve received several comments on The Simple Leader, with some of the most unexpected having to do with the section where I discuss my desire to design and build a home with Lean principles in mind. If I hadn’t studied chem

GA 132 | How to Apply Lean to Puzzle Manufacturing with Don Scott

By Jessica Bush - October 13th, 2016

Today’s guest is Don Scott of Buffalo Games, a puzzle and board game company. Don described his take on continuous improvement as well as the challenges that pertain to this unique industry. An MP3 version of this episode is

Five Thoreau Quotes to Reflect on Continuous Improvement

By Jon Miller - October 10th, 2016

Nineteenth century American poet, agitator for social change and champion of simple living Henry David Thoreau had a lot to say about continuous improvement. Here are five quotes that will help us reflect on how we improve. “Man

GA 131 | How to Develop a Well-Rounded Approach to Lean with Chad Vincent

By Jessica Bush - October 6th, 2016

Today’s guest is Chad Vincent, a Lean Leader with an extremely diverse background and a lot of coaching experience. Ron and Chad discussed Chad’s work applying lean in several different industries, and what he has learned

Learning the Wrong Lessons from Failure

By Jon Miller - October 3rd, 2016

In the early days of lean it was all about imitation. People looked at Japanese factories and said, “They have quality circles, let’s have quality circles.” Or TQM, or kanban or JIT or kaizen. Lean factories work in

GA 130 | How to Succeed at Every Stage of Your Lean Journey with Greg Williams

By Jessica Bush - September 29th, 2016

Today’s guest is Greg Williams, Chair Elect of AME and Director of Enterprise Excellence at Aera Energy LLC. Greg shared some of the stories and valuable wisdom he’s accumulated from his impressive lean background. There i

Better Decisions through Headspace Mapping

By Jon Miller - September 26th, 2016

When I was just getting started in business twenty years ago, one of my mentors had the habit of asking me, “Are you making an emotional decision or are you making a business decision?” A business decision, of course, I wou

GA 129 | How to Apply Lean to Agriculture with Jeff Duarte

By Jessica Bush - September 22nd, 2016

Today’s guest is Jeff Duarte, of Duarte Nursery. Located in Hughson, California, Ron and Jeff discussed Duarte Nursery’s lean journey and what they’ve learned so far. An MP3 version of this episode is available for do

Why We Don’t Correct Mistakes Right Away

By Jon Miller - September 19th, 2016

The 10 commandments of continuous improvement are a set of precepts that guide lean behavior. One of the commandments is “if it’s a problem, stop and fix it”. This is also phrased “correct mistakes right aw

Protect the Process

By Steve Kane - September 16th, 2016

This article is a continuation of the series based on best practices from the Gemba Academy community. Part 1: Don’t Let Perfect Get in the Way of Good Part 2: Create a Learning Path It’s easy to get consumed with KP

GA 128 | How to Implement Lean Efforts That Last with Amanda Culver

By Jessica Bush - September 15th, 2016

Today’s guest is Amanda Culver. Amanda has over 10 years of experience with Lean and Six Sigma, especially as it applies to Pharmaceuticals. She shared a lot of valuable insight with us, including her take on why organizations

New Gemba Academy Videos: Seven Wastes in Spanish

By Kevin Meyer - September 13th, 2016

We recently announced the launch of Gemba Academy Español. We began with 5S and now we are very excited to announce the release of the next course, The Seven Deadly Wastes (Los 7 Desperdicios de la Producción)! As a reminder, anyo

What Are Your Lean Precepts?

By Jon Miller - September 12th, 2016

At Gemba Academy, we are not shy about using Japanese words when it helps to keep the lesson clear and concise. For others, less is more when it comes to using Japanese terminology as part of lean practice. Whatever words are used, th

The Value of Depth and Detail

By Kevin Meyer - September 9th, 2016

Nearly three decades ago one of my first bosses pulled me aside – I forget the underlying incident except that I had somehow screwed up – and bluntly told me to “sweat the details.” I clearly remember it to this day, and it bec

GA 127 | How to Apply Lean to Different Industries with Gary Beaudette

By Jessica Bush - September 8th, 2016

Today’s guest is Gary Beaudette, a consultant with an impressive lean background. Gary and Ron discussed Gary’s career thus far, the different industries he’s applied lean to, and more. An MP3 version of this episode

How to Spot Signs of a Lean Collapse

By Jon Miller - September 5th, 2016

Before your lean effort collapses, it slows down. That’s the gist from an article on what it looks like when society collapses, which discusses findings from a recent National Academy of Sciences paper. We can view an organizat

Lean Thinker Challenge #9

By Ron Pereira - September 2nd, 2016

Welcome to another edition of the Lean Thinker Challenge! It’s been awhile since we’ve done one of these and I’m excited to hear what you think! The Situation You’ve worked at the same company for 4 years as a Lean Specialist.

GA 126 | Scaling Lean with Ash Maurya

By Jessica Bush - September 1st, 2016

Today’s guest is Ash Maurya, an entrepreneur and author in the Lean Startup realm. Ash explained how lean applies to entrepreneurship and discussed his books, Running Lean and Scaling Lean. An MP3 version of this episode is

The Lean Journey: All in a Day’s Work

By Jon Miller - August 29th, 2016

Since the earliest days (ca. 1995) of the application of Toyota Production System principles being described as “Lean”, this word has been paired with “journey”. Lean is a journey, we are told. It is a trip.

GA 125 | How to Introduce Lean with Dalton Prather

By Jessica Bush - August 25th, 2016

Today’s guest is Dalton Prather, a Lean Coordinator who is at the beginning of his continuous improvement journey. Dalton shared his approach to introducing lean, his goals for the future, and more. An MP3 version of this episod

When Externalizing Costs Erodes Brand Value

By Jon Miller - August 22nd, 2016

What would you say if your lean expert suggested cutting the cost of poor quality by drastically reducing inspectors and letting customers find the defects after they left the building? Ludicrous! You exclaim. That’s no cost red

Create a Learning Path

By Steve Kane - August 19th, 2016

This article is a continuation of the series based on best practices from the Gemba Academy community: Part 1: Don’t let perfect get in the way of good Part 2: Create a Learning Path Lean, for many organizations, involves transfo

GA 124 | How to Utilize People-Centric Leadership with Ron Harper

By Jessica Bush - August 18th, 2016

Today’s guest is Ron Harper, President of Cogent Power Inc and Canadian AME board member. Ron talked to us about people-centric leadership, how to transition to it from a traditional leadership approach, the obstacles you might

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