Episode 5: Lean Culture and the Power of Curiosity with Shawn Washburn
In this episode of Quality Time With MoreSteam, Shawn Washburn—a manufacturing engineer and podcaster with over 25 years of experience—shares his journey in Lean culture and continuous improvement. Shawn and Dan explore key concepts like eliminating waste, Poka-Yoke, and building processes that truly work. They also discuss how curiosity and creativity play a critical role in problem-solving, both at work and beyond. Packed with practical advice and insightful stories, this episode is perfect for anyone looking to create more efficient systems and ask better questions.
In this episode you'll hear about:
2:31 - Shawn's podcast
4:51 - What a mechanical engineer does
6:14 - Shawn's introduction to Lean
8:10 - Using Lean principles at work
9:44 - Poka-Yoke
12:21 - Improving a current process
15:55 - The importance of relationships in Lean
17:16 - Having the entire organization on board
19:28 - Creating a new process
22:08 - Miscommunication as a source of waste
24:54 - Using Lean priciples outside of work
26:54 - Creativity in engineering and Lean
33:05 - Becoming more curious
Additional Resources
Engineering Your Business Podcast
Subscribe to MoreSteam's Newsletter
Harnessing Process Modeling for Lean Transformations
Process Modeling Fuels Operational Excellence in High-Stakes Industry
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Host • MoreSteam
Dan Swartwout is the host of Quality Time with MoreSteam. A lifelong Central Ohio resident, Dan is a double Buckeye. He earned both a BA and a law degree from The Ohio State University. Before joining MoreSteam, Dan had a long career as a host, comedian, and master of ceremonies. For 17 years, Dan was the studio audience host for the Ohio Lottery game show Cash Explosion. Dan was also the host of CBuzz, which was a collaboration between the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, WWCD 92.9, and the Columbus Dispatch. On CBuzz, Dan interviewed some of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Central Ohio. From 2002-2020, Dan toured the country as a standup comedian. Tracks from his comedy CD have been played over 5,000 times on Sirius/XM satellite radio. Now, Dan brings his experience and enthusiasm to Quality Time with MoreSteam -- it's business and fun, together.
Shawn Washburn is a manufacturing engineer with over 25 years experience in manufacturing, from product to design to manufacturing improvements. Shawn is well versed in Lean Manufacturing concepts and looking for ways to eliminate waste in all of its forms.
