The question “Is this batch like the others?” is asked all over the world on a daily basis. It turns out that the process behavior chart provides a very effective answer for questions about the homogeneity of the product stream.

A friend and colleague remarked to me that “the lean market has become mature,” implying a depth and breadth of lean understanding in industry that I have rarely seen myself.

My recent beach vacation began with the kind of unfortunate incident that we all dread: killing a distant relative.