Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE ASAKAI MYTH: The board is there, but the reality isn’t.

We set up a board and hold stand-up meetings every morning. But in reality: 🔴 Behavior doesn’t change. 🔴 Decision-making speed doesn’t increase. 🔴 Problems aren’t voiced, or simply cannot be. Meaning, there is a ritual, but no system. In many companies, even the ritual is missing. Why is Asakai Important in Lean Manufacturing? 1️⃣ […]

The Secret to Persistence in Lean: Value Stream Organization

Lean projects without value stream-based organization fail to maintain the initial excitement. In this article I explain why and how to fix it. I have witnessed many projects related to lean transformation. You know the initial excitement; kaizen workshops are established, teams are motivated, measurements are made. The place is filled with energy for a […]

Lean Line Management and Yamazumi (Line Balancing)- part 2

Having covered the history of assembly line management and line balancing in the last article, in this article we will discuss the 3 key principles of effective line management and continuous flow in a production and/or assembly line. These are; are gathered under 3 main headings. In assembly lines, typically, only line balancing is done […]

Lean Line Management and Yamazumi (Line Balancing)-1

After the first industrial revolution initiated mass production with steam engines (Industry 1.0), the logic of mass production aimed at increasing worker productivity by breaking down tasks into small parts, as pursued by Henry Ford, brought about the second industrial revolution (Industry 2.0). The concept of Line Balancing emerged precisely from here. The principles of […]

How Do We Measure the Success of Lean Transformation?

How do you measure the success of Lean Transformations? How do you measure the success of Lean Transformations? Is it necessary to achieve financial gains to deem a Lean Transformation truly successful, or is an increase in employee satisfaction sufficient? Can a Lean Transformation be considered unsuccessful if customer satisfaction does not improve? Can we […]