Lean Insight and Product Reviews
Gemba and kaizen go together like peanut butter and jelly. In Japanese, Gemba means “the actual place”. In kaizen, the phrase “Go to Gemba First” is often used. It means that you must go to where the action is or where the process is completed. It is the workbench, the sales meeting, production line, or the cubicle. To make changes in a process, you must actually see the process in action. Many managers never leave …
A spaghetti diagram, often called a spaghetti plot, spaghetti chart, or spaghetti model, is a valuable tool to add to your Lean toolbox. Spaghetti diagrams are a component of Gemba walks and are a visual representation of flows in your facility. The goal of a spaghetti diagram is to make it easier for managers to identify resources wasted and processes that can be streamlined. Before embarking on your Gemba walk, you will want to select …
Gemba Walk Know-How: Preparation & Interpretation Gemba walks are a powerful piece of your Lean toolbox, and constitute a straightforward way for business owners and managers to find and remedy issues that affect their production. As Lean tools are all about efficiency and waste elimination, a Gemba walk generally fits agreeably into any improvement regimen you may already have planned or in motion. In this blog post, we’re going to go through what exactly a …
The pursuit of perfection is often met with obstacles that attempt to break down our path. The beauty of the lean path though, is there is always a tool for our broken path. We may get diverted, but with lean in our pocket we have the ability to continue on with our pursuit, without looking back. The gemba walk for instance is a perfect example of how one can use a specific tool to keep …
Working as a manager requires that people become excellent communicators. To do a good job they are required to clearly convey instructions and expectations. They need to be able to inspire people and get them to follow the policies and procedures of a company, which requires them to communicate effectively. What many managers forget, however, is that part of great communication is being able to listen. When working with other people it is essential to …