Our Insights
Read the latest insights and commentary from our experts surrounding Lean, our industry, and more.
Part 1 – Monozukuri and Hitozukuri in a Digital World | GENEO
A GENEO perspective on standards, people, and modern operational excellence Why Monozukuri and Hitozukuri still matter in a Digital World Digital transformation has become a defining theme for operations leaders. Across manufacturing, life sciences, automotive, aerospace, and heavy industry, organisations have invested heavily in new systems, richer data, faster reporting, and increasingly sophisticated dashboards. In…
Summary – Monozukuri and Hitozukuri in the Modern Enterprise: Why Standards, People, and Systems Must Be Designed Together
Monozukuri and Hitozukuri in the Modern Enterprise: Why Standards, People, and Systems Must Be Designed Together Most organisations talk about excellence in one of two ways. They talk about how work is done, productivity, quality, safety, cost, and delivery. Or they talk about how people are developed, training, skills, engagement, leadership. Rarely do they talk…
Mono, Hito, Hansei: Why Toyota’s Continuous Improvement Engine Defies The Odds
And why most organisations stop one step too early in their Continuous Improvement journey. In my previous article written oh so long ago, I had a rant about how daily kaizen lives or dies by structure, specifically, the team leader–to–operator ratio. The maths is uncomfortable but unavoidable. I was trying to make the case that…
The Team Leader Ratio – whoopsies, there goes Monozukuri!
An Overlooked Structural Lever in Continuous Improvement: The Team Leader Ratio I’m angry. After more decades than I care to remember supporting factories across automotive, food, pharma, mining, and heavy industry, I’ve come to believe one truth that is both obvious and routinely ignored: CI is structurally impossible without the right team leader–to–operator ratio.…
What is a ‘transformation’ really?
What do we really mean when we say ‘transformation’? Not long ago I was having lunch with a client, someone exceptionally astute, someone who has been around transformation work for most of his career. He is not easily impressed and he understands the difference between genuine organisational change and the countless ‘initiatives’ that get…
PDCA vs PDSA: Deming’s Wheel, And Why Toyota’s Culture Makes PDCA Work
PDCA, PDSA, SDCA: a wheel of confusion if we are not careful. To PDCA or to PDSA? For decades, organisations around the world have been encouraged to adopt a simple, scientific cycle for improvement: PDCA. Or was it PDSA? And what about SDCA? Hang on a minute, my wheel is spinning. The confusion is…
Just-in-Time Is Misunderstood – let the supermarket fix that.
Just In Time is Never Just-Too-Little If there is one concept in operations that is consistently misunderstood, it is Just-in-Time (JIT). For many organisations, JIT has been reduced to a slogan: strip out inventory. For others, it goes further and condemns Lean, a fully thought-through operating system. These interpretations miss the point entirely. …
Lean and Six Sigma: Lessons from Arnie and The Predator
Six Sigma promised measurable perfection, Lean built enduring capability.
This article explores how Motorola’s and GE’s programme of defect reduction achieved results but lacked the system resilience of Toyota’s Production System.
Where Six Sigma sought control, Lean sought understanding, and that difference explains why one faded while the other endures.
Why the Toyota Production System Endures, and Why Few Others Come Close
The Toyota Production System has endured for nearly 70 years while other improvement programmes have come and gone. This article explores why — revealing the philosophical, operational, and human depth that makes TPS a living system of performance and learning.
Celebrating 101 Years of Jidoka — “No Defects Passed On!”
Celebrate 101 years of Jidoka — Toyota’s timeless principle of automation with a human touch. From Sakichi Toyoda’s first automatic loom to today’s smart factories, Jidoka continues to shape how the world builds quality. Discover 101 reasons — and 101 languages — that prove the message still matters: no defects passed on to the next customer.
Kingdoms, or even mines, can be lost through the aggressive pursuit of Trade Working Capital
Aggressive Management of Trade Working Capital Can Erode The Kingdom’s Fortunes A quick history lesson first. Bear with me, as aggressive management of Trade Working Capital goes back 500 years. King Richard III: You there! Fix this bloody horseshoe or I will have you flogged to within an inch of your life! Blacksmith: Certainly,…
The Role of Standardized Work in Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence
Standardized work is essential for achieving operational efficiency, consistency, and high-quality outcomes. By defining the best-known way to perform tasks, it eliminates variation, ensuring uniformity in process execution across teams and shifts. This leads to more predictable quality, fewer defects, and higher customer satisfaction. A Foundation for Lean and Continuous Improvement In Lean manufacturing, standardized…
