Toronto Star Article about Buffalo Bisons and Toronto Blue Jays TAGS: 51s | AAA | baseball | buffalo bisons | consulting | interview | las vegas | lean | lean blitz | morgan campbell | new york mets | sports | toronto blue jays | toronto star Earlier this year I wrote a post about how the New York Mets were changing their AAA affiliate from the Buffalo Bisons to the Las Vegas 51s and that they …Continue reading →

Guest Post: A Clown Post About Bryce Harper and Warnings TAGS: alamodome | bryce harper | chavez ravine | consulting | lean | lean blitz | leanblog | mark graban | operations | outfield | process | sports | stitches | wall | warning track | washington nationals Today we have another guest post, this time from fellow blogger Mark Graban of LeanBlog.org, one of the top-read blogs about Lean today. Mark is a Lean consultant in healthcare …Continue reading →

Team Websites Facilitate the Sales Process TAGS: augusta | baseball | broken | consulting | continuous improvement | funnel | greenjackets | lean | lean blitz | minor league | phone number | process | sales | sports | website | yellow pages Lean is the operational management philosophy about providing exactly what the client wants, when they want it, and in the condition/location where they want it, all while doing it as …Continue reading →

The Miami Marlins and Why Throwing Money At Problems Doesn’t Make Sense TAGS: ame | art byrne | baseball | ceo | consulting | contracts | espn | hoshin kanri | jeffrey loria | league | lean | lean blitz | major | mark graban | marlins | miami | payroll | spending | strategy I’ve piled on the Miami Marlins before (see here and here) but the organization continues to shoot itself in the foot. I won’t get into any more of those details. …Continue reading →

The Designated Hitter and Poor Root Cause Analysis TAGS: american league | anniversary | baseball | bob gibson | designated hitter | five whys | free agency | lean blitz consulting | luis tiant | national league | reserve clause | rob neyer | ron blomberg | root cause analysis | sb nation | sports Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the first use of a Designated Hitter in a Major League Baseball game. Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees made history as he …Continue reading →

New York Mets Triple-A Team Now 2,200 Miles Away TAGS: affiliate | buffalo bisons | las vegas 51s | lean blitz consulting | mark graban | new york mets | queens | toronto blue jays | triple a | wall street journal Starting this season, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets have essentially swapped Triple-A affiliates. The Las Vegas 51s are the new Triple-A affiliate of the Mets and …Continue reading →

A #Lean Look at the #Baseball Jersey Manufacturing Process TAGS: baseball | buttons | error-proofing | inventory | jersey | jerseys | lean | lean blitz consulting | majestic | meredith marakovits | mlb | overprocessing | pants | pockets | production | sports | uniform | waste | yes network | zippers Rob Neyer of SBNation shared this great video from the YES Network on how Majestic manufactures the game jerseys for the New York Yankees. With an eye on the eight …Continue reading →

Baseball Opening Day 2013! What Are Our Business Processes? TAGS: atv | augusta greenjackets | business | concessions | facility | houston astros | lean blitz consulting | maintenance | major league baseball | mascot | opening day | processes | promotions | texas rangers | tickets Baseball Opening Day has arrived! Tonight the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers will throw out the first pitch of the 2013 MLB season. Banners will be unfurled, famous dignitaries will …Continue reading →

Minnesota Twins Shorten Communication Gaps AND Minimize Beer Keg Transportation TAGS: baseball | beer | columbus blue jackets | concessions | don't stop believing | english | hockey | inventory | journey | karaoke | kegs | language | lean | lean blitz consulting | lines | marc aune | minnesota twins | motion | overpurchasing | singing | spanish | spring training | stockouts | transportation | uni-watch | waiting | waste Here are two quick stories about the Minnesota Twins finding ways to increase efficiency (or productivity, which is probably a better depiction). First, the Twins have enrolled some of their …Continue reading →

Miami Marlins Suing Season Ticket Holders Over Complaints About Seating TAGS: challenge extended network | continuous improvement | craig calcaterra | customer service | jeffrey loria | lawsuit | lean blitz consulting | leon | miami marlins | miami new times | operations | principle #11 | process | root cause analysis | season tickets | sports | toyota way While hosting tiny crowds in a tax-financed new stadium with a team that now features no notable superstars, the Miami Marlins have found a new way to ruffle the feathers …Continue reading →

Will MLB Show Little “Respect For People” By Eliminating Non-Uniformed Personnel Pension Plans? TAGS: ballpark | baseball | continuous improvement | craig calcaterra | customer experience | cut | dollar foolish | employees | enterprise | espnnewyork | executives | hardball talk | industry | lean | lean blitz consulting | major league baseball | minor league baseball | mlb | nbcsports | non-uniformed | operations | pennywise | pension | pension plans | process | respect for people | six sigma | sponsorships | sports | ticketing | waste reduction The two pillars of Lean are 1) reduction of waste activities and 2) respect for people. Some of the ways organizations respect their constituents are with fairness, sharing of best …Continue reading →

Additional Notes on Efficiency TAGS: baseball reference | billy beane | boston red sox | continuous improvement | defects | dpmo | efficiency | energy conservation | field goal percentage | hall of fame | hoosiers | hr | indiana university | lean blitz | lean blitz consulting | lebron james | mcdonald's | miami heat | moneyball | obp | on base percentage | operations | paul depodesta | process | productivity | rbi | six sigma | sports | ted williams | victor oladipo On Monday we looked at efficiency with field goal shooting percentages for Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and the Miami Heat’s LeBron James as well as points-per-possession efficiency on offense and defense …Continue reading →

Where I Got My Start In Lean (And Sports) – Part 2 TAGS: album | atlanta braves | colorado springs sky sox | concert | concession stand | consulting | continuous | derek schiller | detroit | eaton corporation | elmore sports group | engineer | improvement | indiana university | kelley mba | lean blitz | mascot | mike plant | operations | process | san antonio missions | silver hawks | south bend | sports | sports & entertainment academy | swoop | time study | web (To see Part 1 of Where I Got My Start In Lean click here. This is Part 2.) As I indicated in the prior post, I ended up in both …Continue reading →

LASIK, Eyeglasses, and Eradication vs. Containment TAGS: autonomous management | baseball | bouncy pit | concession | contact lenses | contain | eradicate | eyes | fun zone | glasses | injection molding | kaizen | lasik | lean blitz | oil dry | operations | pa system | problem | process | root cause analysis | six sigma | solving | sports | stand | standardized work The most common types of vision correction solutions are eyeglasses and contact lenses. They compensate for the inability to properly focus our eye’s internal tissues comfortably by providing additional focal …Continue reading →

Why Overpurchasing Is Wasteful TAGS: baseball winter meetings | batch | bulk | china | concession | consulting | continuous improvement | dayton | defects | discounts | excess | hats | inventory | lean | lean blitz | liquid assets | merchandise | motion | operations | overpurchasing | process | production | promotions | purchasing | safety | shipping | six sigma | sports | stand | transportation | up and running | wastes It’s very easy to get caught up in volume discounts – buy more at one time or buy earlier, and we’ll give you a price break on each piece. It …Continue reading →