It is always good to go back to the source.

John Bicheno, Course Director at the MSc in Lean Enterprise at University of Buckingham and the author of The Lean Toolbox, guides LMJ through the evolution of lean tools.

By looking at continuous improvement, leader standard work and standards, editorial board member Jacob Austad warns against the most common pitfalls we encounter when we apply lean tools and explains why many companies don’t know the purpose behind them when they first reach for their tool kit.

Visuality is a fundamental tool that organisations can deploy to increase problem identification and to support their lean transformation.

Dantar Oosterwal, author of The Lean Machine and Partner at Milwaukee Consulting Group, looks back at his experience at global heavy-weight motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson and explains how the company transformed its product development system without a burning platform to start from. 

In commenting on the case study appeared in the March issue of Lean Management Journal, Gwendolyn Galsworth, President of Visual Thinking Inc., looks back at her gemba walk at Vistaprint Australia.

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Jeffrey Liker, Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, shares his thoughts about the experience of Panalpina, featured in the latest issue of LMJ.

In the first of a series of articles on Dr William Edwards Deming’s lessons, editorial board member Bill Bellows recalls the thinker’s stimulating lectures and unique way to engage with students.