Gemba Academy

Three Requirements for Managing by Fact

By Jon Miller - May 20th, 2011

Management by fact is a pillar principle of kaizen and lean thinking. We must go see, observe without prejudice, approach problems rationally and with data, finally take the logical actions that will result in a better outcome. Yet the

Why You Should Go See for Yourself

By Jon Miller - May 14th, 2011

One of the pillar principles of kaizen and lean management is genchi genbutsu – literally “actual place actual thing” but often translated as “go see for yourself”. One of the first things a lean sensei wi

Something to Lighten Your Day

By Jon Miller - May 12th, 2011

Many advertising images are designed to make people subconsciously want to consume a product. How effective do you think this vending machine is towards that end? There is an implied lesson here about visual controls and lean thinking

Gemba Academy Releases Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Video

By Jon Miller - May 10th, 2011

We are happy to announce the release of the newest online lean training course focused on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) from Gemba Academy. This course features Mike Wroblewski, a Gemba consultant with the Kaizen Institute, record

Total Productive Maintenace (TPM) Overview

By Ron Pereira - May 9th, 2011

If your company relies on machines and/or equipment of any kind to satisfy customer demand chances are extremely high that Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) could benefit you. With this said, I’m excited to announce that Gemba A

The Ambiguity Deepens…

By Jon Miller - May 1st, 2011

This was found in Frankfurt airport, hanging every 100m or so in the hallway of the terminal. It’s a long narrow hallway. These signs are positioned such that if you are walking down the hall, the visual control indicates to go r

The Secret to Living a Happy Life at Home and Work

By Ron Pereira - April 27th, 2011

I’m confident that I’ve found the secret to living a happy life. I’m serious. I really do think I’ve figured it out. You see, I know many people who are unhappy since they spend most of their lives at jobs they don’t lik

Ambiguous Visual Controls: Too Much Information

By Jon Miller - April 27th, 2011

Among the side benefits of international travel are meeting interesting new people, learning about the local culture and running into ambiguous visual controls. Jet lag slows the brain and renders it unable to quickly find meaning in a

Make Lean Work For You!

By Ron Pereira - April 21st, 2011

I just got off the phone with a gentleman struggling to apply lean concepts in his workplace. This person — let’s call him Jeff — works in a distribution environment meaning he doesn’t produce widgets for a living. One

6 Principles for Rebuilding Industry

By Jon Miller - April 17th, 2011

In a March 28, 2011 article in Nikkei Business magazine Dr. Fumikatsu Tokiwa, the former Chairman of Japanese cosmetics giant Kao Corporation, gave his views on principles that should guide the recovery of Japanese industry in the afte

Hearing Taiichi Ohno's Voice

By Jon Miller - April 15th, 2011

Many of us have read the words of Taiichi Ohno and learned from his teachings. Relatively few of us have heard his voice and even fewer have met him directly. I unearthed a gem during one of my recent efforts to organize my work, and I

Review of Total Flow Management by Euclides Coimbra

By Jon Miller - April 12th, 2011

Total Flow Management: Achieving Excellence with Kaizen and Lean Supply Chains was published in early 2009 but has been distributed only within Kaizen Institute and its customers. Now this book is available to all and will surely join

Let’s Dance

By Ron Pereira - April 11th, 2011

A few months ago I wrote about my experiences coaching my daughter’s U7 soccer team. Specifically, I shared how lots of practice and hard work resulted in our girls winning their indoor league championship. Well, I’m very excited

Lean Leadership Lessons from Lantech (video)

By Jon Miller - March 30th, 2011

Our friend Paul Akers from FastCap recently visited Lantech, a leading lean manufacturer of wrapping and packaging machines. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Lantech has become a benchmark company that often invites visitors to share in

How to Do Yokoten

By Jon Miller - March 21st, 2011

Much of the work I do today with Gemba Academy is to share knowledge by developing online learning. We develop video library, blog posts, podcasts and other resources to help organizations learn, copy and adapt best available knowledge

Leader Standard Work Overview Video

By Jon Miller - March 18th, 2011

We have released the Leader Standard Work online training course at Gemba Academy. Currently there are seven modules in which Mike Wroblewski teaches how leaders at all levels can incorporate lean principles into their daily management

Leader Standard Work – Part 1

By Ron Pereira - March 18th, 2011

Here is part 1 (of 7) of Gemba Academy’s Leader Standard Work course. If you’re reading this via email or RSS reader you’ll likely need to click through to the website in order to watch the video.

3 Ways to Help the People of Japan

By Ron Pereira - March 15th, 2011

If you haven’t already considered it… I’d encourage you to make a donation to help the people of Japan. There are many ways to help including the following 3 options. The Red Cross First, one of the easiest ways to he

Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game

By Jon Miller - March 14th, 2011

A Harvard Business Review article titled The Gamer Disposition makes a case for the players of multi-player online games as good candidates within the dynamic and flexible modern organization. Specifically the authors John Seely Brown

Kaizen Song: So What

By Jon Miller - March 11th, 2011

Who knew there were lyrics to this Miles Davis jazz standard from his classic Kind of Blue album. Here is the kaizen song version of these lyrics from So What. Put on the CD, lay down an A3, and sing along… So What (to the tune o

10 Tips to Immediately Boost Productivity

By Ron Pereira - March 10th, 2011

Are you struggling to be productive today? We’ve all been there. Here are 10 tips that, if implemented, will give you an instant boost! And be sure to check out the related posts below this one for additional ideas. Work your

Insights from McKinsey Interview with Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin

By Jon Miller - March 9th, 2011

An interview in this month’s McKinsey Quarterly with Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin shares the lessons learned during the transformation across the past decade. Titled “Flying people, not planes” the article explains

Free Seminar: Using 3P to Support Healthcare Facility Design

By Ron Pereira - March 8th, 2011

Gemba Academy, in collaboration with the Kaizen Institute and Qualis Health, is proud to announce a free seminar focused on Using 3P to Support Healthcare Facility Design in Seattle, Washington on March 17, 2011. Please see the attache

Is Little Caesar’s Lean?

By Ron Pereira - March 7th, 2011

A few weeks ago we discussed whether the use of a dishwasher was lean or full of waste. Well, last night I needed to pick up some Little Caesar’s pizzas for my soccer team. I needed to order several pizzas and wondered how lo

Celebrating 2 Years of Gemba Academy

By Jon Miller - March 3rd, 2011

In March of 2009 Kevin Meyer, Ron Pereira and I launched Gemba Academy as a new way to help people learn about kaizen and lean. We had no idea what to expect when the site first went live. All of our forecasts were wrong. Initially we

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