1. Lean Analogies By Tom Curtis

2. Created by Tom Curtis 2010 Blog: www.onimproving.blogspot.com Other presentations on www.slideshare.net Under Onimproving Email: ideamerchants@gmail.com 3. Introduction I try to understand Lean by experiencing and seeing it in as many forms and situations as I can. This is another attempt to do that. What follows is a series of analogies. Each analogy addresses a lean concept or tool. Review them and see if they help you better see Lean, then create your own. Enjoy! --Tom Curtis, 2010 4. 5s is like a spring cleaning and organization, followed by regular maintenance 5. Gemba is like the stage of a theater, where the lights are on and the action takes place 6. Heijunka is like the glass water of a lake at sun up, level and smooth 7. Kaizen is like removing the stickers from a sticker bush caught on fabric 8. Kaizen Eyes are like ne tuned ultrasound equipment that reveal abnormalities 9. JIT is like good restaurant service, ordering leads to quality timely delivered 10. Kanban is like good baton passing in a track relay 11. Mura is like an undesired roller coaster ride 12. Muri is like having to use a tool without the proper specications to do the required task 13. Poka-yoke is like an up front guarantee 14. Pull is like walking an obedient dog on a leash 15. Root Cause is like an accurate diagnosis of illness 16. SMED is like redecorating and remodeling 17. Standard Work is like a ruler for measuring 18. Takt is like playing an instrument with a metronome counting out beats 19. TPM is like regular exercise for health preservation 20. Waste is like extra or unclear words when writing 21. Yukoten is like giving gifts to peers