Got Boondoggle?

Let’s hear it for the big green and red! A powerhouse team that is unbeatable. No, this is not to cheer on a particular college or pro team...

A kaizen event should be focused on only one goal plus any safety improvements you can make to the process. Many times I have worked on kai...

As you may have noticed, my posting activity has slowed down a bit over the past couple of months. It was not my intent to limit my posts l...

Anyone who describes the lean journey as a well defined, narrow, straight line path, filled with do’s and don’ts or absolute right’s and wro...

While teaching the concept of 5S and visual management with lean thinking, I have successful used a simple technique I call “Think Milk”. As...

In the beginning, there were no colored belts and we focused only on the end customer, reducing warranty costs and getting it right the firs...

Believe it or not, at one of my recent kaizen events this past month, a plant production manager asked the team, “How many people did you cu...

Over the past month, I have worked with four kaizen teams focused on shop floor improvements, quality issues and office processes. As alway...

Yesterday, I traveled with my family to campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana to listen to His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama ...

The Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM) plant in Columbus, Indiana has more lessons for us as we continued our tour last Friday...

I spend today, touring the Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM), facility located in Columbus, Indiana. Although this facility h...

"Under a push system, there is little opportunity for workers to gain wisdom because they just produce according to the instructions th...

"Improvement usually means doing something that we have never done before." -Shigeo Shingo

“A relentless barrage of “why’s” is the best way to prepare your mind to pierce the clouded veil of thinking caused by the status quo. Use i...

As I take my Gemba Walk at a client site, I see a virus spreading at epidemic speeds in the offices and shopfloor. The virus is a simple “Wo...

Last Wednesday night, I attend the APICS Chicago Chapter Monthly Professional Development Meeting to listen to Praveen Gupta, President of A...

I just finished reading a truly great “new” book that explores the thinking process of making improvements, “Kaizen and the Art of Creative ...

Being overwhelmed is a common feeling on the lean journey, especially as we become better at seeing all the wastes. When faced with long ka...

As we navigate our way in applying the lean principles within our own company cultures, value streams and business processes, it can sometim...

There are several great lean conferences scheduled this fall including the Lean Tools for Maintenance & Reliability Conference set for ...