Gemba Academy

New Videos: Lean at the City of Grand Rapids

By Kevin Meyer - October 20th, 2016

Steve Kane, Director of Customer Success at Gemba Academy, visits a Gemba Academy customer, the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Steve had the opportunity to talk with decision makers, city executives, as well as as other city employees

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

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

If Not You, Who?

By Ron Pereira - October 7th, 2016

I was fortunate enough to speak at a FedEx leadership team meeting yesterday which was a ton of fun! Before I spoke I was able to hear a few presentations including an awesome talk by our great friend and fellow lean thinker, Jamie Pa

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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 Reducing Uncertainty with Guided Learning Path

Standard Work for Dairy Farmers

By Jon Miller - August 15th, 2016

The next time someone claims to have a work day that is too unpredictable, non-repetitive, requires flexibility, or otherwise not amenable to structuring and improving via leader standard work, have them study A Day in the Life of a Da

Respect by Sharing Knowledge

By Kevin Meyer - August 12th, 2016

Gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom. Sharing knowledge is the first step to humanity. – Unknown Well over a decade ago when I became president of a medical device company, I already had many years of Lean experience. I kn

New Gemba Academy Videos: In the Ditch Towing Products

By Kevin Meyer - August 9th, 2016

Ron and the Gemba Academy team make their way to Mountain Home, Idaho, to meet with Chuck Ceccarelli and his team at In The Ditch Towing Products. In the Ditch has been on their lean journey for several years, and this 23 video serie

Rebranding the Suggestion Box? Do Explain

By Jon Miller - August 8th, 2016

This suitcase-sized box was placed just outside the front doors of an old Catholic school in Oregon that had been converted into a hotel and restaurant. It boldly demanded EXPLAIN. Perhaps it the nuns that once ran the place put it t

My Ideal Day

By Ron Pereira - August 5th, 2016

It was around 11:30 PM on a Thursday night a little more than 7 years ago. I was sitting at my home office desk working late into the night. What was I working on? Two words – Gemba Academy. You see, when we first started Gemba A

The Three “I” of Continuous Improvement

By Jon Miller - August 1st, 2016

Gemba Academy recently launched a health & wellness program for its employees. I am very excited as this will force us to keep investigating what it takes to engage, improve and sustain positive change. We hope to give you updates

How Lean Organizations Control the Speed of Time

By Jon Miller - July 17th, 2016

They say time flies when you are having fun. Those of us that are middle aged or beyond often feel that time passes more quickly now than when we were younger. The two seem to contradict each other. Or does this mean that time flies

Don’t Let Perfection Get In the Way of Progress

By Steve Kane - July 15th, 2016

The Gemba Academy team is in a great position to interact with many lean practitioners around the world. With a thousand or so subscribing organizations and presumably hundreds of thousands of Gemba Academy users, we’re able to see

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