lean manufacturing

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?

Don’t try to copy Toyota, understand it instead

FeaturesSep 13, 2021

Kiyoshi "Nate" Furuta

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.

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.

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.

Lean leadership and Industry 4.0

FeaturesAug 5, 2021

Bianco, Filho, Osiro, and Ganga

RESEARCH – The authors explore the leadership traits that Lean Thinking and the implementation of Industry 4.0 practices call for and explore their synergies.

Superior quality to beat the competition

FeaturesJul 15, 2021

Toshiko Narusawa

FEATURE – Today we repurpose a great article published in 2016 on Japanese industry magazine Kojo Kanri that focuses on radical quality improvement at Toyota Industries Corporation.

How Dantotsu helped us to radically improve our quality

InterviewsJul 8, 2021

Stefano Cortiglioni

INTERVIEW – The former executive of the Toyota Material Handling plant in Italy reflects on how Sadao Nomura’s “Dantotsu” method helped them to drastically improve quality.

People, invention, and radically great quality

FeaturesJul 1, 2021

John Shook and Toshiko Narusawa

FEATURE – The authors discuss radical quality improvement at Toyota and introduce a new book by Sadao Nomura that the Lean Global Network has just co-published.

What pull systems can I combine?

FeaturesJun 17, 2021

Christoph Roser

FEATURE – In the last article in his series, the author discusses how you can mix and combine the different pull systems available to the lean practitioner.

What pull system is right for you?

FeaturesJun 7, 2021

Christoph Roser

FEATURE – In the third article in his series, Christoph Roser provides a practical guide to understand the most adequate pull system to your circumstances.

The criteria to decide on a pull system

FeaturesMay 27, 2021

Christoph Roser

FEATURE – Before you decide which method to use to establish pull, you must consider a number of factors. Here’s the things you should be paying attention to.

7 tools to establish pull production

FeaturesMay 20, 2021

Christoph Roser

FEATURE – Kanban is the best-known method to establish pull production, but it is not the only one. Here’s a few other ways you can create a pull system.

When digitalization reaches the gemba

FeaturesMay 3, 2021

Remik Horbal

FEATURE – During a recent Jishuken workshop, Poland-based Schumacher Packaging experimented with a newly-developed App to quickly create standardized work instructions at the gemba.

Pull: a way forward for supply chains

FeaturesApr 26, 2021

John Shook

FEATURE – The release of Christoph Roser’s new book All About Pull inspires John Shook to discuss the origins and true meaning of “pull” and why it is incorrect to blame JIT for the shortcomings of global supply chains.

Think in terms of value networks, not supply chains

FeaturesApr 12, 2021

Michael Ballé

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.

Creating front-line leaders to solve problems at Nestlé

InterviewsMar 22, 2021

Maria Fernanda Avellaneda and Fabio França

INTERVIEW – In this Q&A, we learn how the Technical & Production (T&P) area of Nestlé Colombia Ecuador is using lean and Art Smalley’s four types of problems framework to bring leadership closer to the gemba.

‘Steel’ going strong

FeaturesMar 1, 2021

Luca Di Santo

FEATURE – With the help of Lean Thinking, this Ukrainian producer of stainless steel pipes is retaining its competitive position against larger players in the market.

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lean manufacturing

What to do when the fire is out?

Don’t try to copy Toyota, understand it instead

Creating Toyota cultures around the world

Bringing Dantotsu quality improvement to parts makers

Lean leadership and Industry 4.0

Superior quality to beat the competition

How Dantotsu helped us to radically improve our quality

People, invention, and radically great quality

What pull systems can I combine?

What pull system is right for you?

The criteria to decide on a pull system

7 tools to establish pull production

When digitalization reaches the gemba

Pull: a way forward for supply chains

Think in terms of value networks, not supply chains

Creating front-line leaders to solve problems at Nestlé

‘Steel’ going strong