Our Mission:
To build a better tomorrow.
Our Values:
Simplicity – We believe simplicity is not only an evidence of deep understanding, but it’s often what makes good changes stick!
Kindness – We believe that kindness provokes us to think differently about ourselves, our work, and even life itself, and is non-negotiable for building a “respect for people” culture.
Growth – We believe that continuous learning is not only important for living a joy-filled life, but it is the energy behind a thriving continuous improvement culture.
Our Work:
We create, distribute, train, coach, and implement lean manufacturing best practices.
About Daniel
My journey with lean started in 2012 when my CEO made me the lean trainer at his organization—a 300 person medical device manufacturer.
That’s when I discovered that training that isn’t simple and fun is less effective!
I continued learning lean over the years that followed… as an engineer, general manager, entrepreneur, trainer, and consultant.
In 2017 I started Lean Smarts to explain complicated things in fun and simple ways. For example, I started with a free lean mini-course that included a video that has since gone “viral” on YouTube: the lean paper airplane simulation.
At present, after a two-year stint building and eventually selling a thriving donuts and fried chicken restaurant with my wife, I am settled in Kansas City, MO where my wife and I aspire to live a more “normal” life with our four young kids!
Timeline of Events
“Learn lean, train everyone!”
My CEO tasked me with building a lean training platform for his 315 person medical device manufacturing company.
Founded Lean Smarts
I started the blog while continuing in industry as a manufacturing engineer.
Published “Home Edition” Videos
This is timeline description. Please click here to change this description.
Documented 2 Second Lean at Xylem Design
I spent a day with Greg Glebe at Xylem Design in Colorado, documenting the workings of their lean culture.
Automotive Industry Experience
I worked as an Industrial Engineer and World Class Manufacturing Lead at a 1,000+ person tier two supplier.
Created “The Fundamentals of Lean” Course
After a disappointing experience with other poor-quality online materials, I chose to do something better.
Created the “Kaizen Trinity” Courses
For the first time, Lean Smarts made multiple comprehensive bite-sized video series on kaizen topics: 5S, the 7 wastes, standardization, and kaizen best practices.
Lean Consulting
As COVID-19 shut down factories everywhere, a Lean Smarts fan asked me to coach lean practices for his organization.
Started the
“Lean Donut Shop”
My wife started a booming gluten free donut business. I managed and grew our operations.
Rejoined Industry
We sold the donut business to prioritize our young kids and I rejoined industry in engineering and management.
Joined TrippNT
I came on as Director of Engineering at a prominent 2 Second Lean company named TrippNT in Kansas City, MO.
Content Updates Underway!
All Lean Smarts Academy materials are being updated with the best-of-the-best learnings I’ve collected over the years. Stay tuned!