Roberto Priolo, editor of TM’s sister publication, Lean Management Journal, brings us up to speed on the latest developments in the lean community and future content in the journal.
As I write this column, I am preparing to join over 900 delegates at the summit organised by the Lean Institute Brazil in Sao Paulo.
Lean Management Journal is always on the lookout for the best stories of lean implementation from around the world, and my participation in this conference means that, in the October issue of the journal, you will read about the lean efforts of companies like Embraer, 3M, Mercedes and Brasil Foods. Some of these organisations are Brazilian, others are Brazilian branches of international corporations. Rest assured that either way their experience will provide you with food for thought.
What next?
Looking ahead at the October issue of LMJ, you can expect more great content, this time on the theme of ‘lean and green’. You will be able to read contributions from our editorial board member Keivan Zokaei, a leading researcher in the field, who will priovide examples of lean-green implementations and a round-up of the most recent thinking on the subject.
We’ll also have a case study on MITIE, a company that provides facilities management services to organisations in several sectors and has a strong lean and environmental ethos. If you have never heard of lean applied by those who clean this is your chance to find out more. Clients of MITIE’s include airports and banks, and the article they are contributing will be full of practical examples.
Also see the October issue for an interview with Kate Mackle, the director of a new part-time two-year executive MSc in Lean Enterprise that will begin at the University of Buckingham in January 2013.
Don’t miss part two of three of the article on the history of lean written by Richard Schonberger, as well as our comment pages and a special feature on lean assessment by Denis Becker, World Class Enterprise and Engineering Manager at Gemalto, provider of digital security solutions.
Finally, don’t forget to check out the brand new LMJ website!
These are exciting times for LMJ. The activity in South America is just one of many developments for the journal and the lean practitioner community.
On September 24, we will attend the inaugural meeting of the London chapter of the Operational Excellence Society, whose aim is to provide a place for business leaders (from both manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms) to meet and discuss the problems they face in their day-to-day operations.
Attendance is free and open to all, and I hope to see you there. Details are available on the LinkedIn page of the Operational Excellence Society.
“See the October for an interview with Kate Mackle, the director of a new parttime two-year executive MSc in Lean Enterprise that will begin at the University of Buckingham in January 2013”
While we are on the subject of business leaders, I am sure the September issue of the journal is prompting readers to think again about what the role of a lean leader should be.
Helping to revisit this important subject is a great article by Jeffrey Liker, Professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan and author of The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership, and an interesting case study on GKN’s Rockford site in Illinois, where a unique approach to maintenance has proved extremely beneficial.
The September issue also has insight from Mark Adams, vice president of purchasing at Toyota Europe, who talks about, among other things, how the super-lean car maker managed to get back in the saddle after the recall crisis and the Japanese tsunami brought chaos to a company that everyone thought untouchable.
