Gemba walks: the common pitfalls
FEATURE – The author discusses the most common mistakes leaders make during gemba walks and the things they need to keep in mind to make the most of this important management practice.
common lean mistakes
Avoiding the most common mistakes with VSM
THE NAKED GEMBA – Value stream mapping is a fundamental tool in any lean transformation. The author takes us the most common mistakes companies make using it, so that you can avoid the pitfalls.
When a top exec becomes the lean manager
OPINION – What happens when a senior executive jumps the fence and finds himself having to drive the very same change he was asking others to create?
Boaz Tamir on why success does not come down to chance
OPINION – The rise and fall of organizations does not depend on chance or bad luck. It generally stems from a fundamentally flawed strategic approach that fails to define a purpose, alienates workers and ignores customers.
Identify objectives and issues before starting a new venture
COLUMN – With many of us about to leave for our summer vacations, the importance of planning (a holiday just like a business venture) could not be clearer. But objectives and potential problems should be identified before setting off.
What foils our ability to apply effective daily management
WOMACK'S YOKOTEN – Effective daily management is still hard to achieve for most organizations. But until line managers start tackling problems first hand as they emerge, rather than deferring and delegating them, basic stability will remain a mirage.
The Wells Fargo scandal teaches us lean must be nurtured
OPINION – The latest banking scandal had us all wonder whether Wells Fargo has lost its way. But how does a pioneering bank that once had lean at its heart betray its core values so profoundly?
The importance of transparency: lessons from a food scandal
OPINION – When do our mistake become an ominous sign that we are giving up on our customers and people? Following the salmonella contamination in cereals in Israel, the author reflects on business purpose and the importance of transparency.
Five lean practitioners answer the same question #5
ONE QUESTION, FIVE ANSWERS – With this month’s question we try to understand what lean idea or principle our interviewees would have liked to learn sooner or better in their journey. So, heads up… You might be in a similar situation.
Our universities are not teaching lean, and that’s a problem
CALL TO ARMS – Despite the spread of lean principles across the world, only a handful of universities have included the methodology in their programs. This article is a call-to-arms telling us why we have an obligation towards future generations.
The story of a lean transformation failure
FEATURE – Too often we tend to focus on trying to replicate success, rather than analyze failure. Yet, learning from mistakes is a fundamental principle in lean. This account of a transformation gone south offers an insightful critique of lean.
Five lean practitioners answer the same question #1
FEATURE – For this new monthly article, we will be asking five lean practitioners the same question and share their answers with you. We started by asking them about their biggest lean mistake.
Michael Ballé on the gemba cardinal sins hindering kaizen
FEATURE – What are the immediate signs that tell us that our workplace is not conducive to kaizen? The author draws on his experience as a coach at the gemba to highlight them. Look out for them in your own company!
Making RFS possible – the lean implementation at UCC Coffee
FEATURE – Repetitive flexible supply is a very effective method to level production scheduling, but as a FMCG company in the Netherlands found out, sometimes a number of conditions must be met before the approach becomes viable.
Lean thinking to make a disastrous ERP rollout a success
FEATURE ARTICLE – Danish company Solar has applied lean management principles to the rollout of a new ERP system to gradually strengthen the ties between an isolated IT department and the rest of the organization.
Jim Womack on what is holding lean thinking back
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – On October 10, 1990 the book that introduced lean thinking to the world was published. Twenty-five years after Machine, one of the authors reflects on what the lean movement has achieved and on what is slowing it down.
What makes lean sustainable? Value creation and PDCA
FEATURE ARTICLE – For the last article of their series, the authors ask themselves the ultimate question: who wins at lean, and who loses? What makes change sustainable? Turns out, it’s all about the fundamentals.
Six common problems you encounter during lean audits
ARTICLE – Until “check” and “act” become a natural part of daily work, we will always need formal audits to keep people focused and to sustain results. Here’s a few tips to make them work.