Fifteen years ago I first began to study lean supply chains, by observing Toyota’s inbound parts supply chain and later their aftermarket parts distribution system. This was the beginning of a...
Read more
Lean Principles
Crossing the Lean Threshold
Lean transformations are increasingly bumping up against a common threshold. We may be very familiar with most of the lean tools. We may also have learnt to see our value streams and how to redesign...
Read more
Changing Reasons for Going Lean
Two questions from very different perspectives illustrate how the reasons for going lean are changing. First from Denmark, where a few years ago they were very worried about losing manufacturing jobs...
Read more
Leaning Healthcare
Healthcare is the next great industry to begin the Lean journey. The existing model in which the hospital doctor acting as a skilled craftsperson effectively manages their own waiting list of...
Read more
Developing Problem Solvers
We traditionally see an organisation as a collection of departments or activities, each managed separately and each separated from the rest by inventories or time buffers between them. Performance is...
Read more