Focus

What to do when the fire is out?

Case studiesOct 14, 2021

Oriol Perez, David Llovich and Daniel Villanueva

CASE STUDY – This packaging company in Catalonia has been able to cleverly balance the resolution of urgent problems and the advancement of the lean transformation. But what to do when the burning platform is no more?

Once More, All Together Now: “JIT is …”

FeaturesOct 5, 2021

John Shook

FEATURE – As global supply chain suffer ongoing disruption, the author addresses the misconceptions on Just-In-Time that keep appearing in the media.

Production as a mirror to the organization

FeaturesSep 30, 2021

Eivind Reke and Gert Frick

FEATURE – The gemba tells us more than we think. The authors discuss what we need to look at during our walks to understand the impact of non-manufacturing functions on the overall process.

Lean healthcare – optimizing the chemotherapy process

FeaturesSep 23, 2021

Paloma Rubinato Perez

FEATURE – A Brazilian hospital has used lean healthcare principles to optimize the chemotherapy process and prevent patients from unnecessarily wasting hours before their treatment.

How the gemba shaped my leader standard work

FeaturesSep 16, 2021

Sharon Visser

FEATURE – Sharon Visser shares her leader’s standard work from when she ran the Ngami car dealership and encourages us to use what we see at gemba to shape our own.

Is radical quality possible in the tech industry?

FeaturesSep 9, 2021

Woody Rousseau

FEATURE - The author explains how a recent book on radical quality improvement in manufacturing inspired him to initiate similar experiments in his software development firm.

Creating Toyota cultures around the world

FeaturesSep 6, 2021

John Shook

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.

Lean and agile, how they interact

FeaturesSep 2, 2021

The LIB digital team

FEATURE – This article explains how Lean Thinking and the agile method can strengthen and optimize our digital transformation efforts.

Deep dive in a lean digital company #6

FeaturesAug 30, 2021

Catherine Chabiron

FEATURE – In the final article of her series, the author spends a day with Theodo’s CEO and co-founder to learn how lean informs its strategy and vision.

Prospering, not profiteering

FeaturesAug 26, 2021

Rose Heathcote and Eivind Reke

FEATURE – The impact of humankind on the environment is now beyond dispute. Yet, too little is being done to adapt our business models. This compelling read explains why we need to create prosperity beyond profit.

Building lean into our strategy

Case studiesAug 19, 2021

Deisa Conegundes, Flavio Picchi & Renato Mariz

CASE STUDY – Brazil-based construction company Andrade Gutierrez has been able to sustain its transformation by consistently developing internal capabilities and making Lean Thinking its strategy.

Lean-powered decision making

FeaturesAug 16, 2021

Flávio Battaglia

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.

Bringing Dantotsu quality improvement to parts makers

FeaturesAug 12, 2021

Toshiko Narusawa

FEATURE – Improving supplier quality and reduce defects was an important part of Toyota Industries Corporation’s (TICO) Dantotsu activities since the very beginning. In this article, the author visits two parts suppliers.

Andon squares – 5S in the office

FeaturesAug 9, 2021

Sharon Visser

FEATURE – As she gets ready to publish a book on her experience running Halfway Toyota Ngami, the author looks back at one of the best visuals the team implemented during the transformation.

The way to radical lean

FeaturesAug 2, 2021

Michael Ballé

FEATURE – Reflecting on Nomura-san’s recently published book on radical quality improvement, the author encourages us to embrace the spirit of “Dantotsu” to meet the challenges we face as a society.

Reinventing reimbursement

Case studiesJul 26, 2021

Tatiana Ferreira, Selma Souza and Luciana Gomes

CASE STUDY – The reimbursement department of the largest independent insurance company in Brazil has brought together lean and digitalization to improve its service to customers.

Superior quality to beat the competition

FeaturesJul 15, 2021