Gemba Academy

Questioning the Value of the P-Value

By Jon Miller - July 25th, 2011

The p-value expresses the probability of obtaining a test statistic that is at least as extreme as the one result actually observed, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. The scientific method attempts to disprove the null hypothe

Farewell iSixSigma

By Ron Pereira - July 25th, 2011

As some may have already heard iSixSigma is most likely closing its doors due to its parent company Schofield Media losing its bank financing. A few bloggers and companies selling Six Sigma related products have recently posted their t

Gemba Glossary: Gemba

By Ron Pereira - July 22nd, 2011

Here is the latest Gemba Glossary video focused on the word gemba. If you missed any of the preview Gemba Glossary videos be sure to check them out: Gemba Glossary: 5S Gemba Glossary: 7 Wastes Gemba Glossary: Kaizen Once the video begi

Help! No Management Support!

By Ron Pereira - July 19th, 2011

Most will agree that having top management support is crucial to succeeding at any form of continuous improvement – lean, six sigma, TOC, etc. But what happens when management isn’t behind the employees who are attempting to use le

7 Amish Habits to Make You Lean and Wealthy

By Jon Miller - July 17th, 2011

An article ran one week ago in the Seattle Times, titled “The frugal Amish know about wealth”. The Amish Mennonites are a subgroup of Protestant Christians mostly living in rural communities in parts of USA and Canda. They

Gemba Glossary: Kaizen

By Ron Pereira - July 14th, 2011

Here is the latest Gemba Glossary video focused on the word kaizen. If you missed any of the preview Gemba Glossary videos please be sure to check them out: Gemba Glossary: 5S Gemba Glossary: 7 Wastes And to access more than 165 othe

3 Ways to Break Through Productivity Ruts

By Ron Pereira - July 12th, 2011

We’ve all been there… stuck in rut. Unmotivated. Bored. Possibly even a bit down in the dumps. And, to be sure, when we’re in this dip it’s easy for our personal productivity to hit rock bottom. With this said, here are 3 thing

The New Math of Daily Kaizen

By Jon Miller - July 10th, 2011

The true meaning of kaizen, we like to say at our Institute, is to involve everyone everywhere in making improvements every day. Kaizen is not just about the 5-day rapid improvement events, although these can be great vehicles for brin

Hustle

By Ron Pereira - July 6th, 2011

It’s 12:43 AM and I’ve been in the zone working on some Gemba Academy projects. I can’t explain it… but I love working late into the night from time to time. I do think getting adequate sleep is supremely impo

Video Interview with Massaki Imai, Kaizen Pioneer

By Jon Miller - July 6th, 2011

Masaaki Imai is the founder of our company Kaizen Institute and author of two classics on lean management, Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success and Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-cost Approach to Management he is work

Great, here comes Mr. “Oh – No!”

By Ron Pereira - June 28th, 2011

As I mentioned in a recent article I had the great honor of meeting Mr. Masaaki Imai, the founder of the Kaizen Institute and author of several lean related books. As it turns out, Mr. Imai knew Mr. Taiichi Ohno – the chief architect

Children's Hospital of Saskatchewan – Getting Lean

By Jon Miller - June 28th, 2011

Here is a great 4-minute Youtube video showing how the Kaizen Institute teams in the USA and Canada applied the lean methodology of Production Preparation Process (3P) in designing a new facility at the Children’s Hospital of Sas

The Importance of Being Columbo

By Jon Miller - June 26th, 2011

During the 1970s I shared one experience in common with Taiichi Ohno. We both watched Colombo on television, dubbed in Japanese. In fact this is something I share with possibly a hundred million Japanese people, so it only goes to show

Need your Website Design Help!

By Ron Pereira - June 26th, 2011

Hi LSS Academy friends! I need your help. We’ve recently launched a new Gemba Academy website and are looking for feedback. The “Product” page is a particularly important page on the site so I’d like to get yo

The COPQ Iceberg

By Jon Miller - June 25th, 2011

S.M Junaid is the Production Manager of Procon Engineering Pvt (LTD) from Karachi, Pakistan. He periodically shares kaizen examples with us. His previous contributions can be found here and also here. Today’s kaizen example is ti

My Week with Mr. Masaaki Imai

By Ron Pereira - June 24th, 2011

Shortly after graduating from college, many moons ago, my Father gave me a book he promised would change my life. The book was called “KAIZEN: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success” and was written by a man named Masaaki I

Dunbar’s Number, Span of Control and Lean Organization Design

By Jon Miller - June 21st, 2011

A few weeks ago I learned about something called Dunbar’s Number while listening to the radio. The relevance of Dunbar’s number to lean organization design struck me immediately. There are such things as magic numbers. Some

Kaizen Stories from Masaaki Imai

By Jon Miller - June 17th, 2011

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with Masaaki Imai,the founder of our company Kaizen Institute Consulting Group. Most people know him as the author of his influential books. 1975 Never Take Yes for an Answer: An Inside Look at

Suggestion Box Visual Mistake Proofing

By Jon Miller - June 14th, 2011

This suggestion box was placed in one of the walkways within the airport in Basel, Switzerland. It caught my eye because of the clever use of plexi glass to make the contents of the box visible. Making the contents of the box visible l

Understanding Lean through a Systems Theory of Safety

By Jon Miller - June 13th, 2011

Prof. Nancy Leveson is an expert in the safety of systems. She is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. She created the STAMP approach (Systems Theoretic Accident Model) and has written a book on systems theory applied to s

Gemba Glossary: 7 Wastes

By Ron Pereira - June 10th, 2011

In this edition of the Gemba Glossary we focus on the 7 Wastes. Click where it says “240p” to select a higher definition version of the video if you’d prefer. To access more than 150 additional lean training videos pl

What Challenges Are You Facing?

By Ron Pereira - June 7th, 2011

A quick question… what challenges are you currently facing as it relates to building a culture of continuous improvement within your organization? These challenges can be related to people, processes, or anything else in between.

Gemba Glossary: 5S

By Ron Pereira - May 31st, 2011

Gemba Academy has started a new series of free videos called the Gemba Glossary. These short, normally less than 2 minutes, videos will offer definitions and explanations of key lean terms. The first video in this series is focused

Character & Integrity

By Ron Pereira - May 30th, 2011

Those that follow American college football likely know that Jim Tressel, Ohio State’s football coach, resigned today. It’s a sad, although not totally unexpected, day for Buckeye nation. Of course the rest of the college football

Lean Maturity and the Four Stages of Competence

By Jon Miller - May 27th, 2011

People often ask how good or bad they are compared to best in class lean organizations. Not satisfied with answers of “there is no end on the journey”, they want to know how far along they are. This is a fair question, and

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