{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom","title":"Beyond ‘Fix What Bugs You’ w/ Russell Watkins | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E135","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3307,"description":"In this special guest episode, Andrew sits down with Russell Watkins, co-founder of Sempai. Andrew first met Russell at the Gemba Summit in Belfast, where Russell delivered a keynote titled “10 Lightbulb Moments from Working with Toyota Japan and UK.” After cornering him at lunch with a notebook full of questions, Andrew knew this had to become a podcast conversation.\nThey explore:\nWhat Russell learned apprenticing under a direct student of Taiichi Ohno and why he was told to “stop reading and start doing”\nWhy you don’t learn lean from books alone (but why books still matter)\nHow to actually observe work on the Gemba, and why empty workstations don’t tell the full story\nThe danger of “putting lipstick on a pig” by optimizing rework instead of eliminating the need for it\nWhy “Fix What Bugs You” works and where it falls short without strategic direction\nA practical introduction to Hoshin Kanri (policy deployment) for small manufacturers\nHow to connect shop-floor improvements to real business needs\nThe power of visual defect analysis—even without formal data systems\nFour simple questions that reveal the strength (or weakness) of your SOPs\nHow to handle the 20-70-10 dynamic when rolling out lean initiatives\nWhy humility and “opening the kimono” as a leader builds trust and cultural momentum\nThis conversation bridges the gap between the Two Second Lean community and traditional Toyota Production System thinking, offering practical insight for small and mid-sized manufacturers who want to move beyond local optimization and align improvement with long-term business survival.\n\nLinks:\nThe explainer on Hoshin Kanri/policy deployment that Russell mentioned","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/l0HRpcWxem4SttHPzNHN8VZMGUfK3kzum5Ti3LbVDqg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ1MTkwLzE2OTUw/OTcxOTUtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}