A lean Christmas tale
FICTION – The pandemic is throwing curveballs to us all, including a certain bearded gentleman who lives in the North Pole – until a magic “time-bending” solution is presented to him, that is.
Social lean
Lean lessons for the climate crisis
FEATURE – Tackling climate change forces us to rethink everything we do as a society. Here’s three lean lessons that can show us a way forward.
Pathways to reduce emissions
FEATURE - Imagine targeting a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by setting our lean minds to it? The authors discuss building better, circular supply chains and designing sustainable products.
What is respect for people?
ROUNDUP – Our editor reflects on the all-important lean concept of “respect for people” and shares some of the best content published by Planet Lean on the subject.
Prospering, not profiteering
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.
Every second counts
FEATURE – As Italy rolls out its vaccination campaign, the author reflects on what he recently observed at a vaccination hub in the Veneto region and discusses how the process could be made leaner.
Bringing lean to Nigeria’s small farmers
CASE STUDY – Lean Thinking travels far and wide. Here’s how the experience and insights of an Indiana-based farmer have supported a USAID project to improve outcomes for farmers across Nigeria.
Mr Joe and the most important A3 of his life
FEATURE – This story will take you through the development of the most important A3 of Mr Joe’s life – the one meant to turn around his health and help him to live longer.
The 19 billion doses challenge
FEATURE – What does it take to meet the historic challenge of rapidly increasing the annual global vaccine capacity from 5 billion to 19 billion doses? And how could Lean Thinking help?
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?
Observing Covid-19 vaccination at the gemba
FEATURE – In his first gemba walk in months, the author observes the Covid-19 vaccination process in a physician’s practice in Wales and reflects on how lean it is.
Hope in lean nation
FEATURE – As 2020 finally draws to an end, our editor reflects on the year that was and discusses why the Lean Community is a such an important source of inspiration and hope.
Lean and the global Covid-19 vaccine race
CASE STUDY – Pall Corporation used lean product and process development principles to create the process to produce billions of doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19 in record time.
Putting the customer at the heart of public service
FEATURE – This story of a lean application in elderly care in a Norwegian borough demonstrates the great strides that can be made in providing better service to citizens if their needs become the focus of the work.
A lean view on… the fight against climate change
INTERVIEW – What is the contribution of Lean Thinking to the battle against climate change? Michael Ballé discusses the Toyota approach to sustainability and what it takes to push "green" to the top of the business agenda.
A lean view on… the media
INTERVIEW – If we truly believe lean can change society, then we should use it as a lens through which to look into different aspects of our lives – even when those associations are hard to make. This month, we discuss the world of media.
Beyond exploitation – an alternative business system
FEATURE – The transformational power of Lean Thinking allows us to see it as a way to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Dan Jones explains why it can represent an alternative to our exploitation-based system.
Overcoming structural racism with lean leadership
FEATURE – Can behaviors inspired by lean leadership help us to push back against our society’s ingrained racial bias? Our Brazilian colleagues discuss.