Gemba Tales Blog
The name "Gemba Tales" is borrowed from Mark Hamel's two Shingo Prize-winning books, Kaizen Event Fieldbook and Lean Math within which there are dozens of tales. Each tale is based upon the experienced (some successful, some not) of the author and other lean practitioners and shared for the purpose of providing insight into the application of certain lean concepts. The purpose of this blog is really no different, just a bigger community for sharing and learning.
Mark Hamel Interviewed by Business901's Joe Dager
Joe Dager, an expert in lean marketing and founder of the Business901 blog, w
Humility, or What Does Dirt Have to Do with Lean?
The word humility is derived from the Latin word for ground, humus. The notion of ground, earth or dirt makes sense in that humility is a virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself or herself.
Model Lines - Federal Government Take Note
Model lines (a.k.a. pilot) are a proven method to initiate a lean launch. The model, typically one specific "line" or value stream within a single facility or operation, provides a small, focused and controlled playground for implementing lean.
CSI Kaizen - When Forensics Supplement Direct Observation
Taiichi Ohno preferred facts over data, meaning, among other things, that direct observation trumps second hand stuff. How else can you truly grasp the current situation and identify the waste?
Why Bowling Charts? Trajectory Matters!
Strange name, "bowling chart," but it's a simple and powerful tool. It forces critical thinking around breakthrough objectives and facilitates typically monthly checkpoints that help drive accountability, PDCA and ultimately execution.
Gemba Tales' 90 Day Reflection
Gemba Tales is now three months old (my first "real" post was made on December 28, 2009). So, I thought it appropriate to engage in a little reflection or hansei. But not too much, mind you. I don't want to over-analyze anything when my blog is still so young and immature.
Kaizen Event Supplies - Basic Stuff for Effective Events
The kaizen pre-event planning phase is critical to event effectiveness. It includes the obvious - event definition from the perspective of scope and targets, team selection, communication and certain acceptable pre-work, but sometimes the simple stuff gets missed.
Ineffective Visual Controls - 9 Root Causes
I just had an experience that prompted me to think about the effectiveness, or sometimes lack thereof, of visual controls. Yesterday I was at a client site. No kaizen, just training.