
A Jishuken event in hospitality
FEATURE - Three days of learning-by-doing and hands-on improvement work to bring real results for a hotel in Colombia, as Lean Global Network gathered in the Caribbean for its latest Jishuken event.
Words: Planet Lean
This past June, lean practitioners and Lean Global Network representatives from Colombia, Spain, Chile, and Argentina gathered in Colombia for an inspiring Jishuken event at Hotel Zuana Beach Resort, on the country’s Caribbean coast. LGN is not new to Jishuken, a cornerstone of Lean Thinking. Unlike typical kaizen practices that involve suggesting or implementing changes, jishuken is a hands on learning workshop focused on “learning by doing” at the gemba. Originally developed by Toyota, it brings together department and section managers to identify real operational issues, experiment with process adjustments, and deepen their understanding of standardized work, waste elimination, and lean principles directly on the shop floor.
At Hotel Zuana Beach Resort, participants delivered tangible results for the organization. The initiative not only delivered visible improvements in key hotel processes, but also sparked a shift in how the team thinks, acts, and leads. The experience highlighted the power of the LGN to raise the standard of Lean work across sectors. This week reaffirmed how collaborative value creation can elevate client performance to a whole new level.
In the video below, you can learn more about this Jishuken event in a hospitality setting:
Read more


CASE STUDY – There is more to Siena than the Palio: the Tuscan city boasts of one of the most advanced examples of lean healthcare in Italy. We asked the team at the University Hospital how they are doing it.


FEATURE - In the second article in his series, the author provides helpful tips for those interesting in bringing some Lean Thinking to their parenting, focusing on the first five years of a child's life.


WOMACK’S YOKOTEN - When managed poorly and tied to the wrong performance metrics, financial rewards can seriously damage your organization, Jim Womack warns in his latest column.


INTERVIEW – How do you communicate a consistent message to thousands of employees working across a fragmented and extremely diverse network? Catherine Blay, from French postal service La Poste, tells us.
Read more


INTERVIEW – A team from LGN just spent a week on the gemba with Toyota veteran Hideshi Yokoi for a jishuken exercise. We asked him to explain to us how he used this practice while at Toyota Motor Kyushu.


VIDEO - In February, a group of Lean Global Network coaches visited Coloplast's Parts Distribution Center in Hungary to help the local team improve the internal lead-time across the facility.


FEATURE – In March 2019, this hospital partnered with the Lean Global Network on a two-day Jishuken event. Nearly two years later, the authors reflect on the legacy of that initiative.


FEATURE – During a recent Jishuken workshop, Poland-based Schumacher Packaging experimented with a newly-developed App to quickly create standardized work instructions at the gemba.