Lean Implementation 

Lean Office, Lean Government, Lean Finance, Lean Project Management, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Food Processing, Lean Post, Lean Logistics.

Lean Thinking

Essentially, Lean brings together an operating environment that has integrated within it:

• A preventative approach to any interruptions to workflow, poor quality, issues relating to OH&S, environmental concerns and compliance issues 
• Continuous improvement by the elimination of waste and standardised work
• Ideas and initiatives being explored and implemented through engaged Employee kaizen activities

   

The five key principles are: 

• Specify in your particular process, value stream or supply chain what does and does not add value from a customer’s needs viewpoint, and it must be in relative micro detail. The more detail the less risk when changing and improving. 
• Identify in an activity map detail all of the steps required in the process, including processing the order, design, scheduling, manufacture, etc required along the way until delivery or even payment
• Design your process steps that do add value so that there is no waste in the form if bottlenecks, constraints, detours, waiting etc so they flow without impedance
• Only make to demand. Only produce when a product or service is pulled through your process or value stream. Only process what is needed, when it is needed, in the exact quantity needed and delivered to exactly where it is needed
• Strive for perfection, as there is no end state to improvement. We can always improve further. Continually remove waste layer by layer

   

Lean Implementation

Generally the common mind model that Lean Thinking provides to executives, middle management and employees in general is an extremely powerful tool, and should be considered the first step in gaining a common understanding, vision and language. By engaging your senior management team in Lean Thinking Practices and Principles awareness workshop over 2 days, will equip them with enough information to create a lean strategy and preferred approach for the business. The next step is to assign or appoint a senior manager or managers the responsibility for the launch and implementation of the Lean strategy.

Engage application training and support resource, preferably ours, and begin training from management cascading down increasing in detail. The training of lean tools and techniques is applied just in time to strategic improvement projects, with each training activity building on relevant or the required skills needed to be applied. The various champions within the organisation will emerge during this stage, and they become the individual project leaders and eventually the trainers.

This is the most effective and only sustainable approach to having a lean enterprise. - Contact us for a quote and support.

The eight general requirements for Lean

These are not meant to be separate implementation projects, they are meant to be integral or applied holistically in each improvement initiative.

Beware though, we need to have stability and a good firm foundation in the current state of work practices and processes before moving toward a future state. Control and stability is required in quality, OH&S, standardised work, housekeeping, inventory, scheduling etc first, this in itself may provide significant benefits to the organisation.  

 Need help with your improvement program, then contact us.