The power of suggestions
FEATURE – At Toyota, led by senior executives, suggestion schemes have contributed to decades of improvement. This article explores why they are so effective and encourages you to try one out for yourself.
lean management
Lean around the clock
FEATURE – With one of the biggest lean events of the year just four days away, John Shook tells you why you should participate and what you can expect.
A deep dive into the Lean Transformation Framework
INTERVIEW – The Lean Transformation Framework has become a reference for many organizations around the world. In this Q&A, Dave Brunt discusses its impact and tells us what LTF content will be available at the Lean Global Connection.
Lean healthcare around the globe
INTERVIEW – With the Lean Global Connection just two weeks away, we learn more about the lean healthcare content available to attendees.
Reflections from a Norwegian lean road trip
FEATURE – Fresh from a number of visits to Norwegian gemba, the authors share their reflections and discuss the importance of making the information flow visible.
Once More, All Together Now: “JIT is …”
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
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.
Deep dive in a lean digital company #6
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.
Lean-powered decision making
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.
Lean leadership and Industry 4.0
RESEARCH – The authors explore the leadership traits that Lean Thinking and the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices call for and explore their synergies.
The paradox of learning
FEATURE – In this call to arms, the author encourages us to fight to prove the relevance of Lean Thinking in such difficult times and explains why only mastering it can truly address our problems.
Lean as a path
FEATURE – The author describes Lean Thinking as a path of discovery and explains why attempts to define it “once and for all” are destined to fail.
Standard work for leaders
FEATURE – The author reflects on the importance of standardized work in her daily life as a manager and explains why one can’t expect to run a company only using reports.
Launching new medication quicker with Lean Thinking
CASE STUDY – Clinical trials are known for their rigorous analysis and approval process. The experience of Roche Brasil teaches us what lean and agile thinking can do to speed it up.
Troublesome problems and threshold concepts
FEATURE – Looking back on the lean journeys he's seen firsthand, the author concludes that a true lean transformation occurs when you establish lines of mentoring to the Thinking People System.
Think in terms of value networks, not supply chains
FEATURE – This article explores the concept of “value network”, emphasizing the importance of looking at lead-times and value creation in a more holistic way.
Lean and happiness
FEATURE – Employee happiness leads to greater efficiency and higher quality, which is why it’s increasingly being adopted as an indicator by firms. But how does lean relate to happiness?
Asking the right questions. Sure, but how?
FEATURE – This interesting article asks what it means to ask to right questions and explains why the way to success is learning about problems, not wondering whether solutions are wrong or right.