Tag: Japan
Lean Healthcare Study Tour – Join Me in November 2014
You might remember that I partnered with Kaizen Institute about two years ago to do their first "Lean Healthcare Study Tour" to Japan. I...
What I Learned Visiting Lean Hospitals in Japan: Culture, Kaizen &...
In November 2012, I had the opportunity to visit Japan for the first time as part of a Lean healthcare study mission. It was...
Dr. Deming & Kaizen: Employees Should Not Just Suggest, But Try...
I've really enjoyed reading the book The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality, which was published last year. I think this link...
Podcast #186 – Jon Miller Discusses His Book Creating a Kaizen...
My guest for episode #186 is my friend Jon Miller, CEO of Kaizen Institute and a long-time blogger at Gemba Panta Rei. Today, we're...
Brilliant 1981 Article: “Why Japanese factories work” – Relevant for Healthcare...
The year is 1981. A Major League Baseball strike interrupts the season. We're in the midst of the Cold War. President Reagan is shot....
Japan Trip: Going to Gemba and Seeing 5S at a Japanese...
I've been going back through my notes and pictures from my first trip to Japan in November... my goal is to blog about something or...
Guest Post: The Risk of Ignoring Muri
Today's guest post is by author Natalie Sayer, who was my guest for Podcast #145.
While doing research for another project, I had the...
A Small Batch of Bread, Other Random Japan Pictures
I'm on my way home from Japan as this post gets published. I will probably take the week off from blogging for the Thanksgiving...
The “Gold Prize” Kaizen QC Project Saved How Much?
Yesterday, our tour group had a chance to visit an outstanding factory. They manufacture gas meters and they do everything from casting aluminum, creating...
How Kaizen Leads to Innovation: Lessons from a Japanese Hospital CEO
A hospital CEO who turned around a near-bankrupt organization over two decades credits one thing above all else: the steady accumulation of small improvements....
Standardized Work: “Unity in the Essential, Liberty in the Non-Essential…”
Our Kaizen Institute guide, Brad Schmidt (pictured above) talked to us on Monday about standardized work. He said, of the practice at Toyota, that...
What Is an Andon Cord? How Toyota’s Andon System Really Works
TL;DR: An andon cord is not primarily a line-stopping device. At Toyota, it's a signaling system that allows workers to call for help immediately....
