Great article in the Fabricator on the importance of Executive Leadership for Lean transformation.

The turnaround efforts continue at this great American manufacturing organization. Under the guidance of Larry Culp, the former Danaher CEO, General Electric is regaining ground using lessons from Toyota.

Veteran manufacturing executive, business leader and Lean expert Gary Brooks has joined the board of the Plymouth Tube Company. The organization is a privately-held, family-owned precision manufacturer of specialty tubing and extruded products across its nine US-based plants Plymouth Tube has long embraced the operational and cultural components of the Toyota Production System and uses this model to drive constant improvement and performance/value for its customers.

IN THE PAST DECADE, LEAN MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES HAVE EXPANDED TO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

Although Lean was born in Toyota in the 1950s and 1960s, it was not until after 2000 that the first hospitals in the USA, Europe and Australia began to explore it. These pioneering organizations came together to share their stories at the first Global Lean Healthcare Summit in the UK in 2007, which in turn triggered many more experiments around the world. Since then, interest has grown very rapidly.

A great article from Dan Markovitz in IndustryWeek on the pitfalls of running a belt blitz instead of creating a culture of continuous improvement. Read the article here:

Source: https://www.industryweek.com/operations/article/22028253/your-lean-six-sigma-belt-program-is-the-problem

The Lean Enterprise Institute recently published a fantastic podcast conversation with Lean legends Art Byrne, Mark Deluzio and Jim Womack. The conversation, moderated by host Tom Ehrenfeld, covers a wide range of perspectives on the challenges most organizations face in sustaining Lean as an operating strategy. Great insight and some thought-provoking content here from true authorities in the field.

Find the Podcast here: https://www.lean.org/podcast/5418