Gemba Academy Blog

Blog Archive

Time for an Ohno Prize?

By Jon Miller - November 18th, 2005

Bill Waddell asks readers to help him out in answering the question “Why should anyone apply for the Shingo Prize?” in a recent blog entry. Bill points out that now bankrupt Delphi spent around $300,000 to win Shingo Prizes

Setting the Bridges to Nowhere to the Torch

By Jon Miller - November 17th, 2005

It’s been a good week for Lean government. First Senator Joseph Lieberman says he will bring a “little of your Kaizen attitude back to the United States Senate” while visiting a factory doing Lean manufacturing in Con

Eric’s Japan Lean Benchmarking Trip, 3

By Jon Miller - November 16th, 2005

This is the third and final installation of Eric’s report from his Lean manufacturing benchmarking trip to Japan in October. “Omron Taiyo manufactures electronic parts and employs the handicapped. Omron Taiyo produces vario

Peter Pan, Kaizen and Joseph Lieberman

By Jon Miller - November 15th, 2005

An article in today’s New Britain Herald brightened what was otherwise a rainy, jet-lagged winter day here in the Puget Sound. Connecticut is a hotbed of Lean manufacturing and kaizen activity. Many clients of the Shingijutsu con

Gemba Keiei Chapter 11: Wasted Motion is Not Work

By Jon Miller - November 14th, 2005

In this chapter Taiichi Ohno talks about the importance of training your eyes to see the difference between wasted motion and value added work. Another theme is the way the words you use affect how you think and behave. An English exam

In Defense of Mr. Rogers

By Jon Miller - November 13th, 2005

I’ve been enjoying Bill Waddell’s tough-and-straight postings lately on the Evolving Excellence blog. I had to stop and think awhile after reading last week’s posting titled Ohno, Shingo and Bobby Knight. I have a lot

Skill Matrix Enables Suggestion System

By Jon Miller - November 10th, 2005

We received a call from a kaizen facilitator who was concerned that their suggestion system was losing steam. We went to their Gemba to find out what was going wrong. This company was receiving plenty of suggestions. They had copies of

Lean Government Update Nov. 9, 2005

By Jon Miller - November 9th, 2005

New Lean Government Champion in Mesa, Arizona A new potential Lean government champion hit our radar today with the appointment of Christopher J. Brady as the City Manager of Mesa, Arizona. Based on the azcentral.com article Mr. Brady

Eric’s Japan Lean Benchmarking Trip, 2

By Jon Miller - November 8th, 2005

The impressions of what he saw are still strong in Eric’s mind several weeks after returning from his Lean manufacturing benchmarking trip to Japan: “The visit to Toyota was everything I expected, which was amazing. We firs

Recommended Book: China, Inc. by Ted Fishman

By Jon Miller - November 7th, 2005

I had some trans-Pacific airplane time recently so I read China, Inc. by Ted C. Fishman. It’s not without flaws but it gives good context and perspective about China to much of the news and views you hear on China in the media to

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