Video Kaizen Success Stories

See Real Manufacturing Results. One Kaizen at a Time.

Watch Adam Lawrence share the stories, strategies, and breakthroughs behind real Kaizen transformations.

Adam Lawrence 11/3/21 Adam Lawrence 11/3/21

Recognize the Effort, Not the Results

We want people to remember the great teams and great work they were part of. Here are some suggestions and a story about doing just that.

Adam Lawrence 10/20/21 Adam Lawrence 10/20/21

Never Give Up

It’s critical to engage team members to get their alignment and buy-in prior to the Kaizen event. Here’s a story that illustrates what happens when communication is less than adequate

Four factory workers, wearing blue lab coats and yellow hard hats, climbing up stairs, while holding the yellow hand rails.

Adam Lawrence 10/6/21 Adam Lawrence 10/6/21

Who says you can’t speed up innovation?

Even if you can't schedule an innovation, you can certainly reduce the waste in the process leading up to it.

A lab worker, wearing a white lab coat, pouring liquid from one flask into another that's sitting on the lab bench.

Adam Lawrence 9/22/21 Adam Lawrence 9/22/21

The Strength of Ownership

Tips and tricks for facilitators to create ownership in the team.

A series of Post-it notes attached to a wall. They are yellow and orange and 3 inches by 3 inches.

Adam Lawrence 9/8/21 Adam Lawrence 9/8/21

Speaking Up Takes Courage

Don't wait too long to find out if you're heading in the right (or wrong) direction.

In a classroom, where a teacher is speaking at the front of the room, a female student in the back is raising her hand, reluctantly.

Adam Lawrence 8/25/21 Adam Lawrence 8/25/21

Ownership at the Right Level

Our Pilot Plant strategy helped us eliminate the need for the HATED annual clean up.

Dozens of tools laid out on a table, in a very organized way. Similar tools are placed together.

Adam Lawrence 8/1/21 Adam Lawrence 8/1/21

Line Up and Do the Right Thing

Sometimes you have to put yourself in the middle to protect the interests of the team.

An overhead view of a factory, with lengths of wood being cut and stored. The shipping doors are blocked with materials.

Adam Lawrence 7/21/21 Adam Lawrence 7/21/21

Kaizen every day

Most Kaizen events last anywhere from 2 hours to 4 1/2 days. This one lasted six months.

Multiple empty seats on a bus, with purple bars to hold onto.

Adam Lawrence 7/7/21 Adam Lawrence 7/7/21

Fix it and make a difference

In a factory with thousands of improvement opportunities, helping just one person made it all worthwhile.

A factory worker, wearing a brown jacket, pushing a large cube of products along a track. He's straining to make the product move along.

Adam Lawrence 6/23/21 Adam Lawrence 6/23/21

Color Coded Badges

How an area owner took it upon himself to ensure people were doing the right thing.

A worker identification badge, from the ACME company, attached to a black lanyard and laying on a table.

Adam Lawrence 6/9/21 Adam Lawrence 6/9/21

Let's see how things go

Standing by your convictions can lead to breakthrough performance.

An overhead view of a factory, with multiple conveyers and a palletizer, making large boxed products.

Adam Lawrence 5/26/21 Adam Lawrence 5/26/21

Listen to your People, People

Although you can't schedule invention, you can reduce waste in the process leading up to it.

Three people in business suits, talking around a meeting table. There is a white board to the right and a bottle of water on the table.

Adam Lawrence 5/12/21 Adam Lawrence 5/12/21

Shine a Light on the Problem

Truly understanding the problem to be solved helped the team come up with a breakthrough solution.

A well lit metal ceiling, with square lights placed every 4 feet.

Adam Lawrence 5/12/21 Adam Lawrence 5/12/21

If it Fits, it Ships

Using Tell, Show, and Do prevented a problem that would have created a poor customer experience.

A clean and organized warehouse, well lit, with everything on shelves and off of the floor.

Adam Lawrence 4/28/21 Adam Lawrence 4/28/21

This Stuff Works

Credibility was gained from the user of the system, rather than the "expert".

A series of tools, including wrenches, pliers, and gears, laid out on a table in an organized way.

Adam Lawrence 4/14/21 Adam Lawrence 4/14/21

Macon Progress

The day I learned a hard lesson about Leadership Commitment and almost got fired.

Shadow image of two people having a lively discussion.

Adam Lawrence 3/31/21 Adam Lawrence 3/31/21

Go to Gemba, even if you don't want to

This is the story of how I challenged the plant manager to go to the Gemba to verify his assumptions about the factory floor. Spoiler alert - he learned something he wasn’t expecting.

Four people, all wearing grey shirts, one female, three male, discussing an issue on a factory floor.

Adam Lawrence 3/17/21 Adam Lawrence 3/17/21

Gemba Walks

The story of how I helped a team from St. Helens improve their gemba walk and directly improve productivity.

Four people wearing yellow safety vests, one of the with a pad of paper in his hand, walking on a factory floor.

Adam Lawrence 3/3/21 Adam Lawrence 3/3/21

Best Event Ever

My catch phrase for Kaizen events caught on throughout the organization and created energy and excitement for process improvement.

Many people putting their hands on top of each other to signify teamwork and alignment.

Adam Lawrence 2/17/21 Adam Lawrence 2/17/21

Attention to Detail

This is story of how getting people to utilize standard work improved performance immediately and significantly.

An industry standard 5S audit sheet, with twelve categories to evaluate.