Beyond Manufacturing

A couple months ago we compared Costco to the "lean" corner store, deriding the big box mentality of purchasing in bulk to supposedly save m…

The idea of one piece flow being more efficient that batch production is one of those counterintuitive concepts that can make lean manufacturing diffi…

I've had to spend much of the last couple weeks up at Stanford Hospital to help with a family medical issue, which has given me the opportunity to…

Global warming... boy are we hearing a lot about that these days.  After dire predictions that last year would be the warmest on record as that was wh…

Regular readers know I have a fascination with how lean manufacturing concepts, as well as the free market, can impact the basic human condition.  A f…

Leave it to Taiwan to do things a bit differently.  Instead of putting out the garbage for eventual collection by roving garbage trucks, in Taiwan the…

Last month the Supreme Court ruled U.S. paper money discriminates against the blind.  I don't disagree. Close your eyes, reach into your wallet a…

I just wanted to give Garr Reynolds from Presentation Zen credit for this one. He tracked down an article (in Japanese) by Mr. Watanabe, CEO of Toyota…