Mike Thelen

Hub City Inc.

Mike Thelen is the lean facilitator at Aberdeen, South Dakota-based Hub City Inc., a subsidiary of the Regal-Beloit Corp. in Beloit, Wisconsin. He has led lean initiatives in positions from front-line supervisor to system coordinator in various corporations since 2001.

Mon, 08/18/2008 - 22:00
Changing to Lean, Part 7 The power of a child’s eyes
Mon, 08/18/2008 - 22:00
As with any lean implementation in a traditional environment, culture change is the most difficult obstacle to success. A company can hire consultants, develop work teams, and begin lean initiatives, but if it only talks the talk, the initiative…
Changing to Lean, Part 6 Does office lean matter?
Mon, 07/14/2008 - 22:00
I received an interesting piece of junk mail recently. What caught my attention and provoked me to open it was simply that it was from an overseas automobile manufacturer and my lean obsessiveness engaged. I know this manufacturer isn’t necessarily…
Changing to Lean, Part 5 Why are we doing this?
Mon, 06/16/2008 - 22:00
As is the case with any lean implementation in a traditional environment, culture change is the most difficult obstacle to success. A company can hire consultants, develop work teams, and begin lean initiatives, but if it only talks the talk, the…
Changing to Lean, Part 5 Why are we doing this?
Mon, 06/16/2008 - 22:00
As is the case with any lean implementation in a traditional environment, culture change is the most difficult obstacle to success. A company can hire consultants, develop work teams, and begin lean initiatives, but if it only talks the talk, the…
Changing to Lean, Part 4 Where does process improvement start?
Mon, 05/12/2008 - 22:00
What’s an extremely difficult part of lean? Sustained improvement. Kaizen is best known and most often described as continual, incremental improvement. Kaikaku is perhaps best described as revolutionary improvement. Thus we have two ways to…
Changing to Lean, Part 4 Where does process improvement start?
Mon, 05/12/2008 - 22:00
What’s an extremely difficult part of lean? Sustained improvement. Kaizen is best known and most often described as continual, incremental improvement. Kaikaku is perhaps best described as revolutionary improvement. Thus we have two ways to pursue…
Changing to Lean, Part 3 Lean vs. L.A.M.E.
Mon, 04/14/2008 - 22:00
Mark Graban, consultant and host of www.leanblog.org , and a good lean friend, once posted a web log topic on “lean or lame” (a phrase he coined). That topic drew a variety of comments from his readership. He described L.A.M.E. as “lean as…
Changing to Lean, Part 3 Lean vs. L.A.M.E.
Mon, 04/14/2008 - 22:00
Mark Graban, consultant and host of www.leanblog.org , and a good lean friend, once posted a web log topic on “lean or lame” (a phrase he coined). That topic drew a variety of comments from his readership. He described L.A.M.E. as “lean as…
Changing to Lean, Part 2 No magic pill
Mon, 03/17/2008 - 22:00
As is the case with any lean implementation in a traditional environment, culture change is the most difficult obstacle to success. A company can hire consultants, develop work teams, and begin lean initiatives, but if it only talks the talk, the…
Changing to Lean, Part 2 No magic pill
Mon, 03/17/2008 - 22:00
As is the case with any lean implementation in a traditional environment, culture change is the most difficult obstacle to success. A company can hire consultants, develop work teams, and begin lean initiatives, but if it only talks the talk, the…