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A blog focused on "lean manufacturing" and the Toyota Production System, as applied to manufacturing, health care, and other industries.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'respect for people'
The Emperor’s Sacred Cow’s New Clothes – “Flexing” Hospital Staff
Since moving into healthcare in 2005, I’ve been surprised by a number of things in the hospital environment. The first time a skilled medical professional (a laboratory medical technologist) said, “they just want me to check my brain at the door...
Guest Post : It’s About People
Today’s guest post is from Ankit Patel, who started his own blog and has been active on Twitter. Welcome to the Lean blogosphere, Ankit. It’s About People, by Ankit Patel: Like many of you I first learned lean on the job in a manufacturing s...
Hospitals Saving Millions with Staff Suggestions
In the past week, I found two articles about hospitals that are engaging staff members through suggestion programs.Employee suggestions are a core part of Lean and the Toyota Production System. There's so much wasted potential when hospitals don't ge...
Bad Behavior Kills - in Hospitals?
amednews: Disruptive behavior by doctors, nurses persists a year after crackdown :: Nov. 16, 2009 ... American Medical NewsOne of the two pillars of the Toyota approach is the principle of "Respect for People." How good can quality be, regardless of ...
"Love" or "Lean," This Quote Rings True
I saw this quote on Twitter from the pastor Rick Warren (happens to fit in the 140 characters):"Love isn't letting people do whatever they want. That's often cowardice or apathy. Love cares enough to tell the truth."I'm not equating Lean to religion ...
Medical Journal Article on the Gilbreths in the O.R.
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: scientific management in the operating roomI sprung $20 for this healthcare journal article about the Gilbreths, thought I'd share a few historical tidbits here. I already knew that Frank Gilbreth was credited with the ide...
Leanies of the World, Unite!
Will the Real Lean Production Please Stand Up? | Labor NotesYesterday, I blogged about how a nurses' union in Canada was supporting the province's lean healthcare activities for improving patient care.Going back a few weeks, I blogged about a union w...
UPS: Disrespect for People?
by Dan MarkovitzI took this picture of a UPS truck recently in NYC. (The orange signs say "SAFETY.") At first I thought, "Great! UPS management cares about safety for its drivers. Terrific!"But then I looked at the signs a bit longer and wondered jus...
Hotels Give "Lean" a Bad Name??
Housekeepers' Giant “Hope Quilt” Puts Hotel Job Injuries in Spotlight | Labor NotesArticles like this are incredibly frustrating to see. It makes me think of a variation of the famous Bon Jovi song that would go something like "You Give Lean a Ba...
Did the Reporter or GM Blow it on a Definition of TPS?
Calif. to get dose of auto anguish | Detroit Free Press | Freep.comHere's a recent story about the demise of NUMMI, in which, the reporter wrote:"On the manufacturing side, GM did sustain much of what it learned from Toyota in its Global Manufacturin...
Lean is Not Sustainable, Except When It Is
What top-performing EDs d0 - Hospitals & Health NetworksI was really, Really, REALLY puzzled by the first line in this article, that read:"Lean, Six Sigma and Toyota Production System applications have simply not proven sustainable in health care...
Lean Does NOT Turn People into Robots
There are lots of comments online, blogs, and Twitter about people complaining that Lean at Starbucks is an attempt to turn people into robots.Again, that is the furthest thing from truth. Fine, don't believe me. Believe a hospital. Starbucks people ...
Shop Class as Soulcraft
By Andy Wagner:The New York Times recently published an essay by Matthew Crawford, based on his new book "Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work". In his inquiry into the value of work, Crawford takes on Taylorism's separation of ...
Bad News not Flowing Either Direction at GM?
Last week, I blogged about an episode where bad news wasn't flowing up in Boeing (or, it's part of a pattern).In my Sunday morning reading, I ran across two articles that reminded me of the situations where fear (and other dynamics) lead to communica...
Toyota Leaders Get a Lecture From a Toyoda
Toyota Names Akio Toyoda President, Apologizes to Shareholders for LossesThis was rumored for a while, but Toyota has formally named Akio Toyoda as the next President. Yes, "Toyoda" with a "d" -- that's the family name. Back when Toyota starting maki...
NPR Does a Great Job of Covering Toyota
Following The Toyota Way, For Better Or Worse : NPR (listen or read)I'll hand it to NPR, they generally do a much better job understanding and covering Toyota than the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, or Reuters.Tuesday, there was a piece that explored...
