Do financial incentives work in Lean? Yes, financial incentives work, when done right and for the correct things. When I have this discussion with people, I always start the conversation by asking what happens if you stop paying your employees. Obviously, the financial incentive of a paycheck makes the person Read more…
Can a single department implement Lean on its own? The short answer is yes, but only to a degree. Many of the problem-solving tools and leadership activities work within a group’s own boundaries. You can do 5S and implement Standard Work. You can install poka yokes, and manage with KPIs, and daily management without a whole Read more…
How Do I Start a Continuous Improvement Program? For this question, we have created a video response.
How many KPI’s should your team have? There are a lot of variations on an old saying that goes something like this: “That which gets measured gets done.” This is especially true in Lean organizations. Making improvements requires a detailed understanding of how things are going. Many of these metrics that Read more…
Isn’t Lean just for manufacturing? One of the common misperceptions about Lean is that it is effective only in a manufacturing environment. While it is true that this is where it has its roots, the principles of continuous improvement that are primarily associated with Lean manufacturing were used throughout Toyota in its Read more…
How should we track employee errors to improve quality? This is a sensitive question that I get asked frequently. Leaders ask me the best way to track employee errors. In response, I generally ask why they want to do this. The most common answer is that they want to improve quality. Read more…
What is the best way to teach your team about Lean? Because our website provides such a wide range of Lean training materials, this is one of the most common questions that I am asked. The flexibility of our training modules means that instructors have to make more decisions about how Read more…
Where should we start our Lean effort? There are two basic ways to approach this question. The first is functional, as in which department is the best location to start with. The other is hierarchical, meaning the level within the organization. The short answer is that the best approach I Read more…
How do I “sell” Lean to my team? Like it or not, the early stage of any Lean transformation contains a sales pitch to the team. The members of the organization are being asked to take on something new. For them to fully commit, to fully buy in, they need to Read more…
What is the difference between Lean and Six Sigma? Hang around the Lean community for any length of time, and you will start to hear about the rivalry between Lean and Six Sigma. The two methodologies are the juggernauts of the continuous improvement world. While they are both focused on making operations work more smoothly, Read more…
What is the origin of Lean? Toyota is commonly credited with being the birthplace of modern Lean. One of the key proponents there, Taiichi Ohno, is commonly thought of as the father of modern Lean. While that is mostly true, there is more to the story. The Toyoda family owned the company that Read more…
When is the best time to start a Lean journey? There are three typical times that a company starts a Lean journey. The company is in a crisis and looks to Lean to bail it out of a mess. The company is doing well and comes across Lean as a way to Read more…