“It is impossible to overestimate the importance of 5S,” he said. “Really?” I asked myself. The CEO of a major Japanese process improvement consultancy told me this in 1992, in Nagoya. What do you think? Is it that significant in driving improvement and the ‘Kaizen...

Our Chairman, UCT Graduate School of Business Emeritus Professor, Norman Faull, will be one of the judges of the African Kaizen Awards (AKA) Examination Committee. The Awards are part of the African Kaizen Conference 2019, organised by JICA and NEPAD, taking place in...

COLUMN – In her first column, the author reflects on the role of leadership in striking a balance between the enthusiasm for change and the need to involve everyone in a transformation. Words: Rose Heathcote, CEO, Lean Institute Africa I had a terrific time this past...

Is there any principle more core to the heart of lean than relentlessly focusing on the customer? How many companies have strayed from customer focus as their strategic North Star? Who cannot tell at least one story of poor customer service, irritating chatboxes,...

Atlantis Foundries was able to achieve zero defects for three months in a row thanks to machine learning. Here's why the human component can't be discounted. Cape Town is sometimes called the “Silicon Valley of South Africa”. Yet, it was a pleasant surprise to learn...