Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond

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Podcast #83 is an in-depth conversation with Jim D'Addario, the CEO of D'Addario, Inc., a manufacturer of guitar strings, drum heads, and other musical accessories. Jim and his family company were featured on CNN late last year, highlighting how lean manufacturing has helped save and create jobs as part of their business strategy. Jim agreed to speak with me to delve into more detail about their use of lean management principles.

Jim is a hands-on CEO who gets out on the shop floor, which seems to be a big advantage for lean success. He describes his personal transition from a starting point of “not seeing the benefits” after lean was initially proposed to him to reaching a point where he articulates very well how lean allows D'Addario to better serve their customers' needs.

D'Addario started in the warehouse where, prior to lean, the operations strategy involved millions of dollars of warehouse automation. Now, with lean, they have freed up space, they have deployed people, and they can now ship orders that come in by 5 PM that very same day, as opposed to 48-hour performance before lean. Customers are able to hold less inventory and they can order more often in smaller batches. While this might increase order picking costs to D'Addario, Jim emphasized the increased customer contact and the benefits that come from that.

D'Addario has long had a committment to its people, avoiding layoffs as much as possible. In the course of lean improvements, people are redeployed and cross-trained to be more flexible. Now, with lean, D'Addario was able to shut down a California warehouse, resulting in job loss. But, the company has consistently moved to bring jobs to Long Island, acquiring product lines and moving production from China. In the case of guitar straps, Jim emphasized that while the unit labor cost for sewing is higher, they don't have “110 days lead time” coming from China. Customer service is better and that's good for D'Addario's business.

Jim said:

“We've moved more and more work here and we'll continue to do that.”

For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple Podcasts.

* Remastered audio June 2021

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/82

This is an interview with Dr. Sami Bahri, D.D.S., a dentist from Jacksonville, Florida. He is a pioneer in using Lean methods in the management of his dental practice. In this episode, he talks about what he's learned from visiting manufacturing plants and how single-piece flow is a critical piece of Lean. His outstanding book, Follow the Learner, is available from the Lean Enterprise Institute (www.lean.org). The book documents his learning journey for himself and his office staff as they learned how to apply Lean in a very non-traditional setting. This an audio version of LeanBlog Video Podcast #9, available in a separate RSS/iTunes feed or at www.leanvideopodcast.org. For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes. If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at [email protected] or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.

Podcast #81 is an interview with Rob Bryant, VP for Quality with CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation). In this podcast, we talk about how CSC, being outside of manufacturing, uses Lean in their business and for their customers. Rob shares some insights on Lean, an outlook for 2010, and finishes our discussion with an inspiring story about how he got into the quality field. You can visit Rob's website at http://www.robbryant.com/ to learn more about his work and his public speaking appearances and more. As the vice president for quality, Bryant has: * Assisted DynCorp in increasing its revenue from $900M to $2.1B in just four years as a direct report to the President * Led over 100 teams and studies resulting in over $100M in savings/revenue/improvements for all divisions of CSC as a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Trainer * Received the Malcolm Baldridge Sr., Examiner for the National MB Award * Served on the “President Bush Business Advisory Council” for two years * Served as an editor for a book called Quality for Dummies and has written several published articles/papers for journals such as Quality Digest, Six Sigma Magazine, and others * Quality Certifications include ISO-9001:2000, TQM, Process Management, ITIL, CMMI, Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Business Excellence, and Malcolm Baldridge For earlier episodes, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes.

A special holiday treat for my Lean Blog readers and podcast listeners, "Gemba Claus is Comin' to Town." Lyrics by Mark Graban, Performance by Steve Sholtes (http://www.stevesholtes.com/).

Webpage for the song

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This episode is a discussion with Joan Wellman, of the consulting firm Joan Wellman & Associates.

Joan is a real pioneer in the lean healthcare arena, having started her initial work with a hospital in 1995 — I haven't found anybody who started this work earlier than her. We first met in Seattle a few months back and I'm thrilled to bring you this discussion about the early days of lean healthcare and her thoughts on the potential for the future.

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Eve Yen, founder and CEO of Diamond Wipes, is our guest for episode #79 of the podcast. In this podcast, Eve discusses her company and how manufacturing in the United States provides a strong competitive advantage. While not explicitly “Lean,” Eve articulates a value proposition that any Lean Thinker would recognize: manufacturing close to the customer allows for shorter lead times and, for these products, better quality and freshness. Her strategy also allows for just-in-time delivery and ready customization for customers.

Her story is an inspiring one for many reasons, as an entrepreneur and an immigrant who has made the most of her opportunities in America. Eve believes strongly that manufacturing is critically important for our nation's economy and she's working to build her company, serve her customers, and spread that message.

• Woman finds success making wipes for restaurants, more