Ideas about how to get the most out of your Lean tools
These days, we are overloaded with information about Lean -- what it is and what Lean tools do. Despite that, it's difficult to find truly practical information on how to execute Lean Transformation and lead real change. Every company's Lean journey starts under a different situation, so there can be no single prescription. One size does not fit all. But, to sustain improvements and ensure success, there are many factors to consider before launching your Lean journey.
Many people know about Lean but aren't doing anything with that knowledge. They don't know where to begin or see too many obstacles preventing them from making the commitment. Even more discouraging, many companies that do implement Lean don't consider their efforts to be a great success. So, why is it that such a small percentage of firms that know about Lean convert it into a success? The leadership, cultural, organizational and implementation hurdles are much greater than they expected.
Here are some helpful tips for your Lean Journey (in part from lessons learned along the way from those who have been there) to help you on the road ahead:
1. Create Your Own Plan. Use your own solution. Many have tried copying others when it comes to Lean. It doesn't work. Your company is unique and therefore will have some unique problems. You must lay out a plan that makes sense for your business using the tools and solutions that work best for you.
2. Take a Comprehensive Approach. Many companies take an incremental approach to Lean improvement where they start separate, isolated projects one at a time. These limited efforts often yield unremarkable and fleeting benefits. You only attack one aspect of your operations when several areas could be contributing to the same problem. In this case, Lean results are also more difficult to sustain over time. Companies that use the more comprehensive, enterprise-wide Lean Transformation approach truly get more immediate and effective results because they use several Lean tools in concert simultaneously. If planned and implemented properly, results can be exponential and more sustainable over time. This is where you can truly earn substantial payback on your Lean efforts.
3. Lean Takes Time & Resources. Lean should never be a several month commitment. It takes a year or two to build the required momentum, and from there your journey will continue forever. Without taking the time to implement a plan that yields sustainable results, process improvements gained by Lean tools will slowly degrade back to where you began. The most profitable returns are realized through a two-to-five year Lean improvement plan. Also, you cannot lead the Lean Transformation in your spare time. A committed leader or team must take on this challenge. It requires daily attention from leaders who realize the scope of the program and who won't get caught up in daily distractions. Besides the time involved, there is also a financial investment. But the payback will be realized in months rather than years.
4. Lean Is Not Just Tools, It's Attitude. Lean stems from how you think, not what you use to get there. Lean is a set of standards and principles, not just tools. Tools focus on physical process changes, but that is not the core of Lean. The entire way of thinking must become embedded in every employee. You solve one problem or improve a process with a Lean tool today, but if the old mentality continues, it will reproduce the old problems. New beliefs change behaviors, not tools. Sustainable Lean change comes from the attitude of all employees. This also means the leaders of your Lean efforts must know how to transform others' thinking and encourage change, not maintain the status quo.
5. Be Ready for Resistance. When change is coming, employees often feel they are in danger. Some will believe they did something wrong, but most will just be uneasy about what they don't understand. Stress education. You must clearly and constantly communicate why you're doing Lean, what you're doing and how it will be done. Eliminate the fears. Also be sure to dispel the myth that Lean is about cutting staff. In reality it's about working smarter to keep employees and even increase the workforce. Another great way to help reduce resistance is to empower your employees with responsibilities and get them involved in teams to be a part of Lean improvements. If they feel like they are part of the process, they won't feel as helpless or afraid.
6. Listen To Your Employees. While there will be resistance, there will be excitement about the changes as well. Some of the best ideas for improvement come from the workers on the frontline. They will see how Lean affects the company on the production line or at their desk. With a different view than management, they often have new insights on how to make the improvements better or help the effort along. Hear them out. Encourage their input and allow them to contribute. This will help drive the Lean changes even further.
7. Look Beyond Your Shop Floor and Factory Walls. Office functions eat up 70% to 95% of the time that goes into making a product. If quoting or order entry takes three weeks while the plant floor gets product out in a couple of days, then you aren't really making progress. You should improve every part of the business from the shipping dock to the sales office. In addition to applying Lean to the office, it pays to also look at your suppliers. Especially after practicing Lean for a year or two, companies start to notice that suppliers may limit further improvements. They start to examine their supply chain as a whole and ask their suppliers to join them on their Lean journey. You need suppliers to get up to your speed to progress further. Like a real chain, your supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link (i.e. supplier).
8. Lean is Forever. Many companies reach a certain point and believe they have become Lean. They think that they're done. But Lean is a continuous improvement process. You should always strive to be Lean, but you will never get there, because there is always a gap between your current and ideal state. If you believe that your journey is done, you've failed. Look at one of the pioneers in Lean,Toyota. They're not sitting on their laurels. No matter how much better Toyota becomes than their competition, they continue to discover more and more opportunities to improve each and every year.
Companies just starting with Lean and companies looking to improve their existing Lean approaches can benefit from a personalized consultation with an IMEC specialist. Contact one of us today and we will get started customizing a solution to your company’s needs.
