Category Archives: Lean thinking

Wisconsin Manufacturing

Posted on August 27, 2006 by John Hunter

Editorial: A way forward for state companies [the broken link was removed], Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The idea of lean manufacturing is pretty close to a religion at Ariens these days. The tenets: Be quick on the draw. Improve continuously. Be … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector | Tagged Manufacturing, Wisconsin | 6 Comments

Danaher Practicing Lean Thinking

Posted on August 22, 2006 by John Hunter

Manufacturer’s Acquisition Strategy Sets It Apart From The Pack [the broken link was removed], Investors Business Daily: “It’s adapted from the Japanese Kaizen system,” Holmstead said. “Kaizen is a way of removing waste and standardizing processes and bringing underperforming or … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged business, Investing, Lean thinking | 1 Comment

Toyota Management Develops the New Camry

Posted on August 17, 2006 by John Hunter

Toyota’s Globalization Takes Shape through the Camry, speech by Gary Convis: So, even though I accept Mr. Friedman’s point that our world is quickly changing, I also believe many of our age-old principles will continue to apply. Principles like quality… … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 2 Comments

10 Kaizen Tips

Posted on August 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Kaizen Hot-Wash Lesson 6. Pick the right lean tool for the job and use it well. There are plenty of lean tools to choose for kaizen activities so your MUST determine the right tool and use it well. In our … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Quality tools | Comments Off

Lean Health Care Works

Posted on August 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Health Care? It Works! [the broken link was removed] by Patricia Panchak In 1971, the U.S. spent 7.5% of its gross national product on health care — about $75 billion. We now spend 14.5%, which is about $1.3 trillion. … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles | Tagged Health care | Comments Off

Toyota Production System History

Posted on August 7, 2006 by John Hunter

Norman Bodek on TPS history: Who Can Shout Louder? [the broken link was removed] TPS focuses on improving the overall process from the customer’s demands to the delivery of the product. Prior to TPS, manufacturing companies were filled with smoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged management history, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Comments Off

Switching to Lean

Posted on August 3, 2006 by John Hunter

Switching to lean [the broken link was removed] by Vanessa Chris: Since Eaton implemented lean manufacturing practices across its 235 plants in 2003, this facility has ranked number one for three years running. It used Eaton’s eight lean tools — … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged lean manufacturing | Comments Off

Lean Healthcare – Year One

Posted on August 1, 2006 by John Hunter

A Year in Healthcare by Mark Graban – interesting thoughts on his first year in lean healthcare, after working in lean manufacturing previously. Not that I used to operate as a “know it all” in manufacturing settings, but being in … Continue reading →

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Lean Efforts at a University

Posted on July 31, 2006 by John Hunter

Bringing Lean To the Office [the broken link was removed] A team of college students used lean to streamline processes in their university’s admissions office. The students were able to reduce a process took two to three weeks to about … Continue reading →

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La-Z-Boy Lean

Posted on July 28, 2006 by John Hunter

Richard K. — More about the Dayton plant Nice example of the process of transitioning to lean manufacturing. Two years ago La-Z-Boy embarked on its lean journey, moving from batch and queue to cellular manufacturing. The Dayton (TN) plant is … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Comments Off