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The Idea Generator - Quick and Easy Kaizen

3 definitions of Kaizen are: Improvement through changes in the method, Small changes, not big changes Changes within realistic constraints THE IDEA GENERATOR - Quick and Easy Kaizen This book, in all its simplicity, has the power to generate overwhelming positive change wherever its concepts are implemented

Whatever I Do Is Never Good Enough

Sort of the theme story of my life: Whatever I do is never good enough. Not good enough to please my teachers, my parents, my wives, my friends, my business associates.

Bodek Podcast 3

This is the first of four video segments with the "godfather of lean" Norman Bodek, President of PCS Press. In these videos, Norman talks about how he got started with learning about Lean in Japan and how he started to spread these practices in the U.S.

Coming Soon

 

▼ JIT
▼ Kaikaku
▼ The Idea Generator - Quick and Easy Kaizen
▼ Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking
▼ All You Gotta Do Is Ask
▼ Rebirth of American Industry
More >>

▼ What Makes Lean Work
▼ An Amazing Trip to Japan
▼ The Check List
▼ The Art Of Leadership
▼ Overcoming Resistance
More >>

▼ Bodek Podcast 1
▼ Bodek Podcast 3
▼ Audio Podcast Archive
More >>

 

About us


Norman Bodek, President PCS Inc. In 1979, after working for 18 years with Data Processing companies, Norm Bodek started Productivity Inc. - Press by publishing a newsletter called PRODUCTIVITY. At the time, he said he knew virtually nothing about the subject and had spent very little time in manufacturing facilities. But, he quickly became fascinated with the subject and went to Japan to discover the processes that was making Japan the world leaders in quality improvement and productivity growth.


Even though on his first visit to Japan he didn't know a single
person or speak Japanese, he has since, in the last 28 years,
gone to Japan 72 times, visited more than 250 plants and
published more than 100 Japanese management books in
English. As a fortune cookie once told him, "You have the
talent to discover the talent in others."
Mr. Bodek said his claim to fame is that he found amazing
tools, techniques and new thoughts that have revolutionized
the world of manufacturing. He has met Dr. W. Edwards
Deming, Dr. Joseph Juran, Phil Crosby, Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa,
Dr. Joji Akao, Mr. Taiichi Ohno, Dr. Shigeo Shingo and many
other great manufacturing masters and published many of
their books in English.

Each person he met gave him a new perspective on
continuous improvement.  Mr. Bodek has lead over 25 study missions to Japan and was one of the first to
find and publish books, training materials and run
conferences and seminars on TPS, SMED, CEDAC, quality
control circles, 5 S, visual factory, TPM, VSM, Kaizen Blitz, cell
design, poka-yoke, lean accounting, Andon, Hoshin Kanri,
Kanban, and Quick and Easy Kaizen.

Mr. Bodek, who was once called "Mr. Productivity" by Industry
Week Magazine and "Mr. Lean" by Quality Progress
Magazine, said his most powerful discovery was the way
Toyota and other Japanese companies opened the infinite
creative potential often lying dormant inside every single
worker.

When you unlock this hidden talent people become highly motivated and actually love to come to work," he said.

Most recently, he has been working with Gulfstream
Corporation, a private jet company, where 1000 people went
from 16-implemented ideas in February 2005 to close to
33,000 in 2008 and resulting each year in annually savings of over $2 million.
Why every company in America is not doing this is a mystery?
Mr. Bodek founded the Shingo Prize for Operational
Excellence at Utah State University with Dr. Vern Buehler and
is one of the few to be personally awarded the Shingo Prize.

In the last 10 years, he has written hundred's of articles published in various magazines and journals and on management web sites.  He has written four books: "The Idea Generator - Quick and Easy Kaizen," co-authored with Bunji Tozawa, president of the HR Association in Japan, "Kaikaku the Power and Magic of Lean," Rebirth of American Industry, co-authored with William Waddell, and "All You Gotta Do Is Ask, co-authored with Chuck Yorke.


Norman has been a frequent keynote speaker at major conferences and teaches companies on employee empowerment, Lean/TPS, customer service, productivity, quality and process improvement for many organizations including the Institute of Industrial Engineers, American Society for Quality, APICS, ISO 9000, Institute for Lean Systems, FAA, Ortho-Clinical Diagnotics, BAE, Gulfstream, St. Francis Hospital Indianapolis, Dakota MEP, the Shingo Prize, and many others including in plant training events. Mr. Bodek attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a bachelor's degree from New York University. He has 42 advanced credits from New York University Graduate School of Business and the New York University College of Education.
He spent two years active duty with the U. S. Army Audit Agency and four years in the reserves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



PCS Press is a publishing, consulting and training company focusing on improving customer service, quality, and human value.

Books Published by PCS Press:

Akao, Yoji (ed). - Quality Function Deployment: Integrating Customer Requirements into Product Design

Productivity Press, 1990


Hoshin Kanri: Policy Deployment for Successful TPM


Productivity Press, 1991


Akiyama, Kaneo. - Function Analysis: Systematic Improvement of Quality and Performance

Productivity Press, 1991


Asaka, Tetsuichi and Kazuo Ozeki (eds.) -  Handbook of Quality Tools: The Japanese Approach

- Productivity Press, 1990


Barrett, Derm – Fast Focus on TQM: A Concise Guide to Companywide Learning

- Productivity Press, 1994


Belohlav, James A. - Championship Management: An Action Model for High Performance 

- Productivity Press, 1990


Bodek, Norman – The Idea Generator: Quick and Easy Kaizen

PCS Press, 2002

Kaikaku The Power and Magic of Lean

- PCS Press, 2004


Rebirth of American Industry with William Waddell

- PCS Press, 2005


All You Gotta Do Is Ask with Chuck Yorke

- PCS Press, 2005


Boyle, Daniel C. – Secrets of a Successful Employee Recognition System

- Productivity Press, 1995


Camp, Robert C. - Benchmarking: The Search for Industry Best Practices that Lead to Superior Performance

- Productivity Press, 1989


Campbell, John Dixon – Uptime: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management 

- Productivity Press, 1995


Christopher, William F. and Carl G. Thor - Total Employee Involvement  – Handbook for Productivity Measurement and Improvement

- Productivity Press, 1993


Cooper, Robin and Regine Stagmulder – Target Costing and Value Engineering

– Productivity Press co-published with The Institute of Management Accountant, 1997 


D'Egidio, Franco. - The Service Era: Leadership in a Global Environment


- Productivity Press, 1990


Ford, Henry. - Today and Tomorrow

– Productivity Press, 1988 (Double Day 1926)


Fukuda, Ryuji – Building Organizational Fitness: Management Methodology for Transformation and Strategic Advantage

– Productivity Press, 1994 


———. Managerial Engineering: Techniques for Improving
Quality and Productivity in the Workplace

– Productivity Press, 1983


———. CEDAC: A Tool for Continuous Systematic Improvement

Productivity Press, 1990 


Grief, Michelle. - The Visual Factory: Building Participation
through Shared Information

Productivity Press, 1991


Gotoh, Fumio. - Equipment Planning for TPM: Maintenance
Prevention Design

– Productivity Press, 1991


Gross, Clifford M. – The Right Fit: The Power of Ergonomics as a Competitive Strategy

- Productivity Press, 1991


Hartley, John R. – Concurrent Engineering: Shortening Lead
Times, Raising Quality, and Lowering Costs

- Productivity Press, 1992


Hatakeyama, Yoshio. - Manager Revolution! A Guide to Survival in Today's Changing Workplace

- Productivity Press, 1986


Head, Christopher W. – Beyond Corporate Transformation: A Whole System Approach to Creating and Sustaining High Performance

- Productivity Press, 1997


Hirano, Hiroyuki. - 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace: The Sourcebook for 5S Implementation

- Productivity Press, 1995


JIT Factory Revolution: A Pictorial Guide to Factory Design of the Future

Productivity Press. 1989


JIT Implementation Manual: The Complete Guide to Just-In-Time Manufacturing

- Productivity Press, 1990


5S for Operators: 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace

Productivity Press, 1996


JIT IS FLOW with Makoto Furuya

- PCS Press, 2006


Horovitz, Jacques. - Winning Ways: Achieving Zero-Defect Service

– Productivity Press, 1990


Ichida, Takashi (Compiler) – Product Design Review: A Method for error-free Product Development

- Productivity Press, 1996


Ishiwata, Junichi. - IE for the Shop Floor 1: Productivity Through Process Analysis

- Productivity Press, 1991


Jackson, Thomas L. and Constance E. Dyer – Corporate
Diagnosis: Setting the Global Standard for Excellence
(Based on the work of Shigehiro Nakamura and Dr. Ryuji
Fukuda)

- Productivity Press, 1996

And Karen R. Jones – Implementing a Lean Management System

- Productivity Press, 1996


Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, eds.- Autonomous Maintenance for Operators

- Productivity Press, 1997


TPM Encyclopedia. Atlanta: Japan Institute of Plant
Maintenance

– Productivity  Press, 1996


Focused Equipment Improvement for TPM Teams

Productivity Press, 1997


TPM for Every Operator

Productivity Press, 1996


TPM for Survivors

- Productivity Press 1996


Japan Management Association - Kanban and Just-In-Time
at Toyota: Management Begins at the Workplace.

- Productivity Press, 1986


Total Productivity: The New Science of TP Management
(Based on the work of Shigehiro Nakamura)

– Productivity Europe, 1996


The Canon Production System: Creative Involvement of the
Total Workforce

–  Productivity Press, 1987


Japan Union of Scientist and Engineers (JUSE). -  TQC Solutions: The 14-Step Process

Productivity Press, 1991


Kaydos, Will – Measuring, Managing, and Maximizing
Performance

- Productivity Press, 1991


Kanatsu, Takashi. - TQC for Accounting: A New Role in
Companywide Improvement

Productivity Press, 1991


Karatsu, Hajime.  - Tough Words For American Industry

- Productivity Press, 1988


TQC Wisdom of Japan: Managing for Total Quality Control

- Productivity Press, 1988


Kato, Kenichiro. - I.E. for the Shop Floor 2: Productivity Through Motion Study

- Productivity Press, 1991


Kaydos, Will. - Measuring, Managing, and Maximizing Performance

 
- Productivity Press, 1991

Kirby, J. Philip and David Hughes – Thoughtware: Change the Thinking and the Organization Will Change Itself

Productivity Press, 1991


Kobayashi, Iwao - 20 Keys to Workplace Improvement

- Productivity Press, 1990


Liebling, Henry E. – Handbook for Personal Productivity

- Productivity Press, 1989


Lewis, C. Patrick – Building a Shared Vision: A Leader’s Guide to Aligning the Organization

- Productivity Press, 1996

Liker, Jeffrey, ed. - Becoming Lean: Inside Stories of U.S.
Manufacturers

- Productivity Press, 1997


Louis, Raymond J. - Integrating Kanban with MRPII: Automating a Pull System for Enhanced JIT Inventory Management

Productivity Press, 1997


Lu, David J. - Inside Corporate Japan: The Art of Fumble-Free Management

- Productivity Press, 1987


Maskell, Brian H. - Performance Measurement for World Class Manufactur­ing: A Model for American Companies

- Productivity Press, 1991

Software and the Agile Manufacturer: Computer Systems and the World Class Manufacturing

- Productivity Press, 1994


Mauer, Rick – Feedback Toolkit: 16 Tools for Better Communications in the Workplace

- Productivity Press, 1994


Caught in the Middle: A Leadership Guide for Partnership in
the Workplace

- Productivity Press, 1994


Merli, Giorgio - Total Manufacturing Management: Production Organization for the 1990s

Productivity Press, 1990


Co-Makership: The New Strategy for Manufacturers

– Productivity Press, 1991


Miltenburg, John – Manufacturing Strategy: How to Formulate and Implement a Winning Team

- Productivity Press, 1995


Mizuno, Shigeru (ed.). - Management for Quality Improvement: The 7 New QC Tools

Productivity Press, 1988


Maskel, Brian H. - Performance Measurement for World Class Manufacturing: A Model for American Companies

Productivity Press, 1991


Making the Numbers Count: The Management Accountant as Change Agent on the World Class Team

- Productivity Press, 1996


With LearnerFirst - Putting Performance Measurement to Work: Building Focus and Sustaining Improvement

- Productivity Press, 1997


Maurer, Rick. - Feedback Toolkit: 16 Tools for Better Communication in the Workplace

- Productivity Press, 1994


Merrill, Peter – Do It Right the Second Time: Benchmarking Best Practices in the Quality Change Process

– Productivity Press, 1997


Michalski, Walter J. - 40 Tools for Cross-Functional Teams:
Building Synergy for Breakthrough Creativity

- Productivity Press, 1998

Tool Navigator: The Master Guide for Teams

– Productivity Press, 1997


40 Top Tools for Manufacturers: A Guide for Implementing
Powerful Improvement Activities

– Productivity Press, 1998


Mizuno, Shgeru (ed.) – Management for Quality Improvement: The 7 New QC Tools

- Productivity Press, 1988


Monden, Yasuhiro.—. and Michiharu Sakurai (eds.). Japanese Management Accounting: A World Class Approach to Profit Management

- Productivity Press, 1990


The Toyota Management System: Linking the Seven Key
Functional Areas

Productivity Press, 1999


Cost Reduction Systems: Target Costing and Kaizen Costing

- Productivity Press, 1995


Cost Management in the New Manufacturing Age: Innovations in the Japanese Automobile Industry

Productivity Press, 1992


Moriguti, Shigeiti (ed.) – Software Excellence: A Total quality Management Guide

- Productivity Press, 1997


Nachi Fujikoshi (ed.). - Training for TPM: A Manufacturing Success Story

- Productivity Press, 1990


Nakajima, Seiichi. - Introduction to TPM: Total Productive
Maintenance

- Productivity Press, 1988


TPM Development Program: Implementing Total Productive
Maintenance

- Productivity Press, 1989


Nakamura, Shigehiro – The New Standardization: Keystone of Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing

Productivity Press, 1993


and Hideyuki Takahasi – Go-Go Tools: Five Essential
Activities for Leading Small Groups

- Productivity Europe


Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, (eds.) - Poka-Yoke: Improving Product Quality by Preventing Defects

- Productivity Press, 1989


Factory Management Notebook Series: Mixed Model Production

- Productivity Press, 1991

Factory Management Notebook Series: Visual Control Systems: Visual Control Systems

- Productivity Press, 1991


Factory Management Notebook Series: Mixed Model
Production

- Productivity Press, 1991


Visual Control Systems - Factory Management Notebook Series:

Productivity Press, 1995


TPM Case Studies

- Productivity Press, 1995


Northey, Patrick and Nigel Southway – Cycle Time Management: The Fast Track to Time-Based Productivity Improvement

Productivity Press, 1993


Ohno, Taiichi. - Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production

-  Productivity Press, 1988


Workplace Management

- Productivity Press, 1988


and Setsuo Mito - Just-In-Time for Today and Tomorrow

–  Productivity Press, 1988


Ono, Ken’ichi – Visual Feedback: Making Your5S Implementation Click

- Productivity Press, 1996


Perigord, Michel. - Achieving Total Quality Management: A Program for Action

Productivity Press, 1991


Psarouthakis, John. -  Better Makes Us Best

- Productivity Press, 1989


Puri, Subhash C. – Stepping up to ISO 14000: Integrating
Environmental Quality with ISO 9000 and TQM

– Productivity Press, 1996


ISO 9000 Certification: Total Quality Management

– Productivity Press, 1995


Productivity Press Development Team – Just-In-Time for Operators Learning Package

- Productivity Press, 1998


Robinson, Alan.  - Continuous Improvement in Operations: A Systematic Approach to Waste Reduction

- Productivity Press, 1991


Robinson, Charles J. and Andrew P. Cinder. - Introduction to Implementing TPM:   The North American Experience

Productivity Press, 1995.


Robson, Ross E. - The Quality And Productivity Equation:
American Corporate Strategies For The 1990s

– Productivity Press, 1990


Sakurai, Michiharu – Integrated Cost Management: A
Companywide Prescription for Higher Profits and Lower Costs

- Productivity Press, 1995


Sarita Chawla and John Renesch – Learning Organizations

- Productivity Press, 1995


Scanlan, Phillip M. – The Dolphins Are Back: A Successful Quality Model for Healing the Environment

- Productivity Press, 1995


Sekine, Keniche, Keisuke Arai, and Bruce Talbot. - Kaizen for
Quick Changeover: Going Beyond SMED

- Productivity Press, 1992


One-Piece Flow: Cell Design for Transforming the
Production Process

Productivity Press, 1992


and Keisuke Arai.- TPM for the Lean Factory: Innovative
Methods and Worksheets for Equipment Management

Productivity Press, 1998


Shetty, Y.K and Vernon M. Buehler (eds.). - Competing Through Productivity and Quality

Productivity Press, 1989


Shiba, Shoji, Alan Graham and David Walden – A New American TQM: Four Practical Revolutions in Management

- Productivity Press, 1993


Shingo, Shigeo  - A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED
System

– Productivity Press, 1983


Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka-
yoke System

– Productivity Press, 1986


The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo: Key Strategies for Plant
Improvement

- Productivity Press, 1987


Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka-Yoke System

- Productivity Press, 1986


A Study of the Toyota Production System from an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint

- Productivity Press, 1989


Quick Changeover for Operators

– Created by Productivity Press from Shingo’s SMED System, 1996


Mistake-Proofing for Operators: The ZQC System

- Created by Productivity Press from Shingo’s SMED System, 1996


Shinohara, Isao (ed.) - New Production System: JIT Crossing Industry Boundaries

Productivity Press, 1988


Shirose, Kunio.—.TPM for Workshop Leaders

- Productivity Press, 1992


TPM Team Guide

Productivity Press, 1996


And Yoshifumi Kimura and Mitsugu Kaneda – P-M Analysis:
An Advanced Step in TPM Implementation

- Productivity Press, 1995


and Keisuke Arai Design Team Revolution: How to Cut Lead Times in Half and Double Your Productivity

- Productivity Press, 1999


Steinbacher, Herbert R. and Norman L. Steinbacher – TPM for America: What it is and Why You Need It

- Productivity Press, 1993


Suehiro, Kikuo – Eliminating Minor Stoppages on Automated Lines

– Productivity Press, 1992


Sugiyama, Tomo. - The Improvement Book: Creating the Problem- Free Workplace

Productivity Press, 1989


Suri, Rajan – Quick Response Manufacturing: A Companywide Approach to Reducing Lean Times

- Productivity Press, 1998

Suzue, Toshio and Akira Kohdate. - Variety Reduction Program (VRP): A Production Strategy for Product Diversification

Productivity Press, 1990


Suzuki, Tokutaro (ed.) – TPM in Process Industries

- Productivity Press, 1994


Swartz, James B. – The Hunters and the Hunted: A Non-Linear Solution for Reengineering the Workplace

- Productivity Press, 1994


Tajiri, Masaji and Fumioh Gotoh -  Autonomous Maintenance in Seven Steps: Implementing TPM on the Shop Floor

- Productivity Press, 1997


Tateisi, Kazuma. - The Eternal Venture Spirit: An Executive's
 Practical Philosophy

Productivity Press, 1989


Todorov, Branimir – ISO 9000 Required: Your Worldwide
Passport   to Customer Confidence

- Productivity Press, 1996


Tozawa, Bunji – Kaizen Teian 1: Developing Systems for
Continuous Improvement Through Employee Suggestions

– Productivity Press, 1992


Kaizen Teian 2: Developing Systems for Continuous
Improvement Through Employee Suggestions

– Productivity Press, 1992


The Idea Book: Improvement through TEI (Total Employee Involvement)

– Productivity Press, 1988


The Improvement Engine: Creativity & Innovation
Through Employee Involvement

- Productivity Press, 1995


The Service Industry Idea Book: Employee Involvement in Retail and Office Improvement

– Productivity Press, 1990


Tsuchiya, Seiji – Quality Maintenance: Zero Defects Through
Equipment Management

- Productivity Press, Uchimaru, Kiyoshi, Susumu Okamoto and Bunteru Kurahara


TQP for Technical Groups: Total Quality Principles for
Product Development

- Productivity Press, 1993


Watson, Gregory H. - Benchmarking Workbook: Adopting the Best Practices for Performance Improvement

Productivity Press, 1992


Yasuda, Yuzo. - 40 Years, 20 Million Ideas: The Toyota Suggestion System

- Productivity Press, 1991


 

Offices are at 809 SE 73rd Ave., Vancouver, WA 98664, 360-737-1883, 360-737-1940 fax, bodek@pcspress.com