Lean Blog Interviews

Episode #22 of the Podcast is a discussion with Allan Wilson, CEO of Factory Logic, a software company that was acquired by SAP late last year. Allan is now the VP of Lean Manufacturing Operations for SAP. We talk about the role of technology and software in a Lean implementation. In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for Factory Logic a few years back, including time under Allan's leadership, but I have no financial interest in the company or products. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast. Visit www.leanpodcast.org for all episodes.

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/21  Remastered June 2021 LeanBlog Podcast Episode #21 features our friend and frequent guest, Norman Bodek, noted lean author, consultant, and President of PCS Press. In this Podcast, we talk about how Lean should be good for a company's employees, that Lean and the Toyota Production system are really about building people and investing in them rather than laying people off. Norman's previous Podcast episodes can be found on the Podcast main page, at www.leanpodcast.org. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/20  Remastered Jyly 2021 The LeanBlog Podcast is back with episode #20, our guest is Kevin Meyer, the founder of Superfactory Ventures, which can be found at Superfactory.com. You may know Kevin from his popular blog, Evolving Excellence. We'll be talking about a number of lean topics including his upcoming panel moderation at the Kellogg Manufacturing Business Conference, being held in Evanston IL in May. For more episodes, visit www.leanpodcast.org. Also visit the Lean Blog at www.leanblog.org. Show Notes and Approximate Time, Episode #20 1:30 How Kevin got started with Lean 3:00 About the Evolving Excellence Blog 5:00 Blogging as a learning experience 6:00 Kevin will be speaking at Northwestern University, moderating a panel discussion on in-sourcing on on-shoring at their Manufacturing Business Conference 6:20 Companies that have been able to build manufacturing competencies in the U.S., rather than running overseas, looking at total cost, rather than just labor

Episode #19 of the Lean Blog Podcast brings the return of Jim Womack. Jim was sitting in Melbourne Australia, where he had been speaking about lean healthcare, a topic that we will discuss in a future podcast. In this podcast, we talk about Jim's reflections on the book The Machine That Changed the World and its recent reissuing by the publisher (with updates). In the podcast, Jim not only talks about Toyota's success, but ways in which Toyota could fail or falter in the future. This is the first part of our discussion, I will release the second part in the upcoming weeks. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

Here is Episode #18 of the LeanBlog Podcast. My guest today is Eric Christiansen, the President of a translation services company, OmniLingua (more can be found here on their philosophy as a company, being a self-described "Deming Company.) I was interested in talking with Eric about what it means to be a "Deming Company" and about their implementation of "wiki" tools (ala Wikipedia) for managing their standard work and process documentation.If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast. Visit the LeanBlog Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org for all previous episodes.

LeanBlog Podcast #17 is a discussion with a good friend of the Lean Blog, David Meier, a former Toyota Georgetown Group Leader, founder of Lean Associates, and the co-author of the excellent book, The Toyota Way Fieldbook, and the upcoming Toyota Talent, due out in April (both co-authored with Jeff Liker, check out my Podcasts with him here and here). In this Podcast, we talk about David's recent first hand experiences with factories in China. Are there labor shortages? Is there a lot of waste in Chinese factories? Do the Chinese have good management skills at this point? What lean methods did David see in China? We'll cover all this and more. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the pod

LeanBlog Podcast #16 is the first part of two with Jim Baran, the Owner of Value Stream Leadership, a leading recruiting firm that specializes in Lean talent. I've known Jim for a few years now and he's helped me and some colleagues in the past, he's a great recruiter who really takes some interest in you. If you're looking to make a career change or if you're looking for lean talent, I can personally recommend him. In our discussion, we talk about the state of the job market for folks with lean experience and what helps a lean candidate stand out in the marketplace. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

LeanBlog Podcast #15 is a new discussion with a previous Podcast guest, Jim Huntzinger. Last time, we talked about the Lean Accounting Summit. This time, we're talking about the renaissance of the "Training Within Industry" program. We'll talk about the origins of this program, the impact it had on Toyota and the Toyota Production System, and why the program is being bought back in the United States and in lean circles. Jim is also organizing a Training Within Industry Summit, June 5-6 of 2007. Check the Show Notes at www.leanpodcast.org for more links to TWI resources and information.

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/14 Remastered July 2021 LeanBlog Podcast #14 is a discussion with Dave Gleditsch, the Chief Technology Officer for Pelion Systems, a leading provider of software for lean manufacturing applications. I first met Dave after I read his Industry Week columns and traded some emails with him. He has a great background in manufacturing and lean, so I think he has an interesting perspective to share on lean and techonology. Don't worry, this podcast isn't a sales pitch for Pelion's software. I think you'll enjoy the discussion.  Show Notes and Approximate Time, Episode #14 2:00 What prompted you to write your first column? 2:30 The real issue was a poor definition of what lean really is, lean has some very concrete things for improving and innovating. 3:30 It's not just cost cutting, it's about maximizing customer value with the minimum required resources. 4:20 At American Standard, lean helped save the company, but it also became a platform for growth 5:00 Do traditionally

LeanBlog Podcast #13 brings us part 2 of our discussion with James P. Womack of the Lean Enterprise Institute, the author of many books including the classic (published 10 years ago) Lean Thinking and the more recent Lean Solutions. Part 1 can be found by going to www.leanpodcast.org In the second podcast, Jim discusses the state of manufacturing in China, including some factors to consider when competing with China, or setting up shop in China. Jim talks about the tradeoffs between manufacturing for export versus manufacturing in China for the local market.

LeanBlog Podcast #12 brings us a special guest, James P. Womack of the Lean Enterprise Institute, the author of many books including the classic (published 10 years ago) Lean Thinking and the more recent Lean Solutions. We ended up talking for about 40 minutes, so I'm going to split the discussion into two podcasts. In this first part, we focus more on China's adoption (or lack of adoption) of lean practices. In the second podcast, Jim talks more about general trends for China and for those considering doing business in China. Please visit www.leanpodcast.org for more podcasts in our series.

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/11  Remastered June 2021 Here is LeanBlog Podcast #11, once again with Norman Bodek of PCS Press and the author of many books, including Kaikaku: The Power and Magic of Lean. In this Podcast, we discuss a topic posed by a podcast listener, Bruce from Akron Ohio: how do you educate your top leadership about lean? Norman and I discuss the perspectives of CEOs and executives toward lean, change, and their organizations and some examples of lean problem solving approaches. It's a long podcast (about 40 minutes), so I'd suggest you check out the show notes to find times of specific topics if you want to jump around.

Here is LeanBlog Podcast #10, again with Jamie Flinchbaugh, Founder of and Partner with the Lean Learning Center and co-author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean. In this Podcast, we respond to an audio question from blog listener Bruce from Akron OH. The topic is how to educate your organization's leadership about lean and how to get them excited about your lean efforts.

Show notes: http://www.leanblog.org/9 Remastered June 2021 LeanBlog Podcast Episode #9, is a discussion with David Mann, the author of the excellent book Creating A Lean Culture: Tools To Sustain Lean Conversions. In this Podcast, we will talk about Steelcase's experience with the their lean efforts and the realization that they required a "Lean Management System" for supervisors, managers, and leaders. We'll talk about what that means, why it's a critical feature of their Lean System and how to start making the transition to being a "lean leader." 2:10 Started with lean, being asked to help with communications at Steelcase about 10 years ago 2:50 Steelcase's original “case for change” regarding lean 4:45 How do you prepare people for change? 5:15 Changing away from an old established piecework system (80 years of history) 7:20 Had worked with Toyota-trained consultants, had “technically perfectly fine lean designs” but they were falling apart when project teams left 8:28 “The Toyota guys were like f

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/8 Remastered June 2021 Here is LeanBlog Podcast #8, an interview with Jim Huntzinger, the President of the Lean Accounting Summit. In this Podcast, we will talk about the notion of "Lean Accounting" and some of the ways that traditional cost accounting and managerial accounting can come into conflict with our lean transformation efforts. You might think, "I'm an engineer, what do I need to know about accounting?" But trust me, you need to learn about this topic so you can understand what drives some of the decisions your management might make and how they might need to change their approach to be more compatible with lean. 1:45 Jim gives an intro to lean accounting: leaning out accounting versus “accounting for lean”. 3:20 First experiences with inaccurate standard costing systems and how that was driving bad business decisions, distortions through overhead allocation. 6:20 What bad decisions were being made through the lean journey – make/buy decisions. 6:30 How can

Here is LeanBlog Podcast #7, a new discussion with our friend Norman Bodek, President of PCS Press and the author of many books, including Kaikaku: The Power and Magic of Lean. In this Podcast, we discuss Toyota's response to recent quality problems and recalls along with other Lean leadership topics. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/6 Remastered June 2021 This is the second part of my conversation with Jamie Flinchbaugh, founder and partner with the Lean Learning Center and co-author of the book "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean." . In the first part of the discussion, we talked about the specific language of waste reduction. This episode focuses on leadership's role in identifying waste and driving it out of your organization. If you'd like to hear the first part with Jamie, or earlier podcasts with Norman Bodek and Jeff Liker, you can visit www.leanpodcast.org for more information. 0:50 How do you teach people how to see waste? What is the role of leaders in eliminating waste? 1:10 More about the “language of waste” and specific waste terminology, why is that important? 2:10 How leaders can eliminate waste from their own role and your own work 4:20 How can leaders get people to move to action? Does fear get in the way? 4:55 “Be visible” – being visible versus being a “showman” 5:10 “Great lea

This is the first part of a conversation with Jamie Flinchbaugh, founder and partner with the Lean Learning Center and co-author of the book "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean." . Prior to starting the Center, Jamie has had a long career as a lean manufacturing leader, with Chrysler, with DTE Energy, as well as Rev! Motorcycles, another company he helped start. Jamie is also a regular contributor to the Lean Blog and I'm happy to have him here. Today, we will talk about waste, as defined in lean manufacturing, and the specific language of waste elimination. Our second podcast will focus on leadership's role in waste elimination, so you can subscribe to the podcast or stay tuned to the Lean Blog to learn when that will be available. Visit www.leanblog.org or www.leanpodcast.org for more information.

This is the second part of my discussion with Dr. Jeff Liker of the University of Michigan and his books, including "The Toyota Way." This time, we focus on "lean healthcare" or the applications of lean in hospital settings, waste elimination, and problem solving. Please visit www.leanblog.org for show notes, links and more information.

Author of "The Toyota Way" Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/2 Remastered June 2021 My guest today is Dr. Jeffrey Liker, Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. He is the Director of the Japan Technology Management Program and co-Director of the lean manufacturing program. This will be the first of two podcast episodes with Dr. Liker. Today, we discuss the transition from “lean manufacturing” to “lean enterprise”, some of the challenges companies face in becoming lean, and some of the methods that Toyota uses to further the Toyota Production System. Please visit www.leanblog.org for show notes, links and more information.