How N.A.S.A. applied 5S tool

NASA did some amazing things culminating with landing on Moon. Much of what they did was doing many small things very well. They used 5s, checklists, gemba thinking, usability, simplicity, testing out on a small scale and much more. Here are a few photos from the Smithsonian Air and Space museum in Washington DC. I also have some nicer NASA

The Facade of Lean – Interview to John Dyer

Many companies are reaping huge benefits from Lean implementation, but others are still struggling, according to noted process improvement and Lean operations expert John Dyer. Why? He calls it the “Facade of lean.” Dyer, who consults with operations around the world, says many companies have the tools in place, but cut corners on lean principles and the proven structures. Dyer,

Good to Great Airport – The Road Map

A good article written by Shreepad Amrit Discussing transition (change) and its consequences is common. You will find it in management books, in corporate training calendars and it is favorite of all board room discussions. With so much of knowledge about change it should not fail even one time but that does not happen. Most of the change programs die their

Jeffrey Liker explains Change Management and Lean Transformation

Jeffrey Liker President, Liker Lead Advisors Change management has become its own consulting specialty. It is often part of deploying massive IT systems and some companies use change management specialists to assist in lean transformation. Unfortunately many versions are based on a flawed assumption—thinking about the transformation as what Kurt Lewin called the “unfreeze-change-refreeze” model. In his model specific actions need to

10 Key Lean Mindsets for Factories, Hospitals, Startups, and More

Article written by Mark Graban It’s been more than 25 years since the term “Lean Production” was coined, although the Toyota Production System is much older than that. Hospitals and health systems have been using Lean as an improvement methodology and management system for more than ten years. It’s also been about five years since the “Lean Startup” methodology was

Apply Lean Six Sigma with Toilet Paper Origami

Standardization, visual management, and process confirmation are some important elements of lean manufacturing. Here we have an example many of you are probably familiar with – toilet paper folding at hotels. This simple example can clearly demonstrate the value of Standardization, visual management, and process confirmation. Lean principles can be found almost everywhere in industry. This is not only limited

Continuous Positive Reinforcement for a Warehouse

Many warehouse teams start out with great intentions, implementing changes that improve processes and increase efficiency. But then, slowly over time, the newness wanes and they lose momentum. While this is not uncommon, it’s extremely important that managers take notice and take action. How can a team leader provide positive reinforcement in order to revive the team? To begin, there