Gwendolyn Galsworth

Coach, author, and speaker

Visual Thinking / Visual-Lean® Institute

Gwendolyn Galsworth, Ph.D., has been implementing visuality for more than 30 years. She’s focused on codifying the visual workplace concepts, principles, and technologies into a single, coherent sustainable framework of knowledge. Galsworth founded Visual Thinking Inc. in 1991, and in 2005 she launched The Visual-Lean Institute where in-house trainers and external consultants are trained and certified in the Institute’s nine core visual workplace methods. Two of the seven books Galsworth has written received the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award.

Sun, 02/01/2009 - 12:55
Root Your 5S Audit in 5S PrinciplesCreate a workforce of thinkers, not just doers
Wed, 03/18/2020 - 12:03
In a recent article I discussed the traditional 5S audit, shared a set of reservations, and offered some remedies—“The Five Tweaks,” as I called them. Remedies are important because most of you have a vested interest in continuing regular audits but…
5S Audit RenovationYou can do it, and we can help
Mon, 03/09/2020 - 13:02
Let’s talk about the 5S audit, a mechanism many companies use as their major means to stimulate employee creativity and trigger continuous improvement.  There are three fundamentals of the 5S audit.  First: It is an audit and therefore has limited…
Visual Standards: Seven PointsOnly fear or caring can command the human will to comply
Thu, 02/06/2020 - 12:03
Two of my articles (the first regarding standards, standardization, and standard work; and the second on visual standards) drew a lot of response. Readers were kind enough to share their thoughts and definitions. Some offered new terms to include in…
Empower the Value-Add Level Through Workplace VisualityCultivate the power inside the individual, then balance it. How? By sharing.
Wed, 12/18/2019 - 12:03
Some mistakes managers make at the start of a visual conversion are serious and hard to repair. For example, when managers decide to commandeer the task of implementing the visual where—or simply order it into existence. Either way, this is the…
The Start of the Journey Is the DestinationHere we begin a three-part series that deals with three important outcomes
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 12:01
More often than not, an effective implementation of operator-led visuality produces a 15- to 30-percent increase in productivity on the cell or departmental level, beginning with the implementation of the “visual where” (or, as our trainers like to…
Motion and Your Value FieldAny time you leave your value field, you are automatically in motion and not adding value
Wed, 07/10/2019 - 12:03
We have been examining motion and moving without working, the footprint of the invisible enemy: missing information. Added up, motion—in all its thousand and perverse forms—can steal 10 percent to 30 percent of our usable workday. Its impact is huge…
Churchill’s 39 DesksBuilding the structure that frees
Wed, 04/03/2019 - 12:02
For me, the operational essence of the leader dilemma is this: How do I say “yes” to the few and “wait” to the many? How do I decide? The so-called “natural-born leader” is a mysterious (to some, controversial) concept: an individual for whom…
Five Things You Don’t Know About VisualityLike two wings of a bird, visual and lean need each other—in equal and balanced synergy
Wed, 02/20/2019 - 12:01
Most people have a notion about the visual workplace that is much too small for themselves and their companies. They think of it as a series of point solutions that are helpful, even clever. Yet they should expect more—because they need more. In…
The Elephant on the Factory Floor It’s the pet of the local team, and it’s called the past
Tue, 10/16/2018 - 12:03
Have you heard this? “Just because this department is a bit dingy—and it’s sometimes harder than heck to get the scoop on things—doesn’t mean it’s a bad place. Good work happens here. In fact, we’ve been doing darn good work in this area long before…
Translating Information Into BehaviorVisual devices become translation points between information and desired outcome
Mon, 07/23/2018 - 12:03
The world of work shares a single basic transaction, used millions of times a day: translating vital information into human behavior. But operationalizing this formula is not that simple. Workplace information can change quickly and often—schedules…