Features

Centerlining: what it is and how it works

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FeaturesJan 16, 2020
Severino Abad
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.

New Year loss and found

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FeaturesJan 13, 2020
John Shook
FEATURE – 2019 was another momentous year for the Lean Community. John Shook reflects on what we lost and what we gained in the last year of the decade.

Making hard work easier

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FeaturesJan 9, 2020
Mark Reich
FEATURE – Reflecting on some of the work he’s recently observed, the author discusses what lean thinking teaches us about making life easier for the value creators in our organizations.

The practice of reflection

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FeaturesJan 6, 2020
Denise Bennett
FEATURE – The holidays are a time for reflection. The author shares some her reflections on her experience with lean thinking and the role of leadership in a lean transformation.  

A year in lean articles

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FeaturesDec 23, 2019
Roberto Priolo
FEATURE – As 2019 draws to an end, our editor looks back at best lean articles of the year and tells us why Lean Thinking should give us hope for the future.

What is hoshin kanri?

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FeaturesDec 19, 2019
Roberto Priolo
ROUNDUP – In the last roundup on lean tools and concepts of the year, our editor collects and curates the best articles on strategy deployment (hoshin kanri).

When startups visit Toyota

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    string(1476) "Improvement methodologies have been used in the software world for a very long time, with approaches like Agile and Lean digital methodology playing a key role in speeding up the development of digital products. Agile principles and ideas - like Scrum and its way of structuring teams and organizing the work - have found their ways into many a lean company. Lean digital thinking and the Toyota Production System, in turn, have greatly influenced the development of these approaches.

Lean Digital is the methodology by which companies apply lean principles to the development process of new digital products.

The world of startups and entrepreneurship has also drawn a lot of inspiration from lean management. Eric Ries' best-selling book The Lean Startup offers a framework for quick experimentation and validation of learning that is often viewed as an interpretation of lean's PDCA cycle - and the very idea of involving the customer at different stages of the process clearly reminds of the fundamental lean idea of listening to the Voice of the Customer.

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FeaturesDec 12, 2019
Sandrine Olivencia, Lucie Notaro & Régis Medina
FEATURE – Digital organizations are starting to recognize that Toyota’s unique approach can show them the way forward, just like it does “traditional” organizations. Here, we hear from a few startup CEOs following their trip to Japan.

Change management from the inside out

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FeaturesDec 2, 2019
Karen Gaudet
FEATURE – The author discusses how the daily practice of lean thinking develops perseverance and the grit a leader needs to improve an organization.

Practice makes perfect

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FeaturesNov 28, 2019
Dave Brunt
FEATURE – Much like lean management, attaining perfection in music requires constant practice. The author looks back at his musical past and at a recent Lean Global Network samba gig.

A lean transformation is a cognitive transformation

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FeaturesNov 25, 2019
Eivind Reke, Robert Kusén & Daryl Powell
FEATURE – By looking at two practical examples, the authors discuss the cognitive shift towards learning and continuous improvement that takes place in a lean transformation.

Project management woes

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FeaturesNov 18, 2019
Severino Abad
FEATURE – What are the main problems people encounter when running a project? The author ran a survey with 126 people over two years and presents the results of his research in this article.

The gateway to success

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    string(1594) "Manufacturing is where the lean movement originated from. For their MIT research in the late 1980s (which resulted in the 1990 seminal book The Machine the Changed the World), Jim Womack and Dan Jones identified a set of principles and techniques that made Japanese carmakers far more productive than their Western competitors.

The superiority of the Toyota Production System is now a recognized fact (Toyota has been profitable every year but one, for half a century), which means that today most manufacturing organizations around the world practice lean manufacturing thinking to some extent. The prevalence of this alternative way of thinking and managing in the manufacturing sector often generates confusion in other industries, in which people’s first reaction to improvement attempts is the now proverbial “We don’t make cars. Lean is a manufacturing thing.”

When applied to manufacturing, lean tools like heijunka, SMED or Kanban cards allow for the optimization of production processes and the systematic elimination of waste (in its three incarnations of muda, muri and mura – respectively, non-value-adding work, overburden and unevenness). These happen by implementing the fundamental lean principles of pull and flow. However, it has now been proved that the principles characterizing lean manufacturing are universally applicable. They work in any sector and they apply to any kind of work – even though at times they require some adjustment."
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    string(1593) "The term “lean production” refers to the set of tools and techniques used to streamline and improve a company’s production system. With its roots in the Toyota Production System, lean production aims to boost productivity while reducing waste. Companies that successfully embrace lean production methods can achieve impressive improvements in their performance. The superiority of a lean production system was first identified by Womack and Jones during their research on Japanese carmakers. Initially, it was believed that lean was only applicable to production, whereas today we know those principles can be applied in any sector.

With more and more organizations (not just manufacturing firms) turning to automation to try and solve every-day problems, lean production offers an approach that gives the operators and their work the dignity they deserve. This idea is best expressed by the concept of the andon, a cord hanging above lean production lines that operators can pull whenever they encounter a problem they can’t solve right way (this is the base of the fundamental lean principles of jidoka, “automation with a human touch”). Lean is clearly an alternative to reckless management that considers people as mere capital.

The main characteristics of a lean production system are the fact the different stages of production happen in a sequence without interruptions (known as flow) and that the pace of production is set by the customers (pull)."
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FeaturesNov 11, 2019
Catherine Chabiron
NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – By introducing flow in its processes and transforming its approach to managing the business, this French manufacturer of fences and gates is building a competitive advantage.

Lean transformation: eight tips from Philips

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FeaturesNov 7, 2019
Carolyn Lum and Jakob Brix Danielsen
FEATURE – A few weeks ago, we learned how Philips is leading their lean transformation. In this follow-up article, the authors provide some great tips based on the company’s experience.

Kaizen all around

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FeaturesNov 4, 2019
Francesca Tiraboschi and Matteo Farina
FEATURE – Two coaches from Italian company FPZ reflect on their role helping lean thinking spread across the company and its newly-acquired businesses.

What is kaizen?

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FeaturesOct 31, 2019
Roberto Priolo
ROUNDUP – This month, we look at the most effective lean improvement approach – kaizen – by looking back at some of our best articles on the subject.

Fancy a cup of lean coffee?

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FeaturesOct 28, 2019
John Montanari
FEATURE – What started as the idea of two friends to meet up and discuss their lean journeys turned into a regular get-together of lean practitioners in the Cape Town area. Another example of the importance of sharing.

The iron law of scale-up

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FeaturesOct 24, 2019
Michael Ballé
FEATURE – As our social systems grow, we need an effective way to manage them. This makes bureaucracies an inescapable part of life for our society and businesses. But how can we mitigate their negative effects?

Lean-n-food

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FeaturesOct 21, 2019
Josh Howell
FEATURE – The food industry is mired with problems all along the value chain. In this call to arms, the author explains why lean thinking is the only tool we have to transform it right now.