Flinders Medical Centre — Australia — implemented Lean over 2.5 years ago and has seen substantial benefit in the way they provide care and the amount of people they are now able to serve. They report safer and more accessible care — the two goals they had made prior to their Lean implementation. In this […]
These pages contain Lean Manufacturing Principles, Tools, Concepts, Templates, Articles, and Leading Practices for Practitioners.
Lean at Virginia Mason Medical Center
The Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle implemented the Toyota Production System in its everyday healthcare operations. This article is fascinating and shows how a hospital — a rather large healthcare provider in the North West, was able to tranform the way they do business. This article was published in February 2006, American College of […]
Smooth Flow, Memory Simple, Motion Simple
This article explains how Toyota helps other companies outside of Toyota. There’s also some explanation on Smooth Flow and what exactly that means. > In my daily study of the Toyota Production System, I came across a very good article in the Asian Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2004. The article is about the globalization […]
Takt Time in Service Operations: An IRS Tax Operation Example
Takt Time is the maximum allowable time in order to meet demand; Takt Time is the pace by which product is produced and must fall within the Takt Time or set equal to the Takt time; if not, then there will be customer demand that might go unfulfilled. In this post, I’ll provide an example […]
Toyota A3 Report Example [video]
Go here to see a video explanation of the A3 and also to get a Toyota A3 Template Download for Free. This article is about the Lean A3 Problem Solving Method, or sometimes called the Toyota A3 Report. Other articles on Lean Manufacturing can be found below. Continue past the Toyota House to read the […]
Genchi Genbutsu and the Toyota 4Runner
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSThis article entitled “Genchi Genbutsu Toyota 4Runner: A Powerful Go and See Example” is a story of how Genchi Genbutsu was applied in the development of the toyota 4runner. Other articles in the Genchi Genbutsu Series: Genchi Genbutsu: Data versus Facts Genchi Genbutsu: […]
Toyota Word of Mouth Marketing
A VP of Marketing from Wiley Publishers wrote me a few weeks ago and offered me a book to review. I asked why and her comment was that she noticed that I have a lot a post about customer obsession and that my subscribership was healthy. I said, “sure, send me the book.” I’ve started […]
The Toyota Product Development System Principles
There is much literature on the Toyota Production System, otherwise knows as Lean Manufacturing. There is much less literature, however, on how Toyota develops products. We know, for example, that the Agile Software Methodology and movement is mostly influenced by Toyota’s Product Development System (TPDS), but there is less information on TPDS, than there is […]
Lean Principles Go and See: Genchi Genbutsu and Toyota Sienna
Genchi Genbutsu is a key concept at Toyota and the Toyota Production System; it means “go and see for yourself.” Lean Principles Go and See: Genchi Genbutsu and Toyota Sienna is an article showing how Genchi Genbutsu was applied in the making of the Toyota Sienna Van. Another way to think about this is good, […]
The Toyota Code of Conduct
For the class that I teach at BYU, I’ve been doing some research on Supplier Code of Conduct (see the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct for an example), or the tenets by which a supplier can be accepted into a network; this is often called “Order Qualifier” — that is, the basic items that a […]