FEATURE – This insightful piece explores the true meaning of problem solving, looking at the common mistakes leaders make when they adopt some of its key practices.
FEATURE – Reflecting on the recently published book by Nate Furuta, the author discusses the role that deep thinking plays in a problem-finding culture and warns us against ready-to-use solutions.
FEATURE – This compelling article explores how our brain constantly looks for emotional resonance with the environment around us. Is this System-3 type thinking the key to enabling joint problem solving?
INTERVIEW – If we truly believe lean can change society, then we should use it as a lens through which to look into different aspects of our lives – even when those associations are hard to make. This month, we discuss the world of media.
FEATURE – Leading by solving problems is a key trait of any lean leader, but it is important to understand that not all problems are their prerogative.
INTERVIEW – Top leaders at Chilean company Elecmetal talk to us about how lean has transformed their role in the organization and how capability development is fuelling change.
FEATURE – The Japanese organizing guru has become very popular in recent years, but what does Lean Thinking tell us about her approach?
FEATURE – Based on his direct decades-long experience at Toyota, the author explains what it takes to establish problem-finding and a kaizen culture in new environments.
INTERVIEW – Today’s story takes us to Iceland, where a senior leader in a utility company introduced cellular thinking to her team in a bid to improve flexibility and better working conditions.
FEATURE – Building on the benefits of the Last Planner System™, lean thinking is supporting people at Turner Construction Company as they solve problems in a structured way.
FEATURE - Mental schemas help us to process information, but they often lead us to blindly jump to solutions without understanding the problem. Here, the author explains how Lean Thinking mitigates that risk.
CASE STUDY – How do you give hundreds of primary care units the tools and knowledge they need to make improvements? The Catalan Health Service found the solution in hoshin kanri.
CASE STUDY – We hear from a construction company in Chile that embarked on a lean journey in 2018 to transform its culture and improve the work on its many sites.
FEATURE – Using data from a recent piece of research on logistics, the author discusses how Lean Thinking contributes to a more efficient and effective way of dealing with problems.
SERIES – The authors discuss the first of six elements in their process development model – Context – highlighting the importance of gaining clarity on the objectives of the process being created.
CASE STUDY – Have you ever considered how Lean Thinking could apply to politics? The author explains how the result of a mayoral race in southern Italy was ultimately determined by the lean approach adopted by one of the candidates.
FEATURE – In this personal account, the author explains how Lean Thinking inspires her painting process, debunking the myth that the methodology stifles creativity.
COLUMN – The author imagines an ideal, Jidoka-inspired response to the Coronavirus pandemic. This scenario might be utopian, but could it inform the definition of our True North?
FEATURE – The planet is warming at an unsustainable rate, pollution is increasing, wildlife populations and arable land areas have plummeted, and our oceans are filling with plastic. Can Lean Thinking help?
FEATURE – Introducing his book, the author tells us what his Toyota mentors taught him with their contrasting, but ultimately complimentary approaches to problem finding.
INTERVIEW – What is the contribution of Lean Thinking to the battle against climate change? Michael Ballé discusses the Toyota approach to sustainability and what it takes to push "green" to the top of the business agenda.
CASE STUDY – The implementation of lean in the internal logistics of a pharmaceutical company in Brazil proved key to increasing productivity and quality in the organization.
FEATURE – How did lean healthcare organizations respond to the most critical stage of the epidemic? We asked three hospitals in Catalonia and Toledo to share their experience.
NOTES FROM THE (VIRTUAL) GEMBA – In this new series - one new article every week during the Covid-19 crisis) - the author asks companies how they are reacting to this health emergency. First up, Proditec.
OPINION – Discussing the lack of structured problem solving in the fight against the pandemic in Italy, the author makes the case for blanket-testing as a possible way to understand the current state.
FEATURE – When faced with a crisis, like the current one, it is natural to wonder, “Why bother?”. Yet, this is when we most need a growth mindset and a framework like lean thinking to figure out a way forward.
FEATURE – In this candid, personal account, the author shares her experience as a lean coach, her challenges and success, and how she adapts to different situations.
FEATURE – Hoshin is a powerful management practice that aligns the work at different levels to a company’s strategic goals. The author offers a one-page visual summary.
FEATURE – In this compelling read, the author explains how “centerlining” tools and settings can reduce variation in a process and avoid having to constantly seek adjustments à la McGyver.
FEATURE – Problem solving is a fundamental part of being a leader, which is what led this medical school in the United States to include A3 thinking in its curriculum.
INTERVIEW – The editors of Planet Lean and Lean Post recently met with a senior executive of Turner Construction in New York City. Together, they discussed leadership development, respect for people, and the future of the industry.
FEATURE – How an amusement park in Norway is using lean visual management to support actors during their busy schedule and to give visitors an experience they will never forget.
FEATURE – When Praktiker decided to turn to lean thinking, they were faced with the challenge of rolling out its principles and practices to 20 DIY stores. Here’s how they are trying to make it work.
THE LEAN BAKERY - For the past decade, lean has fuelled the growth of a chain of cafes/bakeries in Barcelona. With 100 now open, the Retail Manager explains how lean helps them manage a booming business.
FEATURE – When market changes caused operational problems in their firm, two top managers decided to stick to lean thinking (and a set of specific practices) – learning to focus on what truly matters and letting their people embrace problem-solving.
FEATURE – An approach based on coaching and experiments is transforming the way restaurant chain Xibei works with its people to improve service and dishes: the story of Chef Liang and his Kongfu fish.
FEATURE – The Continuous Improvements Boards at the Round Mountain mining site have been critical to shifting the company's culture... the secret, it turns out, is always providing feedback on people's suggestions.
FEATURE - All too often, A3 thinking is perceived as a prescriptive approach rather than a series of questions that progressively deepen our understanding of a situation. So what is problem solving really about? And how do we ensure it takes root across the organization?
FEATURE - Italian physicist Enrico Fermi is one of history's greatest "lean scientists," who developed a revolutionary approach to research and mentoring from which lean managers can still draw inspiration.
ARTICLE – You need to have a solid and complete process in place if you want your problems to be actually solved, and it is more than just developing an A3 or drawing an Ishikawa.
CASE STUDY – The Hospital de Bellvitge in Barcelona is relying heavily on hoshin and Kata to create a working environment based on collaboration and joint problem solving.
FEATURE – By changing its attitude towards problems and welcoming them as opportunities to learn, this Colombian construction company has turned around its culture.
FEATURE – Thanks to lean, a primary care unit in Catalonia has streamlined its blood sampling process, improving the patient experience and the life at work for its staff.
CASE STUDY – This Dutch SME is transforming its picking operation – partly with the introduction of a U-shaped design – to increase the number of orders it can fulfil every day.
CASE STUDY – This Norwegian firm learned that allowing every person and area to move up their own lean learning curve can steer the business away from fire-fighting and towards more strategic thinking.
FEATURE – Using the example of a chain of pizzerias, the author explains why “slicing the elephant” is the approach you want to follow when it comes to deploying strategic metrics in operations.
INTERVIEW – Looking back at the time he spent at Toyota, Mark Reich reflects on his experience working with Nate Furuta and on his legacy exporting Toyota cultures around the world.
FEATURE – As lean thinkers, our focus is on problem-solving. The author explains why effectively solving problems depends on our ability to make the right decisions and suggests the lean community plays closer attention to this.
FEATURE – A Brazilian hospital has used lean healthcare principles to optimize the chemotherapy process and prevent patients from unnecessarily wasting hours before their treatment.
FEATURE – The Lean Global Network just published a new book by Kiyoshi “Nate” Furuta sharing compelling examples of how Toyota principles and culture can be effectively spread to new environments.
FEATURE – Construction is rife with waste, and yet lean is not widely adopted in the industry. The authors highlight how lean could benefit the sector, emphasizing the importance of developing problem-solving capabilities.
CASE STUDY – This Barcelona hospital began its journey with ambitious projects and is starting to see the fruits of its labor, with the pandemic acting as an unexpected but powerful catalyst for change.
VIDEO - In February, a group of Lean Global Network coaches visited Coloplast's Parts Distribution Center in Hungary to help the local team improve the internal lead-time across the facility.
CASE STUDY – This hotel in Spain has been able to leverage Lean Thinking in its restaurant to successfully adapt to the new Covid-19 regulations enforced in the country, becoming more efficient along the way.
FEATURE – Using an effective example from every-day life, the author discusses why Kanban is the gateway to Lean Thinking – and not just a tool.
FEATURE – A lean management system is necessary to effectively run a business. Can Art Smalley’s four types of problems framework help such a system to focus on what’s really important?
INTERVIEW – Racism is not a problem many lean thinkers are called to tackle in their daily lives at work, but that doesn’t mean that Lean Thinking has nothing to say about it.
FEATURE – To speed up the issuance of insurance policies, a SulAmérica department decided to move away from big batches and start working in flow.
FEATURE – When the number of Covid-19 cases skyrocketed in the Italian region of Piedmont, this microbiology lab had to find a way to increase its capacity to process swab tests. Here’s how they did it.
FEATURE – The future has never looked more uncertain for restaurants and cafes. The authors share a set of practical lean tips that can guide these organizations navigate the storm.
FEATURE - A Lean Global Network team of lean practitioners and coaches shares a set of lean healthcare tips hospitals can apply today to ready themselves for the peak of Covid-19 cases.
ROUNDUP – Our editor discusses A3 Thinking and its various uses, curating a list of the best Planet Lean articles published on this topic over the years.
NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – The author goes back to a train maintenance center she visited two years ago and finds an organization striving to learn continuously.
FEATURE – A student in a medical school recently completed a rotation based on A3 thinking. She tells us what learning to use this problem-solving method has brought her.
FEATURE – As they progress on their lean journey, organizations need to learn to adjust their stance to the type of problem they face. Introducing his new book, the author offers precious tips on problem solving.
FEATURE – At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the Japanese Men’s 4x100m relay team went from being the underdogs to winning a silver medal by apply lean problem solving.
FEATURE – How “Double-Loop PDCA” was discovered due to a problem with implementing a lean daily management system in a South African hospital.
THE TOOLS CORNER – This month, the author discusses how we can ensure quality problems are identified early, tackled swiftly and prevented from reoccurring.
FEATURE – By bringing organizations together to regularly share updates on their lean journeys, Instituto Lean Management has managed to create a flourishing lean healthcare community in Catalunya. But hospitals aren't the only ones benefitting.
CASE STUDY – Lean thinking is transforming San Diego Zoo Global, helping this century-old organization provide a better experience to its visitors and a better life to its animals.
FEATURE – Another month, another story of a lean project told by the Siena hospital front-line folks. This time we take you to the Intensive Care Nursery, whose layout was transformed to provide better care to premature newborns.
FEATURE - Strategy deployment is fundamental to a lean transformation, but managers often struggle to understand its importance amid the day-to-day firefighting. This article will tell you how to make hoshin happen.
