LeanBlog Podcast #23 - Group Health Cooperative

Episode #23 of the LeanBlog Podcast features a panel of Lean leaders from the Group Health Cooperative (www.ghc.org), a consumer-governed, nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. Based in Seattle, Group Health and its subsidiary health carriers, Group Health Options, Inc. and KPS Health Plans, serve over 500,000 members in Washington and Idaho. GHC has been on a Lean journey, as documented on their "Daily Kaizen" blog (www.dailykaizen.org). Joining us on the Podcast are three of their Lean Leaders:

* James Hereford, Executive Vice President, Strategic Services and Quality
* Dr. Ted Eyan, Medical Director of Health Informatics and Web Services
* Lee Fried, Manager of the Strategic Consulting team at Group Health

In this Podcast, they discuss how GHC got started with Lean, their early "point improvement" succeses, and their transition to a more systemic approach to a Lean management system through their "model line" efforts.

If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at podcast@leanblog.org 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.

Click here for the main LeanBlog Podcast page (www.leanpodcast.org) with all previous episodes.

LeanBlog Podcast #22 - Allan Wilson, Factory Logic

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.

LeanBlog Podcast #21 - Norman Bodek, "Building People"

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.

LeanBlog Podcast #20 - Kevin Meyer, "Onshoring"

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 as www.leanblog.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.

LeanBlog Podcast #19 - Jim Womack, "Machine Revisited"

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.

LeanBlog Podcast #18 - Eric Christiansen, "A Deming Company"

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.

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LeanBlog Podcast #14 - Dave Gleditsch, Pelion Systems

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.

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 main LeanBlog Podcast page (www.leanpodcast.org) for all previous episodes.

LeanBlog Podcast #15 -- Jim Huntzinger ,"Training Within Ind

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, down below, for more links to TWI resources and information.

LeanBlog Podcast #16 - Jim Baran, Lean Recruiting

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 #17 - David Meier, "Lean in China"

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 podcast. Visit the main LeanBlog Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org for all previous episodes.

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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.

Currently, my Podcast host is having trouble with the streaming player that normally appears here. But, the Podcast has been released in iTunes and you can save the file or listen (on most computers) by using the link below. I'll add the streaming player when it's available again.

MP3 File (Right Click to Save-As)

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 cost driven people automatically focus on lean as only a cost cutting tool?
• 6:00 In the boardrooms, the real cost is gross margin expansion -- impacting the top line AND the bottom line (lean and six sigma are great tools for that). You can't just cut costs on the path to growth.
• 7:00 How first introduced to lean concepts?
• 9:20 Had a lot of lean experience at HP in the 1980's, worked with Shingo, Hall, Schonberger, etc. Had to try to interpret the original Shingo "Green Book."( A Study of the Toyota Production System from an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint)
• 10:40 Hall's book Zero Inventories
• 11:00 Dave working with Shigeo Shingo
• 12:00 More about Dave's experiences with lean at American Standard
• 15:20 What is Pelion Systems? What services and technology do they offer?
• 18:40 Pelion had the first web kanban portal
• 19:10 What business problem is Pelion helping to solve?
• 20:45 Can technology help speed up or further a culture change?
• 24:00 You have to look at more than manufacturing, but also at how different parts of the companies work together.
• 25:20 What about the The Toyota Way principle about technology? "Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes." What about the anti-technology bias that tends to exist in the lean world?
• 30:15 What about companies who have been burned by ERP or technology promises in the past? Does that make it challenging for a software company today? What about technology vendors who seem to promise a "silver bullet" solution for manufacturers?
• 35:00 Is the software industry learning from past rollout mistakes? Are companies using the technology evolving?
• 35:25 How Pelion operates with a clear customer charter, business case, etc.

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. Click here for the main LeanBlog Podcast page with all previous episodes.

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.


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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.



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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.


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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.


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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."


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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.


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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.


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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.


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