Lean Roundup #134 – July 2020

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of July 2020.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

Can a Public Company Ever Be Lean? – Dan Markovitz answers the question whether public US companies really embrace lean.

Point, Flow & System Improvement – Pascal Dennis explains the difference between point, flow and system level improvements.

The Case Against Chief Diversity, Quality, Excellence Officers or Centers – Johanna Rothman explains the problem with naming chiefs, officers, and centers and the shift of responsibility from the many to the few.

Culture Change – Bruce Hamilton shares a story illustrating that culture change is after all, not a discrete event, but continuous improvement that engages everyone according to their individual capabilities. 

5S and Five More Working from Home Hacks – Jon Miller shares tips and advice for working productively at home by focusing on your work environment and removing those distractions.

Measurement System & Sampling Horror Stories – Ron Pereira shares two important point about sampling and measurement systems that everyone should know.

When Customer-Supplier Partnerships… Aren’t – Kevin Meyer talks about the dangers of long payment terms and the strain on customer and supplier relationships that causes.

Love for Ohno, Hate for Taylor? – Bob Emiliani describes the similarities between Taylor and Scientific Management and Ohno and Toyota Management.

Where Broken, Come Back Stronger – Jamie Flinchbaugh talks about the concept of kintsugi, take what’s broken and make it better and more beautiful than before.

Why We Believe Tough Times and Opportunity Go Hand in Hand – Lean Sensei Women (primarily authored by Rose Heathcote) discuss how to survive and thrive in these uncertain times while keeping an eye on long-term sustainability.

Lessons Shared On Learning to Lead; and Leading to Learn – Katie Anderson shares some lessons on leadership and people development which became the theme of her new book.

The Art of Lean: Must-Knows for Coaching the Corrective-Action Phase of Problem-Solving, Part 1 & Part 2 – Art Smalley explains A.D.P. (administration, detection, and prevention) methodology for dealing with countermeasures or corrective action items when problem solving.

Ask Art: Why Do Most Companies Think Of Lean as Just a Cost Reduction Program? – Art Byrne says we shouldn’t be surprised at all that most companies approach lean as a cost reduction program, when it really is better understood as a time-based growth strategy.

What Comes After Lean? - Bob Emiliani discusses the idea that if management is progressive evolution of thinking hence how lean evolved then what will be next evolution.

How to Think about Zero - Jon Miller reflects on various “zero initiatives” within Lean management and whether they contain any lessons.

How A Complete Lean Production System Fuels Global Success - Jim Womack describes four elements of a lean enterprise and how those make Toyota successful over rivals GM and Ford.