Paul specialises in lean management, process analysis and optimisation, and continuous improvement practices. Paul received his training in lean management directly from Japanese industry, and shares this knowledge through lean management consulting and kaizen training programs for Shinka Management’s global client base, and lean manufacturing study tours run in Japan.

Marugo Logo

OTRS – Motion Analysis Software – Marugo

Marugo Rubber Industries achieved a cost reduction of several hundred million yen for one process through applying motion analysis software and targeting improvements in 0.1 second units using OTRS10. As a result of using OTRS to perform a detailed motion analysis of their painting line, Marugo discovered that the coating unevenness was due to a poorly positioned gun, and this enabled them to achieve a major improvement effect.

The Myriad Benefits of Value Stream Mapping

Japanese manufacturers have been systemically synchronising the value stream processes for decades to target cost reductions, improve quality and reduce lead times to customers. The team at Shinka Management has had a long and close relationship with the best of Japanese manufacturing. Our strong relationships enables us to see and work with high calibre organisations that use forms of value stream mapping to gain a complete understanding of their operations.

Team Leader Toyota

What is the Role of a Team Leader within Toyota?

We all know team leaders play an important role within a manufacturing shop floor in shaping the team’s effectiveness. However, specific roles and responsibilities given to a team leader are often different from company to company. So, how does Toyota approach this? What is the role of a team leader within a Toyota final assembly plant? These very questions are answered by Toyota lean management guru Hyodo-sensei.

Virginia Mason Medical Center

Lean Health Care Interview with Virginia Mason Medical Center

The Virginia Mason Medical Center is based in Seattle, Washington. Since the Virginia Mason leadership’s first visit to Japan in 2002 to seek insights from Japanese manufacturing, the hospital has evolved into a leader in the application of lean principles to health care. Dr Kaplan and Dr Otero, the two key figures behind the Virginia Mason’s successful lean transformation, provide insights that holds lessons for any of us seeking to lead effective transformation and culture change within our own organizations.

Shigeo Shingo Zero Quality Control

Book Review – Zero Quality Control – Shigeo Shingo

Shigeo Shingo is an icon with the early development of SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) and Poke-yoke (mistake-proofing), and a key developer of the Toyota Production System. This book by Shingo provides a detailed explanation of Shingo’s “three critical aspects of quality control” and presents many actual examples that show a wide range of applications. A “Must Read” if you are going to have true success with Lean Manufacturing.

Isuzu Lean Factory

Your Lean Factory as a Showroom – Using Lean to Drive Sales

We have again had the pleasure of visiting one of our favourite companies in Japan – and one that clients on our regular Japan study mission continuously rate as a standout experience of their time in Japan. As a lean factory, this company is an excellent example, and the benefits flowing from their lean culture in terms of safety, quality, productivity, shortened lead times and improvement in market share are impressive.

Toyota Production System Taiichi Ohno

Book Review – Toyota Production System – Taiichi Ohno

If you only ever read one book on the Toyota Production System or Lean Manufacturing then this book by Taiichi Ohno is the one. There are hundreds of books and articles written about TPS / Lean Manufacturing but none provide the foundations that this book by Taiichi Ohno does. It will help you set your baseline on where to start when considering if the concepts developed for TPS are likely to be suitable for your business.

Lean Leadership Training Brisbane

The Courier Mail | Asia in focus

When Akinori Hyodo started work at a Toyota factory in Japan more than 40 years ago, he could never have imagined Australian business people would one day be hanging off his every word. But earlier this year, a group of Queensland executives crowded into an Australian Industry Group meeting room to hear Hyodo give a lecture on the Toyota Production System, a half-century old method of boosting efficiency, also known as lean manufacturing.