The Gemba is where the true value-adding activities to satisfy or serve the customer are performed. Gemba is a Japanese term meaning “actual place”, the place where truth is found. The ‘Gemba Walk’ is an activity that takes leadership to the front lines to look for waste and opportunities.
Lean is the number one improvement program in the world. The only real competition for popularity comes from inaction or weak attempts that rely upon naive trial and error. In terms of comprehensive programs, the runner up methodology is Six Sigma, a great program, but far less popular than lean.
Let’s look closer at lean in terms of foundation, approach, vision, and applicability across various organizations...
The Design Phase of a lean transformation is dependent on the quality of the Diagnosis Phase. Don’t start the Design Phase unless the leadership of the business agrees and signs off on with the Diagnostic Phase document ...
In the Diagnostic Phase of the transformation, a very intense analysis is used to gain a detailed understanding of the “current state” of the business. The elements evaluated are: Business Processes, Organizational Infrastructure, and Organizational Culture, as well as how effectively these elements support the customer’s requirements and needs.
Getting to the Root of the Problem: How one company used visual scheduling to increase on-time delivery
Survival in a shrinking industry requires being efficient, economical, and responsive to customers. With a product lead-time of two to three days from receipt of order, the client, a leading paper converting company, was struggling to meet their customer deliveries...
The old adage “Measure Twice, Cut Once” applies to the Preparation for lean transformation. Many times transformations start with very little or no preparation, which results in a very stressful and rushed diagnosis. This deficiency in turn can then lead to poor design and weak implementation phases. It is essential that certain activities take place before the diagnose phase begins. This increases the probability of a successful transformation and the team getting off to the best start possible.