Tag Archives: lean manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing and the Toyota Production System

Posted on May 3, 2012 by John Hunter

In this post I explore my thoughts about what lean (lean manufacturing, lean thinking…) means. The way I think about it is that lean manufacturing sprung from Toyota. It seems to me the lean manufacturing name was meant to capture … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged commentary, curiouscat, Deming, lean management, lean manufacturing, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 6 Comments

Looking at Auto Manaufacturing in the USA

Posted on February 6, 2012 by John Hunter

America’s Dirty War Against Manufacturing Bob Lutz, the former head of GM, says it was neither uncompetitive wages nor unions that drove the Big Three into decline. It was a management with its eye focused on the bottom line and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged cars, Deming, economic data, economy, lean manufacturing, Manufacturing, Toyota, USA | 1 Comment

2011 Management Blog Roundup: Gemba Panta Rei

Posted on December 24, 2011 by John Hunter

For my contribution to the 4th annual management blog roundup I will take a look at 3 management blogs. In this post I look back at the year that was at the Gemba Panta Rei blog. We are lucky to … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival | Tagged Carnival, lean management, lean manufacturing, Lean thinking | 2 Comments

Manufacturing Skills Gap or Management Skills Gap?

Posted on November 7, 2011 by John Hunter

I stumble across articles discussing the problem of manufacturers having difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (in the USA largely, but elsewhere too) somewhat regularly. While it is true that companies have this problem, I think looking at … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, Deming, hiring, jobs, lean manufacturing, long term thinking, management, managing people, Manufacturing, problem solving, quote, respect for people, Systems thinking, workplace improvement | 3 Comments

Practical Ways to Respect People

Posted on November 3, 2011 by John Hunter

What matters is not your stated respect for people but your revealed respect for people. Here are some ideas that I collected on how to practice respect for people. Don’t waste people’s time: have meetings only when necessary and provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged coaching, curiouscat, Deming, John Hunter, lean manufacturing, long term thinking, management, managers, managing people, Psychology, respect for people | 12 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #136

Posted on July 11, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat Management blog carnival highlights recent management blog posts 3 times each month. The posts generally focus on the areas I have focused on in the Curious Cat Management Guide since 1996 (Deming, leadership, agile software development, lean … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged Carnival, Deming, lean manufacturing, management | 1 Comment

Engage in Improving the Management System

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Hunter

To actually improve management you need to engage in continual improvement of your management systems. This requires doing the hard work of challenging complacency. The job of those improving the practice of management is not to make everyone happy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Psychology, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged business, commentary, continual improvement, Deming, John Hunter, lean manufacturing, management, management history, Psychology, quality, quote, Six sigma, Systems thinking, workplace improvement | 4 Comments

Respect for People Doesn’t Mean Avoiding Any Hint of Criticism

Posted on January 14, 2011 by John Hunter

As I said in a post a few years ago on respect for people and Taiichi Ohno‘s sometimes very aggressive style: The difference between respect and disrespect is not avoiding avoiding criticism. In fact often if you respect someone you … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Popular, Psychology, quote, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged curiouscat, lean manufacturing, Lean thinking, management, managing people, Popular, Psychology, Respect, respect for people, Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 4 Comments

Annual Management Blog Review: Software, Manufacturing and Leadership

Posted on January 9, 2011 by John Hunter

In my contribution to the 3rd annual management blog roundup I will take a look at 3 blogs: Dennis Stevens, How to implement “Lean Thinking” in a Business and the Three Star Leadership Blog. This year 14 management bloggers contributed … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Lean thinking, Management, Quality tools, Software Development, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged agile management, blogs, Carnival, kanban, leadership, lean manufacturing, Lean thinking, management, Quality tools, Software Development | 3 Comments

3rd Annual Management Blog Review Part 1

Posted on January 2, 2011 by John Hunter

This year the management blog review has 14 management bloggers taking a look at close to 50 management blogs. Here are links to the blog roundups published so far: Jamie Flinchbaugh started things off with posts on: Curious Cat Management … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged blogs, Carnival, lean manufacturing, management | 2 Comments