‘Relentless leadership’ was the theme for our Lean Summit Africa 2014. It was a theme that arose from conversations I’d had with Toyota personnel. They wanted me to know that the drive for improvement was relentless, and driven by their leaders. It reminded me of my...

We owe a great deal to Ignaz Semmelweis. ‘Ignaz who?’, you might well ask. Tragically, despite what we owe him, his discovery cost him dearly. He died in dreadful and humiliating circumstances, scorned by his medical peers, and confined in a lunatic asylum through the...

We find ourselves in a very challenging time, and we are all, in one way or another, feeling the impact of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. I wanted to reach out to our Lean Community and send my good wishes to you and your families for good health and grit at a...

Wishing you a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2020! I thought it might be a nice start to the year by sharing some key insights I wish I had known when I started on my Lean journey. There are 14 on my list (for now - I'm sure there's a lot more learning...

By: John Toussaint John E. Billi Mark Graban Download article

I grew up amongst the Batswana, where I would regularly  eat ting ya mabele (a traditional fermented sorghum porridge) at home, and at celebratory and family events. I did not know how to prepare it and given that it’s now something that I cannot access easily in my...

By John S. Toussaint, MD, and Montgomery “Monk” Elmer, MD This is taken from the Catalysis website, with permission from Dr John Toussaint and Dr Montgomery Elmer, the authors: "The spread of “best practices” is important in today’s rapidly evolving health care...

FEATURE – Only when we go where the action is, do we begin to truly understand the work. Rose Heathcote joins the Emergency Medical Services in Cape Town for a day. Words: Rose Heathcote, who took part in the ride along while she was CEO of Lean Institute Africa. How...

INTERVIEW – A private healthcare group in South Africa has carefully studied the unique challenges it faces and customized its approach to improvement accordingly, embarking on a lean journey to better patient care. Interviewee: Sharon Vasuthevan, Nursing and Quality...

INTERVIEW – Rose Keanly discusses the role of lean in a strategic business transformation in the financial services sector and the dos and don’ts of bringing lean to a large organization. Rose Heathcote: What triggered the need for a transformation at Old Mutual? Rose...