The Lean Solutions Podcast

Due to my travel schedule this week, I wanted to share a throwback to a conversation I had with Paul Akers this past year. Paul is an author, entrepreneur and the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. In this episode, Paul and I go over how Lean can be applied to improve your work environment and why you need to focus on small consistent changes when trying to make improvements. What You’ll Learn This Episode: How Lean helped Paul in Ironman  FastCap and the inspiration behind the company  The importance of listening to customers  Making time to fix what’s bothering you  2 second improvement and why it’s simple  The inspiration behind Paul’s videos  What it takes to be a good leader in an organization with Lean culture  Paul’s advice for someone just starting on their Lean journey About the Guest: Paul Akers is the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. FastCap was started in Paul’s garage in 1997 when he simply “fixed what bugged him” and developed his first product: the Fastcap Cover Cap. From humble beginnings, and no MBA, FastCap has thousands of distributors worldwide in over 40 countries. Paul’s intense curiosity on how things could be improved paved the way for him to become a prolific innovator and today he holds many US and International patents. FastCap launches approximately 20-30 innovative products per year and has won business of the year in 1999 and 2010. In June 2011 Paul won Seattle Business Magazine’s prestigious Business Executive of the Year award. He wrote his first book, 2 Second Lean, about creating a fun, Lean culture, that is now available in 15 languages. In 2015, he wrote his 2nd book, Lean Health, in 2016, he wrote Lean Travel and in 2019, he wrote Lean Life and Banish Sloppiness. In 2016, Paul’s book, 2 Second Lean, was recognized by the Shingo Institute and won the Research and Professional Publication Award. Important Links: https://paulakers.net/books/2-second-lean https://paulakers.net/ https://apps.apple.com/us/app/2-second-lean-play/id1503694993 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leanplay

In this episode, I talked with Jim Huntzinger about the importance of Lean Accounting Management within any organization.  Jim helps listeners dig into their own accounting systems to ensure they are making decisions based on correct costing data.  What You'll Learn: How did you get involved with lean accounting? How did the Lean Accounting Summit come into being? How do lean accounting and process development connect? What work still needs to be accomplished in these areas? What else can process development impact? About the Guest: Jim Huntzinger began his career as a manufacturing engineer with Toyota and then was transplanted to North America to support Toyota.  In 2005, Jim founded Lean Frontiers. He developed and operates the immersive Skillpoint Workshops for Job Instruction and Toyota Kata. He has also authored many books to include, Lean Cost Management and Roots of Lean.  Lean Accounting Summit: https://leanfrontiers.com/2022leanleadershipweek/ Other Lean Frontiers Summits: https://leanfrontiers.com/summits/ Jim's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-huntzinger-7001581/

In this episode, Dan Davis and I discuss what its like to manage a continuous improvement culture in a large global company.  We talk about both successes and challenges of being in this role. Dan also provides the listeners with some tips and tricks to help other leaders develop their own CI culture. What You'll Learn: What it's like to manage The Center of Excellence for Continuous Improvement for a large publicly traded company? What is the key in opening the door to CI culture? How are you generating small improvements? What's Dan's favorite topic to train people on in CI? What's Dan's favorite quote and why? About the Guest: Dan Davis has dedicated over 25 years of his career to supporting lean initiatives and developing CI culture at various companies.  He is extremely passionate in teaching and simplifying concepts to help companies shift their culture to make it a place that it is everyone’s responsibility to improve. Mr. Davis rejoined Xylem in 2021 and leads up the Continuous Improvement, Center of Excellence and  is responsible for driving CI utilizing the Xylem Production System. His key focus areas include driving the vision and roadmap for the Company’s CI  culture while overseeing initiatives, implementing robust tools and measurement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma, and leading Xylem toward best-in-class status in operations, commercial and transactional activities. Prior to his current role Mr. Davis was responsible for the CI program at Watts Water Technology.   He held several leadership roles at FMC Technologies, including CI Leader & Plant Manager. Prior to that, he served in a series of increasingly responsible leadership roles in the industrial businesses for the Stanley Black & Decker, Global CI  Leader and Plant Manager Responsibility. At Tractor Supply Company, Mr. Davis was responsible for launching their CI Program (Tractor Value System). Mr. Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineer from Milwaukee School of Engineering. Email: dan.davis@xylem.com

In this episode, I talk with Muhammad Khurram from Pakistan about Lean Daily Management Systems.  Muhammad and I discuss the importance of daily management to support sustainment of improvement initiatives for any lean journey What You'll Learn: Lean Daily Management – LDM System is the key to sustain a Lean Culture What are the objectives of a good Lean Daily Management System? Key Elements for a Lean Daily Management System Who should have Leader Standard Work – LSW System How to handle the Daily accountability huddles? Why should Leadership conduct audits? About the Guest: Muhammad Khurram has a vast amount of experience as an agile Industrial Engineer in a diverse range of industries; within these different industries, he has worked on Production Planning & Control, Cost reduction, effective resource  capacity utilization, and has experience with the Toyota Production System. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and has a strong expertise in Lean Manufacturing and process accuracy.   He is a highly resourceful and strategically agile Industrial Engineer with over 15 years’ experience in diverse range of industries like FMCG, Automotive & Textile. He has in-depth knowledge and experience working in Production Planning & Control, Cost reduction, effective resource utilization, Toyota Production System and Capacity enhancement. As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Muhammad has strong expertise on Lean Manufacturing and process accuracy. He has proven ability to establish engineering systems to achieve efficient operations with an emphasis on manufacturing processes.  Email: engineer_khurram@outlook.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/engineermuhammadkhurram/

This episode is a recording of a conversation I had with a global team about my best selling book, "Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap."  A team from Xylem Inc. spent the past few months studying the questions in the book and discussing their answers and learnings for application across the enterprise.  The team had some great questions for discussion.  Xylem Inc. is a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world's most challenging water issues.  They are an international team unified in a common purpose: creating advanced technology and other trusted solutions to solve the world's water challenges.  To learn more about Xylem Inc. you can visit www.xylem.com In this episode, you will learn: The background on my book, "Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap." CI Culture and Assessments at Xylem Is it possible to measure organizational culture? Have any companies "arrived" at becoming a company of continuous improvement as defined in the book? How do we best support lean in the future with all the recent changes in work environments? Why is it important to make things visual? How to develop stability with standards and why its so important. If I could write an additional chapter, what would it be? What's Patrick's next book? Some tips to drive CI virtually.

This is a "Throwback" to one year ago when I interviewed Dr. Jeff Liker about The Toyota Way 2nd Edition.  This episode is in the top 5 of most listened to episodes since we launched this podcast.  What You Will Learn: We discuss his newly published second edition of The Toyota Way. Dr. Liker and I talk about sustainment of continuous improvement initiatives, specifically, CONTROL vs. LEARNING environments.   We also discuss how Dr. Liker is using virtual reality to teach The Toyota Way. About the Guest: Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker is Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan and a professional speaker and advisor through his company Liker Lean Advisors, LLC, a network of associates to teach and consult in the Toyota Way. He is author of the new second edition of the international best-seller, The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, McGraw Hill, 2004 and the companion (with David Meier) Toyota Way Fieldbook, Mcgraw Hill, 2005. His book with Jim Morgan, The Toyota Product Development System, Productivity Press, 2006, was the first that details the product development side of Toyota. In 2018, Morgan and Liker published Designing the Future: How Ford, Toyota, and Other World-Class Organizations Use Lean Product Development to Drive Innovation and Transform Their Business. Authored 3 books focused on the people side of lean: (with David Meier), Toyota Talent: Developing exceptional people the Toyota Way (May, 2007) (with Michael Hoseus) Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way (January, 2008) and The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership (with former Toyota managing officer Gary Convis). 2 additional books in 2011 are The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement (with Jim Franz) and the first inside account of the recall crisis--Toyota under Fire (with Tim Ogden). And in 2016 (with Karyn Ross): The Toyota Way to Service Excellence. Articles and books have won thirteen Shingo Prizes for Research Excellence and The Toyota Way also won the 2005 Institute of Industrial Engineers Book of the Year Award and 2007 Sloan Industry Studies Book of the Year. In 2012, Dr. Liker was inducted into the Association of Manufacturing Excellence Hall of Fame and in 2016 inducted into the Shingo Academy.

In this episode, Rick Foreman and I discuss Rick's Lean Leadership journey to include his learnings as the V.P. of Lean Development for Federal Heath.  Rick truly exemplifies the qualities of a servant leader and has been successful in his many roles throughout multiple industries. What you will learn in this episode: What's the purpose behind your Lean Leadership journey "Behavior is the echo of belief. Do our beliefs as a Lean Leader match up with what we model daily? If not, why not, and how do we adjust?" What do you believe to at the core of successful lean transformations?  How do you work to keep Lean engaged in the culture at Federal Heath? What's your biggest struggle in deploying lean at Federal Heath? About the guest: Rick Foreman is the V.P. of Lean Development for Federal Heath Sign Company and a John Maxwell Team certified speaker, coach, and trainer. Rick has over 32 years of lean leadership development experience within aerospace, telecom, sign, medical manufacturing, service industries, supply chains, and community engagement. This in-depth practice of utilizing coaching techniques and mastermind studies to develop people-centric leaders and engagement across multiple locations has led to cultural transformations, with team member, profit and organizational growth. During this period, two of the Texas facilities received recognition for “Lean Enterprise Excellence” from TMAC, while realizing significant, positive business results. Rick has a BA in Management Ethics, a MAM in Business Management, and over 30 years of serving others through coaching, mentoring and helping them reach their full potential and purpose. Contact Rick by email at rforeman@federalheath.com. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-foreman-24a4a3a/

In this episode, Deb Coviello and I discuss Leader Standard Work and how best leverage this tool as an Executive Leader: even the creative & innovative process needs Leader Standard work; not to thwart the creative process but to ensure you have enough time for it without burnout.  Deb is the founder of Illumination Partners, Author of the book CEO’s Compass - Your Guide to Getting Back on Track  and the host of The Drop In CEO Podcast. In this episode, you will learn: How should Leader Standard Work be used by executive leaders? Where should executive leaders spend their time? The 70/20/10 rule of standard work  What should you do when you get busy and cannot stick to your standard work? How should leaders prioritize their decisions? Eisenhower matrix Shiny penny funnel: We see the shiny penny and see possibilities in everything. However, we need to run it through our decision logic funnel to prioritize Accountability partners  About the Guest: Deb Coviello is the Founder of Illumination Partners and the host of The Drop In CEO podcast. For more than twenty years, she has been transforming businesses from within, elevating the talents of their organizations to new performance levels. Her experience has taught her to put tremendous value on people, whom she considers as the heart of every business. As The Drop In CEO Deb provides her clients with 25+ years worth of experience and strategy in Quality and Operational Excellence roles combined with her 20 years in the Flavors and Fragrance industry, to identify, assess, and solve the issues that are preventing their business growth. Certified as Lean and Six Sigma Blackbelt in Process Improvement, she has also developed significant leadership insight that “People’’ are your greatest tool in your toolbox. In order to deliver on her promise of offering “peace of mind,” she focuses on utilizing the talents of her client’s team and elevating them to new levels of performance, setting them up to better serve their organization. When she isn’t transforming businesses from within, Deb is a board member of Women in Flavor & Fragrance Commerce, (WFFC), an avid Curler with the Cincinnati Curling Club, a mother of 3 and resides in Cincinnati Ohio with her Husband Dan of 32 years. Important Links: Email: deborah@coviellocm.com Website: https://dropinceo.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahacoviello/ Drop in CEO Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-drop-in-ceo/id1498953914?ls=1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IlluminationPartnersLLC/ Twitter: @DropinCEO Instagram: @dropinceo

In this episode, Adam Lawrence and I discuss the power of proper chartering prior to launching into a project or kaizen event of any sort. This is Adam's second time on The Lean Solutions Podcast; the first time was back in episode 50 where we talked about his book, The Wheel of Sustainability.  In this episode, you will learn about: What is chartering and why does it mean so much to you? What are the 4 key components of chartering? How does chartering lock in leadership commitment? How does chartering fit with the Wheel of Sustainability? What are some examples of success and/or failures when chartering? About the guest: Adam Lawrence is the Managing Partner of Process Improvement Partners, LLC. He has 30+ years of experience in process improvement activities, targeted at manufacturing and business processes. Having facilitated 300+ Kaizen events in multiple industries around the world, Adam aligns with leadership, engages teams, and creates sustainable results. Adam is also the author of The Wheel of Sustainability. Important Links: https://pi-partners.com/about https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Sustainability-Engaging-Empowering-Produce-ebook/dp/B08VVX8F6Q

In this episode, John Rooney and I discuss Nummi and its impact on European workers during his time as an executive at General Motors.  What you'll learn during today's episode: What is Nummi? The impact of Nummi on the GM European plants  True Lean vs. the appearance of lean Has manufacturing changed? What one bit of advice would you give to a company starting out on its lean journey? What do you most enjoy about helping companies improve? About the guest: John Rooney had 40 years Automotive Experience (Opel-Vauxhall-General Motors). John started as an apprentice and made it to executive level by the time he was thirty. He had the opportunity to see and work in many manufacturing plants across the globe (Europe, Brazil, USA, China, and South Korea). He is also a Six Sigma Black Belt. Since retiring from the Automotive Industry in 2018 felt he needed to share his learnings over the many years. Has collaborated with several companies (including the ILSSI) working on Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Leadership training and CIP workshops to name a few. More recently decided to start his own company (JRC Learn to be Lean) with his partner Roddy Craig who again spent 41 years in the Automotive Industry. Roddy and John now work with companies to help create that culture that is needed for Lean creating bespoke training packages to suit the companies’ individual needs. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rooney-b017a74a/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/roddy-craig-01585816b/