Hitchhiker S Guide To Lean

Hitchhikers do not travel a fixed path. They intentionally wander so they can learn and grow along the way. Embarking on the lean journey is similar; there are many roads on which to wander and no single one is right for all. This title concludes with interviews of lean practitioners on the front lines of change at Chrysler, DTE Energy, and Nemak.

Jamie Flinchbaugh and Andy Carlino with Foreword by Dennis Pawley Hitchhikers do not travel a fixed path. They intentionally wander so they can learn and grow along the way. Embarking on the lean journey is similar, there are many roads on which to wander and no single one is right for all. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road" reveals the most critical lessons learned over the authors' combined 30-plus years of exploring the lean highways. One of the book's lessons from the road is you need to pay attention to where you are and where you are going, just as you do when driving a car. Lean leaders add value by changing things, moving them forward, and producing different results than the day before. To lead, you must go beyond creating a vision. You must develop the vehicle that will deliver it. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean" is the vehicle that will help you move beyond the tools and take lean to a self-sustaining and continuously improving level. The book's 10 chapters cover lean principles and thinking, lean leadership moves, the roadmap for lean transformation, common pitfalls of lean journeys, building an operating system, lean accounting, lean material management, lean in service organizations, and how individuals can apply lean to improve themselves. The book concludes with interviews of lean practitioners on the front lines of change at Chrysler, Ross Controls, DTE Energy, RSR Corporation, and Nemak.

Every person in every function of every organization is involved in solving problems. They show up in your email inbox, in meetings, in your own work. They are strategic and tactical, mundane and breakthrough, easy and difficult. Most organizations want to, and need to, improve their people's problem-solving efforts, and so they offer them tools, templates, and training. Yet this is not where the leverage for impact is found. People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem explores the real leverage to improve your problem solving. In the first section of the book, we explore the problem with problem solving, including both the value and limits of tools and templates. We also explore the marriage of problem solving and standards. Building on that start, People Solve Problems is built on four primary domains. After setting up the challenge, we start by exploring People-Centered Capabilities. These capabilities are tool agnostic, equally applicable to any chosen problem-solving method or no method at all. This includes a wide range of capabilities from creating problem statements to integrating intuition into problem solving. Next, we cover Problem-Solving Culture. These chapters outline the culture needed in the organization or the personal behaviors you must master to be successful in problem solving. The behaviors explored range from deliberately learning through problem solving to building transparency, vulnerability, and trust. In the third section, we dive into Success through Coaching. Problem solving is unlike other practices, training is incredibly insufficient, and coaching is the major driver of success. This section addresses the why, who, when, where, and of course the important how of coaching. Finally, we explore the Role of the Leader, whether the CEO or a team leader, in building an environment where problem solving can thrive. The leader must be the architect of their problem-solving systems, a shaper of culture, and a framer of problems. Problem-solving effectiveness is critical to success for both the problems you already know about and those you have not yet experienced. People Solve Problems will you help you, and those you lead, to be more effective now and in the future.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy provides an excellent way of looking at some intriguing issues in philosophy, from vegetarianism and Artificial Intelligence to God, space and time. This is an entertaining yet thought provoking volume for students, philosophers and fans of The Hitchhiker's series.

Healthcare leaders around the world are facing tough challenges, including the need to deliver better value for patients and payers, which means improving quality while reducing cost. It might seem impossible to do both, but organizations around the world are proving it's possible, through Lean. Health systems are able to enhance all dimensions of patient care, including both safety and service, while creating more engaging and less frustrating workplaces for healthcare professionals and staff... all leading to improved long-term financial performance. Building on the success of the first two editions of this Shingo Prize-Winning book, Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement, Third Edition explains how to use the Lean philosophy and management system to improve safety, quality, access, and morale while reducing costs. Lean healthcare expert Mark Graban examines the challenges facing today’s health systems, including rising costs, falling reimbursement rates or budget constraints, employee retention, and harm to patients. The new edition of this international bestseller (translated into eight languages) begins with an overview of Lean methods and mindsets. It explains how engaging staff and leaders in Lean practices such as value stream mapping and process observation can help reduce wasted motion for caregivers, prevent delays for patients, and improve the long-term health of your organization. In addition to a new introduction from John Toussaint, this updated edition includes: New and updated material on identifying waste, A3 problem solving, employee idea management, kanban for materials management, and strategy deployment New case studies and examples—including a new 5S case study (Franciscan St. Francis Health) and other case examples highlighting the challenges and successes of an academic medical center and a small urgent access hospital, featuring quotes and stories from executives New examples and updated data throughout, including revised chapters on patient safety and patient flow challenges and the improvements driven by Lean Detailing the mindsets and methods needed for a successful transition to a Lean culture, the book provides the understanding of Lean practices—including value stream mapping, standardized work, error proofing, root cause problem solving, and daily improvement processes—needed to reduce common hospital errors and improve performance in other dimensions. The balanced approach outlined in this book will guide you through the process of improving the quality of care and service while reducing costs in your hospital. *The Lean Certification and Oversight Appeals committee has approved Lean Hospitals as recommended reading for those in pursuit of Lean Bronze Certification from SME, AME, Shingo Prize, and ASQ

Provides Reassurance and Suggestions From Those Who Have Walked the Same Lean Road Perhaps the most fundamental challenge that companies adopting a lean strategy must face is how to sustain initial momentum and develop a corporate culture with an ongoing commitment to that strategy. While efficient tools and strategies are essential to the cause, just as critical is a shared confidence that this endeavor is the right course. While one has to make the road by walking it, knowing that others have walked a similar path can both be instructive and encouraging. Make Rapid Changes and Enjoy Long-Term Success Sustaining Lean: Case Studies in Transforming Culture, the third compilation of articles originally published in AME’s well-regarded Target Magazine, provides accounts of challenges encountered and methods applied by organizations in pursuit of lean. While a few of the articles broadly discuss issues involved in long-term transformation, the vast majority provide illuminating and often inspirational case studies. Following an insightful introduction by noted lean expert David Mann, this compelling volume tells the stories of companies that overcame significant cultural challenges. It helps any manager understand what it takes to communicate a vision of improvement and achieve the empowerment of stakeholders vital to rapid change and long-term success.

Although regularly introducing new products or services is the lifeblood of most industries, bringing them to market can be fraught with peril. Timing, cost, and quality all play important roles in a successful product launch and avoiding expensive — often in more than just dollars — recalls and redesigns. Quality Assurance: Applying Methodologies for Launching New Products, Services, and Customer Satisfaction details continual improvement (CI), a proven process for avoiding common problems and creating customer satisfaction. The book explores the three fundamental approaches required to create a truly CI culture in any organization: a) consistent philosophy of improvement by management, b) receptive organizational culture, and c) the entire culture of the organization must be willing to make decisions based on measurement and data. It outlines the seven principles: research/plan, assure, explain, prioritize, demonstrate, confirm, and show. However, as with CI itself, this attitude must be incorporated into the processes of any organization and create products or services for the market place that will delight customers rather than just satisfying them. Time and cost constraints are the biggest culprits here, not any one person’s lack of due diligence. When this happens, organizations must look at the bigger picture internally and identify it as a system problem. Based on the author’s 35 years of experience, this book covers the essential items for doing the right thing the first time especially during launching a good product and/or service to the customer. It identifies key indicators and methodologies that will help you attain excellent performance, delivery, and cost with both the customer and supplier. In other words, by following these methodologies and indicators, the job will get done right the first time.

To enhance and sustain its Lean journey, a company must implement information systems that fully support and enhance the Lean initiative. In Easier, Simpler, Faster: Systems Strategy for Lean IT, Jean Cunningham and Duane Jones introduce the case study of an actual Lean implementation involving the IT system of a mid-size manufacturer, highlighting the IT challenges that the manufacturer faced during the Lean transformation. Winner of a Shingo Prize, this book will provide you with a broader vision as well as a path to what a Lean system environment will look like for your company.