A Quick Guide to the Basic Ideas of Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a process improvement methodology that started in the Japanese automotive manufacturing sector after World War II....

The 7 Steps of Hoshin Kanri (or Hoshin Planning)

The process you use to develop your strategic plan is as important as the plan itself. Many organizations adopt Hoshin Kanri -- also called...

Operational Excellence in Healthcare: How to Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Key takeaways

Operational excellence in healthcare is a health system’s ability to deliver more value to patients, consistently, by making...

Kaizen Management: How to Build a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Summary: Kaizen management builds a culture of continuous improvement by focusing on process over short-term goals, engaging employees as...

Operational Excellence Pillars: 6 Core Foundations

Key takeaways

Most mature programs can name all six operational excellence pillars. Far fewer can say who owns each one, and that gap is...

How Cross-functional Training Maximizes Employee Value

The traditional siloed approach to business operations where everyone stays in their "lane" is giving way to a more cooperative,...

Breaking Down the Optimal Operational Excellence Model and Framework for Business Transformation

"Operational excellence begins with having the right strategy, but it's realized through relentless focus on execution and continuous...

Designing an Operational Excellence Management System (OEMS) for Manufacturing Leaders

Operational Excellence (OpEx) is a strategic approach thatfocuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes to...

How to Build an Operational Excellence Strategy in 7 Steps

Key takeaways

An operational excellence strategy for an existing program succeeds or fails on three decisions: what to stop, who decides,...