Lean News, Links & Articles
The Lean Thinking principles made their beginnings in the manufacturing industry in the mid 1950's as the Toyota Production System (TPS), In more recent times Lean Thinking principles have many sector specific applications such as; Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Lean Management, Lean Accounting, Lean Health, Lean Finance, Lean Defense, Lean Six Sigma and many more. However the Lean Thinking principles continue to provide the sound foundation and solid framework for every sector and application.
It is commonly believed that it all started in Japan, however Henry Ford began the fundamentals of Lean as early as the 1920's as evidenced in his books and direct quotes, like the one below.
"One of the most noteworthy accomplishments in keeping the price of Ford products low is the gradual shortening of the production cycle. The longer the article is in the process of manufacture and the more it is moved about, the greater is its ultimate cost." Henry Ford 1926
Today we view Lean Thinking methodology as a systematic examination of
processes, methods and systems to identify and eliminate waste by applying
continuous improvement, synchronous flow of work in synch with customer's
needs, market demands and the pursuit of perfection.
Lean applies to the entire organisation and supply chain and recognises that the most productive outcome is derived by improving the sum of all business functions and processes. Lean Thinking provides the foundation, skeleton or framework for organisational improvement and it is the unique application of Lean Thinking by each organisation, that makes an organisation "Best in Class".
The Strategic Partnership's House of Lean Training
House of Lean Training (PDF, 56kb) download Adobe Acrobat Reader
Training Schedule
2009 Lean Schedule (PDF, 45kb)
Sustainable Performance Improvement in Healthcare
Seminar: Thursday 19th November 2009, 3.30pm – 6.30pm, UniSA, 101 Currie Street, Adelaide
There has been considerable effort and money spent in improving the performance and cost of delivering patient care. Unfortunately gaining significant and sustainable improvement and engaging key health stakeholders has been an elusive and frustrating challenge for management and change leaders. This seminar will outline for senior executives and change or redesign leaders the potential for improvement and the requirement for success. Using Australian case studies.
Click here for Full Details and Registration Form
UniSA Lean Contacts
Sandra Walker +61 8 8302 0801 Sandra.Walker@unisa.edu.au
Robert Lloyd +61 8 8302 0633 Robert.Lloyd@unisa.edu.au