Read More Articles by Jim Lewis
Jim
Lewis
Jim Lewis has worked in the furniture industry for 40 years with a special emphasis on facilitating the transformation process for businesses embracing the Lean Business Model. Jim’s company, The Center for Lean Learning, is headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, with an office in St. Thomas, ON, Canada. He is a consultant, author, and writer. Jim’s books include, “The Journey to Excellence – Successfully Applying Lean Thinking in Your Business,” “A Testament to Lean Thinking – Cases for Change,” and a series of ebooklets under the main title “Applying Lean Thinking.” The books are in ebook format and are available through all major ebook retailers and through smashwords.com.
If you fail to meet customer expectations, the customer will likely not give you more business.
Seven steps to lean
Every successful lean transformation involves at least these seven things.
By
Jim Lewis,
April 6, 2018 | 11:06 am CDT
The lean mindset, Part 1
Focusing on growth and learning is key to having a lean mindset.
By
Jim Lewis,
December 5, 2017 | 10:25 am CST
Are You Hiring? STOP!
If your shop is not lean, you probably have 30 percent more resources than you need to meet demand.
By
Jim Lewis,
November 3, 2017 | 10:20 am CDT
Employing buffer management for continuous flow
If you google “Buffer Management” you will get a variety of results that focus mainly on buffers used to pad time for a task in project management or a deliberate amount time built into a project management timeline to facilitate nuances that might occur. That sounds a lot like waste to me, and it in no way captures the essence of this article and how you can employ buffer management to create continuous flow.
By
Jim Lewis,
March 2, 2017 | 9:57 am CST
Defining expectations ensures lean success
Using an Hour-by-Hour Chart will help keep production “buckets” from overflowing and not meeting customer demand.
By
Jim Lewis,
January 4, 2017 | 12:41 pm CST
Is your lean initiative sticky or stuck?
Is your lean initiative sticky or stuck? In 25 years of facilitating lean transformations in a variety of business and industry environments I have discovered that many a well-intended business owner strays from the lean path after the excitement and adrenaline rush has subsided. Why is lean not sticky enough for some?
By
Jim Lewis,
October 20, 2016 | 2:20 pm CDT
Is your lean initiative sticky or stuck?
Many a well-intended business owner strays from the lean path after the excitement and adrenaline rush has subsided. Why is lean not sticky enough for some?
By
Jim Lewis,
September 12, 2016 | 1:27 pm CDT
How companies implement lean manufacturing
Jim Lewis describes how three companies became more efficient.
By
Jim Lewis,
July 1, 2016 | 9:00 am CDT
Lean in four words: easier, better, faster, cheaper
Jim Lewis describes four aspects of lean manufacturing.
By
Jim Lewis,
April 14, 2016 | 9:00 am CDT