Polls Archive

• Nearly every position has multiple people who can act as backups.
• Most positions have at least one person who can step in.
• Many positions have backups.
• Some positions have backups.
• Most positions struggle when people are absent.
• There are very few jobs with backups.

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• We do great. Nearly everything sticks.
• The majority of gains stick around.
• Fair. Some gains stick, Some don't.
• We have a hard time getting improvements to stick.
• Hardly any gains are around for long.

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• Always
• Nearly Always
• Sometimes
• Seldom
• Never

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• I seldom see my manager in my work area.
• I occasionally see my manager in my work area.
• I see my manager in my work area every day.
• I see my manager in my work area many times a day.
• My manager has a workspace in my area and I see him/her constantly.

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• Group 1: We do not use andon lights.
• Group 1: We use andon lights in some work areas.
• Group 1: We use andon lights in most work areas.
• Group 2: Our andon lights operate independent of each other.
• Group 2: Our andon lights are networked and show up on a central display.
• Group 3: We have no andon process in place.
• Group 3: We have an andon process in place, but it is not followed well.
• Group 3: We have an andon process in place and it is followed well.
• Group 4: We collect data from our andon lights.
• Group 4: We do not collect data from our andon lights.

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• We haven’t given it any thought.
• Our managers know where it is.
• Our entire team knows where the bottleneck is.
• We have a migrating bottleneck.
• We have a standard process for managing our bottleneck.

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• None
• One for the whole company, regardless of size
• One per thousand employees
• One per 500 employees
• One per hundred employees
• More than one per hundred employees

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• It will still be on the upswing with adoption spreading into new industries and sectors.
• It will be reinvigorated due to technological advances.
• It will be topping out. Most companies that will be adopting Lean will have already done it.
• Lean will be starting to fade due to a new management philosophy displacing it.
• Lean will have merged with other continuous improvement disciplines and will be unrecognizable to today's practitioners.
• Lean will be on its last legs as something new will have replaced it.
• Lean will be long gone.

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• Executives and senior managers
• Skilled professionals (engineers, accountants, etc.)
• Frontline leaders
• Frontline employees
• Customers – informal feedback
• Customers – formal feedback system
• Daily management system
• Quality system
• Policy Deployment
• Other (Please specify in the comments)

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• We don’t measure much, so we don’t post results.
• We measure regularly, but don't post results.
• We have KPI boards posted, but they are mostly just on the shop floor.
• We have KPI boards on the shop floor and in some office areas.
• We have KPI boards in most work areas.

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• 0-6 months
• 6-12 months
• Between 1 and 2 years
• Between 2 and 5 years
• Over 5 years

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• It deserves all the attention and accolades it gets. It is still the shining example of Lean.
• It is a great company, but the Lean community focuses too much on its success.
• Other car makers now outperform Toyota, so it is strange that Toyota still gets the attention.
• Toyota's role in the Lean community has diminished in recent years.
• Toyota is overrated and its reputation is the product of marketing by authors.
• Other (Please explain in the comments section.)

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• Sakichi Toyoda
• Shigeo Shingo
• W. Edwards Deming
• Henry Ford
• Taiichi Ohno
• Jeff Liker
• John Shook
• James Womack
• Daniel Jones
• Frederick Taylor
• Eli Whitney
• John Krafcik
• Mike Rother
• Other

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• Communication
• Commitment
• Connections (Ability to form relationships)
• Competence
• Challenging (Challenges oneself to improve)
• Consistency
• Confidence
• Courage
• Candor (Openness, ability to have hard conversations)
• Creativity
• Character
• Other (Please specify in the comments section)

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• They have no idea what Lean is.
• They are wary because it sounds like a threat to job security.
• They are wary because it sounds like more work.
• They are receptive to the change.
• They know the company is in trouble, so will try anything to keep their job.
• They like the idea of continuous improvement and welcome the change.
• Frontline employees pushed for the company to implement Lean.
• Other (Please comment below)

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• We don’t do much improvement activity.
• We fit it in when there is a gap in the schedule.
• We squeeze it into the schedule.
• We use overtime to handle improvement activity.
• We account for improvement activity in our staffing plan.
• We have a resource team in addition to staffing for improvement.
• Other. Please note in the comments section below.

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• No, this is the first I am hearing about it.
• Sort of. We do something similar to daily management, but it is a very informal process.
• Yes, we use formal daily management, but are fairly new at it.
• Yes, we have an established daily management process.
• No. We have tried it, but it didn't stick.

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• We do not do kaizen events.
• We do occasional kaizen events, but they are not part of a strategy.
• We do some kaizen events, but they are tied into our strategy.
• We do a lot of 'drive-by' kaizen events (unlinked to strategy).
• We tie a full kaizen calendar to our strategic plan.
• Other (Please specify in the comments section below).

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• We don't do anything that resembles knowledge management.
• We have some informal knowledge management.
• We are starting a formal knowledge management program.
• We do knowledge management, but it is not done well.
• We have seen moderate success with our knowledge management program.
• We have an effective knowledge management program.

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• An effective problem-solving tool because of its ease of use.
• An effective problem-solving tool because it is easy to teach.
• An effective problem-solving tool because it is actually used by team members.
• An over-rated problem-solving tool because it is not repeatable.
• An over-rated problem-solving tool because it overly simplifies problems.
• An over-rated tool because it is easy to introduce bias.
• Most effective when combined with other problem-solving tools.
• Used less than it should be.
• Used more than it should be.

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• It has met or exceeded expectations (public company)
• It has not met expectations (public company)
• We do not use Lean (public company)
• It has met or exceeded expectations (private company)
• It has not met expectations (private company)
• We do not use Lean (private company)

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• I prefer doing 5S as part of an improvement project.
• I prefer stand-alone 5S projects.
• Both methods are equal.

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• I've read "Out of the Crisis" from cover to cover.
• I've read portions of "Out of the Crisis" from the actual book.
• I've read extracts of "Out of the Crisis".
• I've read summaries and interpretations of Deming's work.
• I've never read his work.
• Who is Deming?

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• ...too invasive in its searches.
• ...perfect as is. I wouldn't change a thing.
• ...not thorough enough. There are too many security breaches.

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• Almost always
• Most times
• Sometimes
• Seldom
• Almost never

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• Managers don't seem to share in the burden.
• Managers don't walk the talk.
• Teams have outspoken critics in their midst.
• The company doesn't invest in Lean.
• Lack of a perceived need.
• Other (please specify in comments below).

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• 8D
• DMAIC

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• Lack of management commitment
• Lack of employee engagement
• Lack of training
• No time allocated for improvement efforts
• Other (please post a comment if you select this)

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