The core of lean manufacturing, kanbans use the “pull” system to prevent waste by creating a cyclical relationship between the consumer, supplier, and manufacturer. The user of a material requests or "pulls" material from the supplier, as they need it.

See updated story for  7/6/2009 

TRANE Residential Systems, is a lean organization that knows about growth through innovation. In 1931, TRANE came up with the radical idea of using technology to provide relief from the summer heat.

(Leica Geosystems: London) -- The Leica Absolute Tracker is now equipped with PowerLock. This vision technology automatically locks onto any moving target without user intervention.

I often get assignments at organizations where I am required to take aside a group of people, either within the building facility or off campus, to focus on issues or problems.

Organizations have gained much in process improvement from implementing lean practices and Six Sigma projects. However, these efforts did not prevent our financial crisis from occurring.

(Dyadem: Toronto, Canada) -- Dyadem recently upgraded its Stature enterprise risk management platform. Stature 4.0 will enable Dyadem’s customers to make more informed and strategic decisions about the production processes and products they manage.

(New Mexico MEP: Albuquerque, NM) -- After enrolling its employees in New Mexico's Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Lean Culture and Leadership program, Sennheiser raised its 2008 sales by $8 million, improved productivity by 28 percent, and experienced other significant improvements in

(LEI: Cambridge, MA) -- Before offshoring work to low-wage countries, senior managers should use “lean math” to calculate the true total cost of relocating, according to management expert James P. Womack, Ph.D., founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI). 

This is an expanded version of an article that Balestracci wrote for Quality Digest in December 2007. 
--Editor