Bruce Hamilton

President, vice chair, teacher, change agent

Bruce Hamilton, president of the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership (GBMP), brings hands-on experience as a manager, teacher, and change agent. Prior to GBMP, Hamilton led efforts to transform United Electric Controls Co.’s production from a traditional batch factory to a single-piece-flow environment that has become an international showcase. Hamilton has spoken internationally on lean manufacturing, employee involvement, continuous improvement, and implementing change. Also, he has contributed to numerous texts ranging from visual control to variety reduction. Hamilton’s blog, Old Lean Dude, is an ongoing reflection on lean philosophy and practices, with an emphasis on keeping good jobs close to home.

Mon, 11/14/2016 - 12:13
Reflecting on WasteA corollary to the worst and most dangerous wastes
Mon, 06/05/2017 - 12:02
For me, Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo are a bit like the Lennon and McCartney of waste elimination. Together they frame the technical and social sciences of what we call lean today. Taiichi Ohno tells us there are seven wastes that account for 95…
BabelContinuous improvement needs a systems language to clarify key concepts
Mon, 04/10/2017 - 12:03
I grew up in a small manufacturing company where nine different languages were spoken. English was the language of managers, office workers, and some of our production employees. Additionally, these languages were spoken in our factory: Armenian,…
CartwheelsWe may think the wheel has increased our ability to work, but it really has increased the waste we create
Tue, 02/28/2017 - 12:02
Most often when we think of a wheel, it’s in the context of transportation, one of the more obvious and ever-present of the 7 wastes in lean. In fact, the first likely use of a wheel and axle was not for transport but for processing—actual work.…
Kaizen RevisitedOnly tacit learning can teach managers the real power of kaizen
Thu, 02/02/2017 - 12:02
Here is an article I wrote 10 years ago, recently resurrected from the lost letter file. I can’t remember why I wrote it or for whom. Originally titled, “What is Kaizen?” the article still resonates with me as I hope it will with you. My study of…
Caramel Corn Kaizen Visual flow on New Jersey’s boardwalk
Mon, 12/19/2016 - 12:59
While holiday shopping at one of my favorite food places, Johnson’s Popcorn, I came upon a scene reminiscent of our lean training video, Toast Kaizen. After I placed my order for 18 one-gallon buckets of caramel corn for friends and family, the…
DoormatsIn defense of engineers
Tue, 11/08/2016 - 15:15
One of Shigeo Shingo’s popular status quo targets was engineers, whom he placed in three categories: table engineers, those who just sit around a table and talk about problems; catalog engineers, those who think the solution to every problem can be…
First Summer JobFour lifelong lessons in three short months
Mon, 10/17/2016 - 17:07
I was lucky that the first boss I ever had (at age 13) had much to teach at a point when I had much to learn. Chris M. was a brilliant but illiterate Italian immigrant and fisherman who had built a landmark restaurant and marina on the bay in Ocean…
Peripheral Discoveries‘The best place to look for improvement is in an area where it is thought not to exist’
Wed, 09/21/2016 - 14:15
The following is inspired by The Teachings of Don Juan (Washington Square Press, reprint 1985), an anthropological novel from the 1960s written by Carlos Castaneda, chronicling his travels with Don Juan, a Yaqui shaman. To crudely paraphrase,…
Space JunkAre your workplace fixtures junk, or do they facilitate flow?
Mon, 09/12/2016 - 14:40
Last weekend in the Nantucket Ferry terminal, I passed a defunct phone booth: an ornate wooden kiosk used 20 years ago to frame a pay phone, provide a modicum of privacy, and hold a phone book. It appeared that this particular phone booth had been…
Consult With HumilityLean guru? Let’s get real.
Wed, 08/17/2016 - 14:34
A friend and colleague remarked to me that “the lean market has become mature,” implying a depth and breadth of lean understanding in industry that I have rarely seen myself. Standardized work, for example, almost always looks like time setting to…