Gemba Academy

Genchi Gembutsu in Aceh, Indonesia

By Jon Miller - November 3rd, 2005

Indonesia was not high on the list of places I thought I would read about an example of Lean government. So I was pleasantly surprised to find an article on the front page of the November 2, 2005 Wall Street Journal titled After the Ts

Client tells Gemba: “We’re Wasting Our Money by Paying You”

By Jon Miller - November 2nd, 2005

Earlier this week I had a chance to join one of our consultants on a follow up visit to one of our clients. We were there for a Lean transformation progress check and to make training and kaizen project plans for 2006. We reviewed thei

Eric’s Lean Benchmarking Trip to Japan, Part 1

By Jon Miller - October 31st, 2005

Last week Eric Sander joined a group of clients on our Lean manufacturing benchmarking trip. It was Eric’s first trip to Japan. Eric survived a week of fish and rice. When he got back to the United States, he had a nice plate of

Design Process Around People

By Jon Miller - October 29th, 2005

The issue of policing the time people spend on bathroom breaks at Ford sparked discussions online and in forums this week. The Lean Manufacturing Blog and the Superfactory blog both posted thoughtful commentary. Ford management reporte

Gemba Keiei Chapter 10: The Misconception that Mass Production is Cheaper

By Jon Miller - October 28th, 2005

“Another example of a misconception that becomes common sense,” Taiichi Ohno begins “is the idea that mass production is cheaper so that by the same logic low volume production must cost more. I have seen many factori

Toyota Loves France!

By Jon Miller - October 27th, 2005

Or so the full page ad taken out by the French government in the Otober 31, 2005 issue of BusinessWeek would have you believe. The ad takes no chances that the reader might not get the point, using the tag line “The New France. W

Toyota is No Friend of the Earth, Say Greens

By Jon Miller - October 26th, 2005

Last week I praised Toyota’s environmental efforts but a new and sharply critical ad campaign is making me reconsider. Even as Toyota continues its advertising campaign to promote its Hybrid Synergy Drive technology with the R

Tune into NUMMI Tour Tales

By Jon Miller - October 25th, 2005

Today Mark Graban posted his first trip report from his visit to NUMMI, the GM / Toyota joint venture in California. I won’t give away the details, but it’s a good reminder to “abandon fixed ideas” and do what&#

Kaizen Mindset at the Head of Chrysler

By Jon Miller - October 24th, 2005

The October 24, 2005 Wall Street Journal article At Chrysler, Profits Don’t Keep Chief From Cutting Costs has a funny title. Why would profit keep you from cutting costs? Not everyone thinks like Taiichi Ohno, who gave chapter 14

How Not to Spend $453 Million