Posted by business901 on November 30, 2009
Drew was my guest on the Business901 Podcast. Our talk centered around Drew's use of the Lean tool, Value Stream Mapping. I think you may be surprised by a few of his answers.
Drew is currently Managing Director for Change Management Associates. CMA provides Lean Enterprise Consulting and Organizational Development services to industrial and service organizations representing a wide variety of industries including: Healthcare, Transportation, Distribution, Education, Financial Services and Manufacturing. Drew first became involved in the development and delivery of innovative Business Improvement programs while working for General Electric in the 1980s. In 1990, Drew left GE to form CMA. Since then, he has utilized his diverse experience to help develop creative solutions for the companies with whom CMA works, in order to improve their business performance.
In 2004, Drew co-authored a book titled, “The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes
”. The book won a 2005 Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence in Manufacturing Research. In 2008 he published a book titled, “Value Stream Mapping for Lean Development: A How-To Guide for Streamlining Time to Market
”. This book demonstrates the application of Lean Thinking to the third primary value stream, “problem solving”.
Posted by business901 on November 23, 2009
Jim Lewis was the guest on the Business901 Podcast and the last half of the podcast was a Lean Transformation in itself. I
t is one of the best 15 minutes that I have hosted. Our discussion centered on how to begin with Lean and the development of a Value Stream Mapping. Jim is an authority in the Lean business philosophy and is one of the principals of The Center for Lean Learning, LLC. The Center is dedicated to working with business and industry to develop and implement a strategy for improving productivity and cost containment, both of which are crucial for profitability, especially during the current economic downturn.
Lewis has been championing the Lean business philosophy as an industry consultant since 1992. He has thirty-five years experience in operations management, engineering, and Lean transformation facilitation in a variety of industry environments including printed circuit boards, plastics, automotive, foundry, metal fabrication, furniture manufacturing, packaging, and visual merchandising. His experience and expertise will ensure a successful transition to Lean at your business and help position your company as a key player in the global marketplace. Jim is a contributing editor for a trade publication and the author of Learn to be Lean, and Story of a Lean Journey
Posted by business901 on November 16, 2009
Lean Six Sigma is a major Xerox initiative for driving new levels of business performance, product offerings, and results bas
ed on the customer-centered, industry-recognized methodologies. Jeffrey M. Koff, the Director of Lean Six Sigma Learning and Corporate Lean Six Sigma Operations for Xerox Corporation was a guest on the Business901 podcast. Our podcast centered on the use of Design for Lean Six Sigma strategies, and related product delivery improvement initiatives.
There is not a lot of fluff in this conversation; Jeff is direct and to the point about the uses of Lean Six Sigma. In industry today, there is a fair amount of discussion on Design for Six Sigma but very little if any on Design for Lean Six Sigma. Jeff is sold on the DFLSS process and the customization that Xerox has done with the methodology.
Posted by business901 on November 9, 2009
Michael Ballé is the co-author of, The Gold Mine, a bestselling business novel of lean turnaround, and recently, The Lean Manager, a novel of lean transformation, both published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. For the past 15 years, he has studied lean transformations, helping companies develop a lean culture. He is an engaging and colorful public speaker and I think you will find in the podcast, he lives up to his reputation. Micheal joined me on the Business901 Podcast and we had a spirited discussion about Lean Cultures and how the tools of Lean apply.
As a managing partner of ESG Consultants, Michael coaches executives in obtaining exceptional performance through using the lean tools, principles, and management attitudes. His main coaching technique is the “Real Place Visit,” where he helps senior executives to learn to see their own operational shop floors, teach their people the spirit of Kaizen and draw the right conclusions for their business as a whole. He has assisted companies in their lean transformations in various fields such as manufacturing, engineering, construction, services, and healthcare.
