lean strategy

A journey of mind-blowing improvement

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Case studiesOct 3, 2019

Sergio Ferigo

CASE STUDY – Seven years ago, this Italian manufacturer ran an experiment to reduce inventory in its warehouse. Today, lean thinking permeates every aspect of life at FPZ.

What is an Obeya?

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FeaturesSep 26, 2019

Roberto Priolo

FEATURE – In this roundup, we discuss the obeya room and use some of the best articles on the topic to explain why it’s such a powerful tool to drive improvement in your organization.

Through hardship to the stars

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    string(1608) "Lean thinking may have been born in Toyota in the 1950s and 1960s, but it wasn’t until after the year 2000 that a few hospitals began to explore its application to the healthcare industry (lean healthcare). These pioneering organizations came together to share their stories at the first Global Lean Healthcare Summit in the UK in 2007, which in turn triggered many more experiments around the world. Since then, interest has kept growing.

Some fifteen years on, we have hundreds of examples to learn from, from clinics and departments through to entire hospitals and even whole hospital systems. Not all early experiments succeeded, and we are still a long way from making lean a widely recognized way of working across the industry.
Healthcare providers around the world still face huge challenges, as ageing populations and unhealthy lifestyles boost the demand for healthcare faster than the growth of incomes and tax revenues from the middle classes. At the same time, the quality of care has not improved as much as the quality of other services in the economy, which is why more and more healthcare organizations are turning to lean.

Historically, lean healthcare ideas have been applied in large hospitals, but in the past few years we have started to see the philosophy adopted in earnest in many smaller organizations following a do-it-yourself approach that has generated many positive benefits. An impressive example is the Consorci Sanitari del Garraf near Barcelona."
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Case studiesJul 25, 2019

Vicenç Martínez Ibañez and Antoni Campos Rubiño

CASE STUDY – Catalonia's largest hospital is undergoing a successful transformation - supported by pioneering hoshin experiments - that has already turned it into a poster child for lean healthcare in the region.

Cancelling the distance

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Case studiesJul 16, 2019

José Ignacio Garcia Cornejo and Francisco Soler Benito

CASE STUDY – What to do when you operate in a competitive market and are located in a remote corner of Europe, thousands of miles from your customer? One word: lean.

The synergies you need to succeed

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FeaturesJul 11, 2019

Karen Gaudet

FEATURE – While at Starbucks, the author learned the importance of collaboration among the key functions of Operations, HR and Finance to advance a lean transformation.

A crazy little thing called change

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OpinionMay 21, 2019

Rose Heathcote

COLUMN – In her first column, the author reflects on the role of leadership in striking a balance between the enthusiasm for change and the need to involve everyone in a transformation.

Blue-sky thinking

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Case studiesApr 11, 2019

Kristian Zurek, Paweł Krawiecki and Rafał Mazur

FEATURE – Successfully engaging people and building a solid daily management system is allowing a Velux factory in Poland to fulfill its strategic goals.

Banking on hoshin

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FeaturesApr 2, 2019

Victor Catisse and Robson Gouveia

FEATURE – What a Brazilian bank has learned from its first few steps in adopting hoshin kanri through structured problem solving and people development.

Monozukuri, Hitozukuri, Kotozukuri

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ResearchJan 8, 2019

Michael Ballé, Daryl Powell and Kodo Yokozawa

RESEARCH – The authors present a new perspective on value creation. In addition to monozukuri (making things) and hitozukuri (making people), they discuss the idea of kotozukuri, making things happen.

Where the true strength of an obeya lies

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FeaturesDec 4, 2018

Régis Medina and Sandrine Olivencia

FEATURE – The obeya room limits the number of unknowns before we start developing a product. In this sense, it’s a tool for discovery more than it is for delivery.

From kaizen to innovation

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FeaturesNov 1, 2018

Michael Ballé, Furio Clerico & Fabiano Clerico

FEATURE – Innovation is a process and lean thinking allows that process to take place, by empowering everyone in the company to think creatively about solving customer problems.

Making hoshin work for our lean hotel

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FeaturesOct 25, 2018

Amalia Vidal Vázquez

VIDEO - The director of a hotel in the Canary Islands explains the hoshin efforts taking place in the organization and takes us through the lean strategy deployment boards she uses to track progress and highlight problems.

Bringing agility to Toyota

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InterviewsAug 22, 2018

Nigel Thurlow

INTERVIEW – The Chief of Agile at Toyota Connected tells us about the agility journey of Toyota and explains why the divide between lean thinking and Agile has no reason to exist.

The depth of lean thinking

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FeaturesAug 14, 2018

Michael Ballé

FEATURE – To really embrace lean thinking means to ensure the bureaucratic structures in our organizations enable our people to excel, rather than constrain their creativity.

Nick Katko explains the benefits of lean accounting

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FeaturesApr 27, 2018

Nick Katko

FEATURE - Without a solid accounting function no transformation can ever succeed. The author explains why lean accounting should be part of your strategy.

How this SME made lean its strategy for sustainable growth

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FeaturesApr 23, 2018

Catherine Chabiron

NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – The author visits an SME specializing in the instalment of electrical equipment. Its CEO has learned that integrating lean in their strategy can lead to sustainable growth.

Orry Fiume on the two realities of lean that scare most CEOs

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FeaturesMar 12, 2018

Orry Fiume

FEATURE – CEOs need to see people as assets and transform their companies’ product development systems if they are to tap into the full potential of a lean strategy.

Dave Brunt on how the UK Lean Summit is designed

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InterviewsFeb 23, 2018

Dave Brunt

INTERVIEW – This year’s UK Lean Summit promises to be the greatest yet. The icing on the cake? A gemba walk with Dan Jones and Jim Womack. Here we learn how the event is organized.

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