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 →

The Augusta Riverhawks and the Case for Quality TAGS: augusta | bob kerzner | breakdown | cease | cost of poor quality | cost of quality | hockey | ice | james brown arena | league | lean | lean blitz consulting | minor | operations | riverhawks | sports | system | total productive maintenance | tpm As reported in March, the ice maintenance system at James Brown Arena in Augusta broke down and forced the Augusta RiverHawks minor league hockey team to relocate their games to …Continue reading →

What Your #Mother Can Teach You About #Lean TAGS: 5S | behavior | chad | clean | consulting | family | lean | lean blitz | management | may | mother's day | organize | quality | reward | safety | time studies | tools | visual | walters Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out in the world – if it wasn’t for your mother, you wouldn’t be here to read this. It’s an understatement that my …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 →

#Kaizen & The Leaky Rowboat TAGS: address | boat | consulting | continuous improvement | eradicate | event | far side | ignore | kaizen | leaky | lean blitz | mindset | operations | problems | row | sports | stopgap You’re in a rowboat that has sprung a leak and is taking in water. You’re rowing to shore but a couple miles away. What are your options? – You can …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Use of Temporary Labor TAGS: augusta | birth of a new workforce | club | concessions | core | critical | golf | golf shop | labor | lean | lean blitz consulting | masters | mau | national | noncore | randy hatcher | securitas | security | staffing | temporary Masters Week has finally come and gone! All of the golf world descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Now …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Low Scores and Standardized Work TAGS: albatross | augusta national | clubs | continuous improvement | golf | golf club | history | kaizen | lean | lean blitz consulting | louis oosthuizen | masters | operations | par | process | sports | standardized work | streamline | takt time | tiger woods Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Last year …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Continuous Flow of Player Groups TAGS: 2013 | augusta national golf club | balance | bubba watson | continuous flow | golf | lean blitz consulting | marker | masters | operations | pin flag | process | pull | rory mcilroy | sports | threesomes | waiting Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters, …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Visual Indicators TAGS: 2013 | augusta | closest to the pin | concessions | consulting | controls | golf | hole in one | honey bees | indicators | information | leaderboard | lean blitz | masters | national | nick watney | operations | par 3 contest | process | scoreboards | sports | timers | visual Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for April 8-14 for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Visual …Continue reading →

The 2013 #Masters: Results-Based Pin Placements TAGS: augusta | ball | bunker | club | control | fairways | georgia | golf | greens | lean | lean blitz consulting | masters | mastery | moisture | national | operations | pin placements | results | root cause analysis | scores | sports | stimpmeter | sunday | tournament Masters Week is finally here! All of the golf world has descended upon Augusta, Georgia for the next six days for the 2013 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf …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 →

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 →

Lean or Sushi?? TAGS: 5S | ankimo | error-proofing | gemba | genchi cenbutsu | hanedashi | heijunka | hoisin | hokkigai | hoshin kanri | japan | kaikaku | kaizen | kanban | kani kamaboko | kazunoko | kim chee | koi | lean | lean blitz consulting | lean or sushi | mekajiki | mizusumashi | muda | muri | nagara | nama tako | nigiri | octopus | poka-yoke | quiz | saltwater carp | seiketsu | sumitomo | sushi | suzuki | tempura | unagi | yokoten Lean terms regularly applied in Japan don’t always get translated into English when the concepts are used in the United States. Reasons for this include lacking a concise literal translation …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 →

Costly Ice System Problems Could Mean Augusta Riverhawks Hockey Team Flies Away TAGS: augusta riverhawks | autonomous management | consulting | critical equipment | hockey | ice | james brown arena | lean blitz | maintenance | melting | operations | program | southern professional hockey league | system | total productive maintenance The Augusta Riverhawks, an independent minor league hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League, were forced to vacate its final home games of the season because of a breakdown of …Continue reading →