Tag: Just-In-Time

Not all Japanese companies are the same. "Lean isn't easy" if you're a Japanese company. Toyota has created something special, since "Toyota culture" is not exactly the same as "Japanese culture." The WSJ says the "model is cracking." Do scandals involving quality and ethical lapses involving companies including those and Nissan tarnish Lean and the Toyota Production System? No. That's as silly as thinking the Wells Fargo banking scandal tarnishes Silicon Valley (although the Valley does enough to tarnish itself).

I'm a car guy. Above all other mechanical devices that we engineers get to be involved with, I am fascinated most with these incredible...

I wrote a new piece for LinkedIn that I hope would be of interest to you even if you’re in healthcare. Why? It’s a story about what an organization does when you don’t have enough (or any) direct work for your front-line staff to do. Toyota would continue paying employees and would put them to...

Mark's note: Today's guest post is by Paul Critchley and he brings up important points about not reducing inventory too low before improving the...

Stories like this have been in the news before, but this was circulating the past few days: "Why erratic schedules are one of the...

The Wall St Journal loves writing about how "Just In Time" (JIT) is a risky inventory strategy. See my past posts about how the...

The phrase "Lean journey" is used widely to describe an organization's transformation over time. It's either a phrase that invokes helpful imagery or it's...

I've been overdue in writing more posts about our Japan tour that took place two months ago now. See previous posts in this series....

I sometimes torture myself by watching webinars given about "Lean Sigma." I hear a lot of claptrap about Lean... things that are just demonstrably...

I didn't know , until yesterday, that Toyota has an official company blog (at least for Toyota UK). Even though I've learned from Toyota people...

In 2009, I wrote about a nurses' union in New Brunswick that supported Lean because they realized this methodology could help reduce waiting times and...

I was fortunate to have the chance to speak and visit at a few hospitals in Sweden back in February, 2010 (see my blog...