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Blog Archive

Respect for People: Japanese Style

By Ron Pereira - March 18th, 2008

During my recent travels through Japan I was paying close attention to the words and actions of the Japanese leaders we met. One of my trip goals was to gain a better understanding of how the Japanese practiced the concept of “respec

101 Kaizen Templates: PWINT Kaizen Worksheet

By Jon Miller - March 18th, 2008

The idea of PWINT kaizen is to look for kaizen ideas that are within a narrowly defined process band, with a particular perspective of observation. The letters PWINT stand for Processing, Waiting, Inspection and Transportation. It̵

How you can help a child in need

By Ron Pereira - March 17th, 2008

My friend, and fellow blogger, Mark Graban of the Lean Blog is asking us to help a child in need.  Specifically, he has a launched a virtual toy drive for children staying in a hospital. I don’t ask much of my blog readers ̵

Improving Healthcare Delivery by Studying Toyota

By Jon Miller - March 17th, 2008

The Seattle Post Intelligencer has a good article giving an update on the lean journey at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, titled To build a better hospital, Virginia Mason takes lessons from Toyota plants When you think of a

The Week in Lean Blogging: Wk. 11, 2008

By Jon Miller - March 16th, 2008

It seems like this was “back to basics week” in many ways, from my reading of various blogs. First there was Mike Wroblewski’s excellent post based on his experience from a recent kaizen event, about how a good layout

Toyota: 97% Efficient

By Ron Pereira - March 16th, 2008

Sitting on an airplane for 12 hours and dealing with a 14 hour time difference will definitely take it out of a person.  But after a day of rest (if playing and chasing my 3 kids can be called rest) I am beginning to feel a little mor

JKE Update: Reflection and 122 Degree Sand!

By Ron Pereira - March 14th, 2008

The final exam for those of us on the Japanese Kaikaku Experience was like none other I have ever taken. We were buried in 122 degree Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) sand and asked to recite the 10 kaizen commandments wearing nothing b

101 Kaizen Templates: Production Control Board

By Jon Miller - March 13th, 2008

The hourly production control board, otherwise known as the hour by hour chart, is used to monitor the progress or output of a process against plan. The advantage of this kaizen template is in its simplicity, near real time performance

JKE Update: One Million Spark Plugs per Day

By Ron Pereira - March 13th, 2008

Today, on day 4 of my Japanese Kaikaku Experience, we visited the NGK spark plug factory where they produce approximately 1.1 million spark plugs per day. On our first day Brad, our guide, told us to focus on the good.  He challenged

Fixed Position Stop System

By Jon Miller - March 12th, 2008

Brandon posted a question in the comment section of an article about hourly production control boards, asking: “I have an automotive assembly line and it contains six different stations. The vehicles are on a automated line that

JKE Update: Information Overload

By Ron Pereira - March 12th, 2008

Hello from Kagoshima, Japan.  Last night we stayed in a traditional Japanese style hotel.  It was an experience to say the least!  As cool as it was, Internet connection was not part of their offering… so I am a little behind

JKE Day 1: Harmony and Toyota

By Ron Pereira - March 10th, 2008

Awesome.  That’s how day 1 of my Japanese Kaikaku experience turned out.  I am not even sure where to start or what to say.  My mind is so full… and I have 4 more days to go! Big Harmony After breakfast we began our day

101 Kaizen Templates: Kaizen Newspaper

By Jon Miller - March 7th, 2008

One guideline for operating an effective suggestion system is to limit the scope of suggestions. A person’s kaizen ideas should focus on the work they themselves do. Sometimes teams of people develop kaizen ideas, but the same rule a

I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane!

By Ron Pereira - March 6th, 2008

It seems like only yesterday I first announced I was headed to Japan.  Well, time definitely flies.  This Saturday I am headed East to visit the best of the best as I join Gemba Research on their Japanese Kaikaku Experience. It̵

Brett Favre – Greatest Ever?

By Ron Pereira - March 5th, 2008

“No data have meaning apart from their context.” – Donald Wheeler Unless you live under a rock (or perhaps outside of the USA) you have likely heard that Brett Favre has decided to retire from the NFL. Like him or not

Considerations on Maintaining the Fairness of Kaizen Ideas Reward Systems

By Jon Miller - March 5th, 2008

Would you rather have 10 people each solving one $250,000 problem per year? Or would your rather have 100 people each solving ten $2,500 problems per year? This may be one of the key ways to distinguish continuous improvement via lean

Key Points for Managing Kaizen Idea Systems

By Jon Miller - March 4th, 2008

A sustained kaizen idea suggestion system can be one of the most powerful ways to keep people engaged in continuous improvement. Yet even after 50+ years, Toyota can struggle with this in some parts. Below are the three most common que

Free iSixSigma Salary Webcast

By Ron Pereira - March 3rd, 2008

Our friend Michael Marx over at iSixSigma will be hosting a free webcast Tuesday, March 4 at 11:00 AM EST.  As of this morning, more than 850 people had already registered for the event.  Here are the details of the event. Mark your

101 Kaizen Templates: Kaizen Idea Suggestion Form

By Jon Miller - March 3rd, 2008

Long-term success in becoming a Lean or Agile organization depends on making many small changes. The kaizen philosophy and its many thinking tools helps with this. The suggestion system, when combined with coaching of ideas, is also a

Introducing the Kaizen Newspaper

By Ron Pereira - March 2nd, 2008

This evening we conclude our series on value stream mapping.  We have covered lots of ground.  If you are just joining us, no worries, you can catch up by reading the following articles. Value Stream Mapping Overview How to Create a

Revisiting “Why Flow Counter Clockwise?”

By Ron Pereira - February 29th, 2008

I don’t normally do this, but I’d like to revisit a past article I wrote about why u-shaped cells often flow counter-clockwise.  Specifically, I’d like to share an excellent comment from Bryan Lund of Training Withi

Lean Blog Update

By Ron Pereira - February 28th, 2008

Our friend, Mark, over at the Lean Blog is battling some technical difficulties.  He is working hard to fix things. 

The Time of Fulfillment

By Ron Pereira - February 28th, 2008

The word metanoia literally means the changing of one’s mind through repentance. Spiritual Life In the theological sense, metanoia occurs when a person examines their life and decides to turn away from sin and towards God. Often time

Three Essential Supervisor Skills for Standard Work

By Jon Miller - February 27th, 2008

Standard work (called standardized work at Toyota) is hard but it’s so important. As one of the cornerstones of the lean system, the difference between having standard work and not having it is truly a step difference in an organ

101 Kaizen Templates: Lean Leadership Self Check

By Jon Miller - February 26th, 2008

In a blog post, Ron Pereira explains that a Real Leader, “…listens, respects, challenges, disciplines, and genuinely cares about his or her employees. Yes, real leadership is hard to practice. But just like a healthy and ha

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