Here is the next video in our Gemba Glossary video series. This one focuses on the Value Stream. If you missed any of our earlier Gemba Glossary videos please follow the links below.

• Gemba Glossary: 5S
• Gemba Glossary: The 7 Wastes
• Gemba Glossary: Kaizen
• Gemba Glossary: Gemba
• Gemba Glossary: 5 Why

Also, we’re running our Free 30 Lean DVDs promotion this month.  To learn more about this limited time offer please click here.

Finally, if you are reading this via email or RSS you may need to click through to the site to see the video.

Gemba Academy recently added their 211th video to their constantly growing online and DVD based Lean Training System.

To celebrate breaking the 200 video milestone they’ve brought back their extremely popular Free DVDs promotion. All the details can be found here.

This newest course is focused on Hoshin Planning, commonly referred to as Hoshin Kanri or Policy Deployment.  During this course students also learn how to use the simple, but very powerful A3 document.

The first video, of this 11 video course, shown below introduces the Hoshin topic while also explaining the 7 steps to Hoshin Planning covered in detail later in the course. 

Here is a PDF Summary Document for this first module that you can print out and read at your convenience. 

If you’re reading this via RSS or email you may need to click through to the site in order to see the video.

Gemba Academy has just released its latest online lean training course focused on the application of 3P (which stands for Production Preparation Process) within the healthcare world. 

And while the course, which is delivered by Mike Wroblewski, is healthcare focused the 3P principles taught apply to any industry. 

This 3P course is available on DVD as a standalone product and is also bundled within the Complete Lean Package which now contains 199 lean training videos! 

Free Multi Site DVD Promotion

Next, we’re also running a special Multi-Site Free 28 DVDs promotion this month.  All the details for this free DVDs promotion can be found here.

3P Overview Video

Finally, here is the first “Overview” video of the newest 3P course.  If you’re reading this via email or RSS reader you’ll likely need to click through to the site in order to watch the video.

Viewing Tip: Click 360p in the lower part of the player and select 720p for a sharper picture.

Here’s a great example of lean in action within a non-manufacturing situation!  Oh, and for the record, my kids figured some of this stuff out months ago! 

I’ve sensed an unusually strong disturbance in the Continuous Improvement force the past month or so.

It seemed to start with the announcement that iSixSigma was about to close their doors.  Perhaps I’m partially to blame as I wrote an article where I shared my opinions on what I feel is a very sad situation.

In any event, there seems to be more bickering than normal across various Social Media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

You see, many, but not all, hard core Six Sigma practitioners will find ways to snub their noises at the lean crowd while many, but again not all, hard core lean practitioners will find a way to poke at the six sigma folks. 

With this said, I often wonder how effective the continuous improvement world could truly be if we focused less on labels (lean, six sigma, TOC, etc.) and more on learning new things and helping others.

Again, I’ll shoulder may share of the blame here… just look at the name of this blog!  I fell right into the same labels game when first starting LSS Academy.

In the end, Social Media outlets like blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter can be very powerful when leveraged for good… but when they become ideological battle fields for people to attack others under the guise of continuous improvement… well,  I sometimes wonder if they’re helping at all.

What do you think?

Note from Ron: This is  a guest post from James Lawther.  Enjoy!

Here’s an interesting link for you. It shows the prices of some domestic appliances in the 1950’s. Sixty years ago you could buy:

• A Sylvania 17 inch black and white TV for $179.95
• An Admiral fridge freezer for $399.95
• A Roll Round vacuum cleaner for $49.00

I had a quick look on Amazon, today I can buy:

• A Phillips 22 inch colour TV for $179.99
• A Sanyo fridge freezer for $329.99
• A Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner for $54.99

Over half a century later I can still buy the same item for the same price, except it isn’t the same item, nothing like the same.  Do you fancy staying in and watching a night’s entertainment on a 17 inch Sylvania?

Why do we pay more for services?

Here is another interesting site for you. It calculates inflation statistics. Since 1951 inflation in the US has been 761%. Or to put it another way the $50 you spent in that restaurant last weekend would have cost you $6.57 in 1951.

Now this begs a question. Why is it that we are paying 7 times as much for services now than we were 60 years ago, but we can buy a bigger, better, more reliable TV for the same price? You don’t have to be Einstein to see that something strange is going on.

What is it? Is it that labour costs are lower? Is it raw material costs? Is it energy costs? Is it technology? What is so much cheaper in the manufacturing industry than the service industry? None of those reasons really cut it, to a greater or lesser extent they apply to the service industries as much as they do manufacturing.

Process Improvement

My guess is that it all comes down to process improvement. Over the past six decades manufacturing industries have had wave after wave of productivity improvements, from Deming and Juran, through TQM, 6 Sigma and Lean there has been a remorseless effort to cut costs and improve quality. Once one company started the others just had to follow suit or they would have been out of business, it is what Charles Darwin called survival of the fittest.

The service industries are just starting to get to grips with process improvement. Once they do it will lead to a similar onslaught of productivity improvements. So, if you work for a bank, or a restaurant or a body shop, maybe now is the time to learn a little more. It has been a while since you could buy a Roll Round cleaner.

About the Author

James Lawther gets upset by business operations that don’t work and apoplectic about poor customer service. Visit his web site “The Squawk Point” to find out more about service improvement.

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