A Lean Journey

Talking Lean (Episode #1, 6-14-2013)

2013-06-19T05:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Episode 1 of “Talking Lean” with Jeff Hajek (Gotta Go Lean Blog) and Tim McMahon. This show is intended to be a buffet of Lean bites. Jeff and I both have a variety of features that we regularly post on our websites. Unfortunately, great content such as this can get lost in a sea of Lean noise. This podcast is intended to cut through the clutter and give you a manageable chunk of some of our favorite recent content. If you want to dive deeper into anything that we talk about...

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Advancing Quality is a Matter of Customer Focus

2013-06-18T05:00:00.000-04:00

Paul Borawski, CEO of ASQ, asks the influential voices basically how to advance quality so it’s value is fully realized. I pose two questions for your consideration. What is the most important challenge the quality community faces in ensuring that the value of quality is fully realized for the benefit of society? (I could write a book on that question.) And, what question does the quality community most need answered in order to advance the state of quality...

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The Right Order of MUDA, MURA and MURI

2013-06-17T05:00:00.000-04:00

When you ask a number of people to explain Lean Manufacturing in one sentence, most of them will answer: “eliminate waste”. The reason is that eliminating waste, or Muda is a relatively easy way of identifying the low hanging fruits for improvement in an organization. However, Muda is not the only ‘M’ Toyota has built its famous Toyota Production System around, there are two more: Mura (Variation) and Muri (Overburden). Muda, in lean thinking, is defined as: all activities that do not add...

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Lean Quote: Build A Culture of Empathy

2013-06-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. "The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer." — Peter Drucker As management guru Peter Drucker said, “The...

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Book Review: Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement

2013-06-12T05:00:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey Liker is at it again with another addition. Building upon his international bestselling Toyota Way series of books, The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement looks critically at lean deployments and identifies the root causes of why most of them fail. The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement by Liker and Franz is a result of decades of practice trying to help companies on their operational excellence journeys. The book starts with some theory, focusing on what makes anybody excellent...

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Techniques for Building Consensus in Workplace

2013-06-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

Effective coordination requires the ability of individuals and groups to successfully collaborate. The strength of a meeting lies in the diverse input of its attendees. This diversity can also lead to problems if the group can’t come to a consensus and make decisions, large or small. Consensus means “general agreement” and having that as a goal encourages and focuses the participants. It also creates equity and ownership in whatever decision is made. The Challenge Building consensus is...

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Why Team Building Activities Can Improve Motivation in Your Workplace

2013-06-10T05:00:00.000-04:00

Today I am pleased to introduce a guest post by Isabelle Riley on improving workplace motivation with team building activities. This is a topic that she speaks from experience on as team builder herself. Many companies now employ team building activities to motivate their workers and create a positive attitude and work. Why? Here are a few reasons modern companies are heading in this direction: Team building improves productivity in the workplace. As employees learn to work together...

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Lean Quote: Quality is Never an Accident, It is a Wise Choice

2013-06-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. "Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful...

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Daily Lean Tips Edition #48

2013-06-05T05:00:00.000-04:00

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips. It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey. Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook. Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed. Here is the next addition of...

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Book Review Toyota Way Lean Leadership

2013-06-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

You can’t be Lean with Lean Leadership. The tools are easy to copy but without the people and the leadership they are useless. Understanding the people aspect of Toyota is the real challenge, until now. Jeffrey Liker and Gary Convis have made this possible with The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership. The combination of Jeff’s decades of research into the practices of Toyota and Gary’s experience of learning leadership from Toyota come together in a unique way to share a model for achieving and...

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7 Things You Can Do Today To Have A Positive Impact In Your Workplace

2013-06-03T05:00:00.000-04:00

Creating a positive workplace is critical to a company's success. Most people who have experience working in an office have seen firsthand the difference between one that has a positive environment and one that doesn't. A positive work environment has a better productivity rate, happier workers overall, better morale, and a lower turnover rate. There are a number of things that can contribute to a more positive working environment. Set the example The example you set in the office will...

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Lean Quote: Use PDCA to Develop People

2013-05-31T05:00:00.000-04:00

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. "For Toyota, PDCA is more than a way to get results from process improvement. It is a way of developing people." — Liker and Franz,...

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Lean Roundup #48 - May, 2013

2013-05-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of May, 2013. You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here. The Role of The Sensei in Learning – Gregg Stocker explains why the role of a specialist, or sensei, is to guide people in the new way of thinking not to do things. Hoshin Kanri is Direction Management – David Meier says that while Lean is not a pre-requisite PDCA and leaders that can set effective targets are. A Practical Approach...

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Learn Any New Skill in 20 Hours With 4 Simple Steps

2013-05-29T05:00:00.000-04:00

With just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice, you can go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach for acquiring new skills quickly with a small amount of practice each day. He shows how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers, creating a realistic framework for drastically cutting the time it takes to acquire any skill. In the video above, he reveals the four...

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Reader Question: Management Involvement In Lean

2013-05-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

A long time reader, Dave, recently asked me for advice on leadership commitment for Lean implementation: Can Lean be successful if you don’t have top down commitment? I currently work for a midsize manufacturer that only like to say they are Lean, when in reality they only have one division attempting. Any advice? In my experience I have learned that the single most important element for success in Lean is the human element. First and foremost Lean managers have the...

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Memorial Day is a Day of Reflection and Remembrance

2013-05-27T05:00:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day has come to signify the start of summer for many Americans and is often celebrated with cookouts, family get-togethers, road races and concerts. But the real meaning of Memorial Day has, for too many Americans, gotten lost in holiday hoopla. Memorial Day is a day of reflection and remembrance. It is a day to remember all of our Fallen Heroes from all of the wars. It is a day to think about the families that will forever grieve for their lost loved one. It is a day to be...

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Lean Quote: Stay Motivated, Celebrate Accomplishments Along the Journey

2013-05-24T05:00:00.000-04:00

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. "Accomplishments will prove to be a journey, not a destination." — Dwight D. Eisenhower If you want to reach your goal it...

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Happy 4th Blog Anniversary A Lean Journey

2013-05-23T05:00:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 4th anniversary of A Lean Journey Blog and as tradition here each year I take the opportunity to reflect. The act of "self-reflection" is called Hansei is Japanese. It is the practice of continuous improvement that consists of looking back and thinking about how a process can be improved. I’d like to think that I turned my naive endeavor to share learning along my own journey into a successful contribution in the Lean community. As I have said before this labor of love has...

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Book Review: Anatomy of a Lean Leader

2013-05-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

Are you looking for a Lean leadership model for your organization? In Anatomy of aLean Leader Jerry Bussell draws from his rich lifetime of learning and wealth of stories from the gemba to weave together important lessons from exemplary lean leaders. In his book, Bussell identifies ten characteristics that he claims are essential for a leader to possess in order to successfully implement a “lean” culture within an organization, or an organization that consistently improves its operations...

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Quality Trends: What Motivates You at Work?

2013-05-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

This month on ASQ’s blog A View From The Q Julia McIntosh takes a look at several themes from ASQ’s World Conference on Quality and Improvement. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the conference this year but it appears from all the commentary online that is was a huge success. A topic that Julia highlighted that is of particular interest to me was in regards to workplace motivation: “What motivates you at work?” Motivation is a core factor for a successful business and there have...

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Lean Quote: Leadership Takes Away Excuses

2013-05-17T05:00:00.000-04:00

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. "The coach’s (leaders) job is to take excuses away from the player – no travel problems, no equipment problems, no bad practices, no...

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SME’s 2013 #EASTEC Conference Review - Human Ingenuity

2013-05-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I got a chance to get out the office and partake in EASTEC. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) organizes EASTEC, one of the largest manufacturingshows on the East Coast highlighting the latest technologies and management strategies for operational excellence. The theme this year was “Human Ingenuity” meaning to envision a new product, it takes human ingenuity. This was a great opportunity to see some old friends and listen to a couple of Lean presentations. I...

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Daily Lean Tip Edition #47

2013-05-14T05:00:00.000-04:00

15 Tell-Tale Signs of Eventual Quality Failure Looming in Your Business

2013-05-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

The 2010 BP Deepwater Rig Explosion Product quality problems don’t happen overnight, nor are they the result of a crippled procedure or one poorly conceived policy. The problems have brewed over time, sending out signals that risks to product quality are growing. A breakdown of quality is not an event. It is a process. Long before a quality failure explodes on the front page of the paper, a company’s quality system has been in trouble because of corporate decisions, policies and...

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Lean Quote: Eliminate Rework and Scrap to Save Time and Money

2013-05-10T05:00:00.000-04:00

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. "If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" — John Wooden Nearly every business has...

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