
Senior Fellow at Lean Enterprise Institute
Greater Boston Area

Senior Fellow at Lean Enterprise Institute
Greater Boston Area
Experienced consultant and leader, with a background in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, with an MBA from MIT Sloan Leaders for Manufacturing Program. I have worked in the auto industry (GM, as an employee, and Johnson Controls, as a consultant), the PC industry (Dell Computer, as an employee), and industrial products (Honeywell, as an employee).
Since August 2005, I have worked in the "lean healthcare" world, where I coach lean teams at client sites, including medical laboratories and hospitals. My mission is to apply Lean and Toyota Production System principles to help build strong organizations, to improve quality of care and patient safety, to improve the customer/patient experience, and to help the development of employees.
Often misspelled as "Mark Graben" or "Mark Grayban" or (putting this in here for the sake of search results).
Lean Manufacturing, Toyota Production System, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Materials Management, Inventory Optimization, Business Process Improvement, Change Management, Lean Healthcare, Kanban, Kaizen, Kaizen Events, Medical Laboratories, Hospital Laboratories, Patient Flow, Lean Production, Lean Enterprise
(Non-Profit; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)
June 2009 — Present (6 months)
Promotion and education for "Lean Healthcare" methods, participate in "Healthcare Value Leaders Network" partnership with the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value.
(Publishing industry)
July 2007 — Present (2 years 5 months)
Wrote a book titled, "Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction." Currently available from Productivity Press and other booksellers.
Lean Hospitals is one of six 2009 Shingo Prize winners for research.
http://www.leanhospitalsbook.com
Also published articles in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers "Lean Yearbook 2007" and "Lean Yearbook 2008," Lab Medicine, Society for Health Systems Newsletter, and the Training Within Industry Newsletter.
(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; E-Learning industry)
January 2005 — Present (4 years 11 months)
Founder of the LeanBlog, found at www.leanblog.org, and the LeanBlog Podcast. (www.leanpodcast.org) The LeanBlog is a site dedicated to news, commentary, and discussion about lean manufacturing, the Toyota Production System, lean enterprise, and lean healthcare. The Blog is run as a hobby, a learning experience, and as a contribution to the lean community.
Also contribute to blogs for Manufacturing Business Technology and the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
(Public Company; JNJ; Medical Devices industry)
August 2005 — May 2009 (3 years 10 months)
Provide assessments, consulting, and coaching in lean and Toyota Production System principles for healthcare clients. Also active in outward-facing marketing and lean networking activities, as well as presenting at executive workshops.
Have applied and taught lean principles in settings including: hospital clinical laboratories, anatomic pathology, pharmacy, operating room support services, radiology, inpatient nursing, and a hospital cancer treatment center. Lean methods used include: flow/cycle time improvement, value stream mapping, 5S, kanban, standard work, visual management, error proofing, suggestion and kaizen systems, and lean problem solving methods. Work with front line employees through hospital CEO level.
Completed successful lean implementation project with a hospital laboratory, reducing lab testing turnaround time / cycle time by 35% without increasing headcount, allowing for 30% capacity increase without adding headcount. Reduced outpatient MRI waiting time by 80% through bottleneck reduction and scheduling system improvements. Other laboratory project lead to 80% turnaround time reduction and $500,000 first year labor savings (through attrition).
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; hon; Machinery industry)
June 2004 — August 2005 (1 year 3 months)
Provide internal consulting support to manufacturing and supply chain organizations for lean manufacturing. Coaching production teams and management on topics such as: 5S, standard work, kanban, problem solving, flow layout improvements, material supermarkets -- driving improvements in safety, cycle time, productivity, and quality.
I put the job title in quotes because, while it was my formal title, it is a misnomer to call yourself an "expert" in lean manufacturing. It is a presumptuous title. I preferred to call myself "lean coach," but "lean expert" was on my business card, unfortunately.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)
November 2000 — June 2004 (3 years 8 months)
Implementation of software to support lean manufacturing activities for Tier-1 auto suppliers (heijunka, kanban, supermarkets, takt time and labor planning). Served as lean expert for project team and for internal development efforts. Participated in sales engagements and assessments. Contributed to product management and marketing initiatives. Firm acquired by SAP in December 2006.
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; dell; Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing industry)
June 1999 — November 2000 (1 year 6 months)
Implemented innovative production scheduling and material planning tools to support "pull to order" materials for Dell factories. Participating in process design and planning for new factory rampup. Awarded one U.S. Patent for work with materials planning and schedule algorithms and processes.
(Educational Institution; 11-50 employees; Logistics and Supply Chain industry)
June 1997 — June 1999 (2 years 1 month)
Completed dual masters degree program and six-month operations internship with Kodak's Microprocessor Technology Division. Thesis was tiled "An Inventory Planning Methodology for a Semiconductor Manufacturer with Significant Sources of Variability."
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; gm; Automotive industry)
June 1995 — June 1997 (2 years 1 month)
Industrial Engineer supporting multiple engine component machining lines. Implemented lean and GM "Competitive Manufacturing" methods in production areas. Led ergonomic improvement projects.
MSME, MBA , Mechanical Engineering, Business , 1997 — 1999
MBA , Operations Management , 1997 — 1999
BSIE , Industrial Engineering , 1991 — 1995
HS , 1987 — 1991
APICS, American College of Healthcare Executives, Northwestern University Alumni, MIT Alumni, Participated in Phoenix FastTrac entrepreneurship/new ventures class 2005, Association for Manufacturing Excellence, Society of Manufacturing Engineers
CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management), APICS
PRINCE2 Project Management Certification
U.S. Patent Holder
Shingo Prize Winner, 2009 for "Lean Hospitals"