Showing results by author "Mohammed Hamed Ahmed Soliman" in All Categories

7 Lean Myths That Waste Your Time – And Why Six Sigma Is Not Enough By Dr. Mohammed Hamed Ahmed Soliman Think Lean is all about speed? Or that Six Sigma guarantees excellence? Think again. In this bold and eye-opening guide, Dr. Mohammed Hamed Ahmed Soliman cuts through the noise of corporate buzzwords and improvement hype to reveal what really works — and what wastes your time. You’ll uncover: 7 popular but misleading myths that weaken Lean transformation Why Six Sigma alone can’t deliver sustained excellence The dangers of relying on tools without changing mindsets How Toyota’s ...

In an era of automation, the human touch still leads the way. As smart factories evolve and artificial intelligence takes center stage, many organizations are asking: Do we still need leaders walking the shop floor? This book answers with a resounding yes. "How AI Can’t Replace the Gemba Walk" explores why physical presence, observation, and human connection remain irreplaceable — even in the age of Industry 4.0. Rooted in Lean thinking and the Toyota Production System (TPS), this book dives into: What the Gemba really is — and why it matters more than ever The strengths and limits of...

A Lean Engineer’s Guide to Building Enduring Innovation Tesla vs. Toyota explores the two most influential automakers today—and reveals why speed and cutting-edge tech don't guarantee success on their own. Tesla revolutionizes with fully electric vehicles, direct-to-consumer sales, and bold autonomous features. Toyota dominates with its hybrid origins, mastery of the Toyota Production System (TPS), and steel-willed manufacturing excellence. This side-by-side comparison dives deep into: Powertrain strategy: EV purity vs. hybrid diversity Automation philosophy: “Move fast” futurism vs...

❝Your organization isn’t broken. But something is quietly killing its performance.❞ Not every threat is loud. Some show up as harmless habits: meetings that waste time, metrics that lie, systems that grow too complex to manage. In this powerful and concise guide, Dr. Mohamed Hamed Soliman — a professor of industrial and systems engineering and veteran performance advisor — reveals the 10 invisible killers that sabotage organizations from within. Drawing on real-world experience with Lean systems, Toyota’s management model, and decades of consulting, Dr. Soliman exposes: Why ...

You don’t need to be an engineer to improve work. You don’t need a factory, fancy charts, or a Japanese dictionary. You just need a better way to think. In this practical and easy-to-follow guide, bestselling author Mohammed Hamed Ahmed Soliman demystifies Lean thinking for professionals in non-technical roles — HR, finance, healthcare, education, government, and more. Whether you work in an office, a classroom, or behind a screen, Lean for Non-Engineers shows how to spot inefficiencies, reduce waste, and improve everyday processes without jargon or complexity. Inside, you’ll ...

Poka-yoke is a Japanese word that means "error-proofing". It involves using simple and cheap tools to help workers avoid making mistakes in their work. These devices prevent errors like using the wrong parts, forgetting to put in a part, or installing a part the wrong way. In simpler words, in Japanese, "poka" means making a mistake by accident, and "yoke" means stopping or avoiding the mistake. Have you ever wondered why Japanese cars are known for being reliable. Even cars that are 20 years old can still run well and keep up with the newest and top cars in the automobile industry. This is...

Hoshin Kanri has been used successfully by Toyota and other top-tier companies in Japan and the United States to achieve strategic business and lean goals. The underlying power of a successful hoshin kanri process relays on how Toyota creates an environment of continuous improvement. Toyota is a strong business because of its people, and people are the value of its system. This book focuses more on people rather than the process. Management behavior, motivation, core organizational values and teamwork, leadership development, and culture change are the real factors of any business success. ...

Having no standardization work process means no quality. Everyone will do this task differently. Tracking the source of errors is difficult without the work standard. When a leader perform gemba walk on shop floor to observe the situation, there is no benefit from the walk when there is no standard. In the classic old way of management, companies were and (many are still) following the Taylor’s principle, Taylor said that industrial engineers should be the only ones who initiate, create, modify, adapt and improve the process. And workers should follow what the industrial engineers are ...

One-piece flow, also known as continuous flow, is considered the ultimate lean goal. It describes how items are efficiently moved from one stage of the process to the next by designing the workflow around the requirements of the product. To get from point A to point B is the objective. Any waste or halt in production is equivalent to the stones and dams that direct the flow of water. We examine our layouts, devices, procedures, rules, cultures, and knowledge while attempting to implement flow to see what might be causing these flow-blocking factors. Continuous flow aids in waste reduction. ...

To save money during the economic downturn, many businesses are using abstinence policies. This might mean firing employees and reducing pay for some people. Actually, those actions might only work for a little while. If the company doesn't make a culture of always getting better and change how it works, the problem might happen again and get even worse. This takes us back to the reason why the Toyota production system was created. Waste means something that takes up resources, but doesn't give anything back to the customer. Many activities are not useful and can be divided into two ...

First Chapter is about hoshin kanri. Lean strategy deployment is still an emerging research topic addressed by only a limited number of references. Some of these references have explained Hoshin Kanri as a tool for strategic management and planning to achieve the goals and they explain how the method aligns corporate strategic objectives as defined and managed by senior managers (at the strategic level) with the plans and activities of middle management and teams (tactical level) and the work done by the employees (operational level). This process is called catching balls, as all three ...

The real purpose of 5S is more than just cleaning up once. The 5S method helps to make standards that show problems, keep things stable so we can make small improvements, reduce waste, make a focused and organized workplace, and work together to keep getting better. Visual Thinking describes the 5S system as creating a work environment that is easy to understand, organized, and always getting better.

This book proposes a new vision for security management in modern residential cities by applying Toyota's proven methodologies—Gemba, Kaizen, Hoshin Kanri, Standardized Work, and Visual Management—within urban security systems. By aligning strategic goals, standardizing operations, and involving real-time field assessments, we advocate for a holistic transformation that addresses organizational, technical, and human dimensions of safety. "Lean Security Management in Gated Communities: Applying Toyota Principles to Urban Safety" In an era where safety is a growing concern in residential ...

Some businesses have reduced staff and made resource cuts to survive the global economic downturn, while others have improved business practices and culture. Unfortunately, there is still a difference between successful and less successful businesses in terms of culture adaptability, people management, and process management. In organisations like Toyota, which, in contrast to its rivals, has a mindset of process improvement, culture drives competitive advantage. Other businesses might benefit from Toyota's teachings by changing their routines for behaving and thinking in order to increase ...

Mistakenly, many people think plan-do-check-act (PDCA) is a continuous improvement cycle, even if they neglect the human part. PDCA does aim to improve the process, but if you have only improved the process without developing and teaching your people, you have put the process at risk of slipping back. People must be trained in the culture of continuous improvement so they can keep managing the process with the new method.

This book discusses the seven deadly wastes (muda) in the value stream process. It presents the cost of each waste, its effect on the process, and how it can be eliminated to increase profitability. Waste removal increases the profitability of any business. Processes are classified into value added and waste. The seven deadly wastes that could exist in any manufacturing process originated in Japan and are defined in the Toyota production system (TPS). The main goal became removing them. For each waste, there is a strategy to remove or eliminate it. What is less likely is that managers will ...

Production kanban, which translates to "sign" or "signboard" in Japanese, instructs an upstream process on the kind and number of goods to produce for a downstream process. In a pull system, a kanban is a signalling tool that provides approval and instructions for the manufacture or withdrawal (conveyance) of products. The conveyance used by the downstream process is referred to as the "withdrawal." The assembly process and the client, the assembly process and the supplier process, and the supplier process and the vendor all benefit from kanban. The Toyota production system is founded on ...

Takt time is calculated as the amount of manufacturing time that is available divided by the volume of orders. In the 1930s, the German aviation industry employed Takt for the first time as a production management tool. The idea was widely used within Toyota in the 1950s, and by the late 1960s, it had been adopted by the majority of the Toyota supplier base. Every month, Toyota assesses the takt for a process, with a modifying review occurring every 10 days. Takt time is used to properly balance supply and demand. It gives a lean production system its beating heart.

The act of changing a line or machine from making one product to making another is called changeover. Changeover is when we switch from making one product (product A) to making a different product (product B). This involves getting the machines ready and getting everything prepared for the new process. It is considered a waste of time because you are not using the machine at that time, which means you are not producing anything. Additionally, you are still paying the operators and workers even though they are not being productive during that time. When automobile companies need to make new ...

Gemba is a Japanese word meaning the actual place where value-creating work happens. Many leaders use gemba only for solving problems, visiting only when there is an issue. Others practice gemba walks on a daily basis to follow up and monitor the situation. However, Toyota believes that leaders truly develop through daily experiences at the gemba. In reality, gemba is a principle for managing, developing and improving people and processes. It is a valuable tool that helps lean practitioners learn the true facts so they can base management decisions on the actual situation.