Planet Lean: The Official online magazine of the Lean Global Network
Remembering Freddy Ballé

Remembering Freddy Ballé

Dan Jones
November 10, 2023

FEATURE – On October 31st, the Lean Movement lost one of its pioneers. In this piece, Dan Jones reflects on Freddy Ballé’s legacy.

Words: Dan Jones, co-founder of the Lean Movement 

We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before. One of those giants was Freddy Ballé, who passed away on the31st of October. He was one of the first people in Europe to understand the significance of the Toyota Production System while he was working at Renault in the 1970s. He went to Japan on annual pilgrimages to seek answers to his questions about TPS from leading senseis at Toyota.

He used this learning to build the Valeo ProductionSystem. Early on, Toyota told me that only two suppliers in Europe really understood TPS - Freddy Ballé at Valeo and Peter Marks at Robert Bosch. Freddy went on to develop similar Production and Product Development systems at Sommer Allibert and Faurecia.

One of the best things I have done was to convince Jim Womack to publish the first lean novels by Freddy and his sonMichael. The Gold Mine, The Lean Manager, and Lead withRespect showed a global audience the thinking and behaviors that made a lean system work.

I first met Freddy at a supply chain workshop organized by McKinsey in Paris, and every time I met him after that I came away with new insights into lean. This learning continued as his wisdom infected the articles and books that Michael and I worked on exploring the learning processes behind Lean Thinking.

I can still hear his voice saying, “Keep your focus on the detail of the work and understand its significance for the customer and the system as a whole.” Thank you, Freddy, for your example and your inspiration.

These wise words are more relevant than ever, as Toyota not only develops solid state batteries but is leading the way to scale up production of one of the most important building blocks of the post-carbon era, alongside its pioneering work on hydrogen fuel cells.

THE AUTHOR

Dan Jones is co-founder of the Lean Movement

Read more

The impact of lean on the financial performance of an SME
October 18, 2016
The impact of lean on the financial performance of an SME

RESEARCH – What kind of financial results can a SME owner expect from a lean transformation? To find out, the author of this interesting research analyzed the performance of 100 Italian small and medium-sized companies.

Continue reading
Fancy a cup of lean coffee?
October 28, 2019
Fancy a cup of lean coffee?

FEATURE – What started as the idea of two friends to meet up and discuss their lean journeys turned into a regular get-together of lean practitioners in the Cape Town area. Another example of the importance of sharing.

Continue reading
Why fixing the little problems should not be discounted
October 12, 2016
Why fixing the little problems should not be discounted

FEATURE – A broken phone or a clock showing the wrong time may seem small details to you, but they actually make people's jobs more difficult. Fixing these issues improves work and boosts morale... It also says a lot about you as a company.

Continue reading
Creating front-line leaders to solve problems at Nestlé
March 22, 2021
Creating front-line leaders to solve problems at Nestlé

INTERVIEW – In this Q&A, we learn how the Technical & Production (T&P) area of Nestlé Colombia Ecuador is using lean and Art Smalley’s four types of problems framework to bring leadership closer to the gemba.

Continue reading

Read more

No items found.