E118: Supply Chains for Good – Interview with C.J. Nord

In this episode, we interview C.J. Nord, a passionate supply chain manager and consultant, who shares her journey towards driving societal change through supply chain. As the founder of Supply Chains for Good, C.J. discusses her extensive career in supply chain management, her recovery from cancer, and how that inspired her skills to launch impactful

The pursuit of eggscellence – Planet Lean

Two egg omelette restaurants run by Nima and Faraz Ghorbani in The Netherlands utilize Lean to successfully grow their business, thanks to the training and coaching they received from René Aernoudts of the Lean Management Instituut. One of their challenges was to improve cleaning and operational efficiency. Different equipment and brands made it challenging, so

Sofa manufacturer deploys Lean to reduce glue and electricity – Kaizen Institute

A company aimed to increase mattress production efficiency, eliminate component overproduction in the sofa manufacturing process, and significantly reduce workplace accidents. In addition, they were looking to  increase sustainability and business growth by implenting Lean. They focused on optimizing glue usage and electricity consumption. They reduced material waste by 2%, eliminated excess components by 95%, and

Can lean help battle climate change? – Lean Global Connection

In the 2023 Lean Global Connection, a panel discussion was organized to discuss the use of Lean to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions. A few themes emerged. While lean does not automatically equate to green practices, its principles and tools can significantly contribute to environmental sustainability. Sustainability is no longer about convincing people

E090: Guest Interview on Environmentally Conscious Nation Podcast from Aug 2021

In today’s episode, I share the interview I had with D.J. Vagnetti, host of the Environmentally Conscious Nation podcast. I don’t think his podcast is still active, otherwise I would recommend listening directly to the episode. This interview assumes that the audience doesn’t know much about process improvement or Lean or Six Sigma, so if

E075: Saving the Timber – Henry Ford’s Today and Tomorrow

In this episode, I share chapter 11 of the 1926 book, “Today and Tomorrow” by Henry Ford. In this chapter, he discusses how they reduced their use of wood while still increasing production. He also talks about minimizing fuel usage and reducing metal scrap. He applied his improvement methods to all aspects of his business,

EC 017: Applying Lean and Green at Plywerk with Kjell Van Zoen and David Hall

Summary In this podcast, I conduct my first interview, and it turned out great! I met up with lean consultant and former owner of Plywerk, Kjell Van Zoen, along with Dr. David E. Hall, sustainability consultant for Plywerk and professor at Portland State University. We discuss how Kjell and Dave worked together to make Plywerk more eco-conscious,

EC 013: Interview #2 on e6s Methods Podcast about Greening Your Lean Event

Summary For episode 13, I’m playing another interview I had with e6s Methods podcast, hosted by Aaron Spearin. We go over tips for greening your 5s events. I also go over this in detail in Episode 9 of my podcast, which you can find at LeanSixSigmaEnvironment.org. In this episode, we go beyond just the green discussion,

Lean Green Waste: Linear Materials

This article was originally posted in the Lean Green Institute website by Kelly Singer. Most of the things we extract from the earth and manufacture end up in landfills. An estimated 90 percent of materials extracted to make durable goods in the United States become waste almost immediately in the manufacturing process. Once the product is made,