LEAN SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT IS BECOMING THE STANDARD FOR SYSTEMATIC PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT AND CHANGE ACROSS ORGANISATIONS WORLDWIDE.

With its roots in the Toyota Management System, Lean systems thinking is used to eliminate inefficiencies in a process, so every step in the process of producing goods or services is examined to optimise the flow, reduce waste and, ultimately, add value to the customer. 

Organisations using Lean systems techniques can identify and remove any non-value-adding activity adopting tools such as the PCDA model (Plan, Check, Do, Act repeat) and this activity is then repeated regularly (Continuous Improvement or ‘Kaizen’ event) to sustain and improve over key processes over time.

Reducing wasteful activities reduces business production costs. Lean approaches can result in less time, energy, rejects, errors, effort, space, storage and capital. It can reduce lead time to the customer, make supply chains more efficient, help increase quality and, ultimately, reduce the cost of quality and of not getting the product right first time. 

Large industries with complex supply chains typically use Lean disciplines because the cost of failing On Time In Full(OTIF) and Just in Time (JIT) commitments is huge. Any improvements, even minor, can make a significant difference to the bottom line and profitability.

A Lean systematic approach looks at the whole product journey from sales to delivery and provides a range of tools to help optimise business excellence across departments and create continuous improvement. Embedding a Lean system will allow organisations to define a work-based project to analyse, measure, improve and control the interconnectedness and efficiency of their processes. A Lean systems approach will assess the impact on the product/service/experience journey and customer value. It considers goods-in (supply chain and stock control), production flow, planning, engineering and maintenance, sales, delivery (logistics).

In essence, Lean systems offer a wide set of improvement tools and techniques (5S, Value Stream Mapping, Visual Management Systems, 7W, Problem Solving, Kaizen, TPM, etc.) that are applied to different areas and problems in the workplace.

A typical Lean implementation programme involves:

• Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to define the end-to-end process for improvement.

• The next step is workplace organisation of the area for improvement. This might involve 5S (sorting, shining (cleaning up), straightening to improve flow, standardisation of the process and sustaining the new state).

• Thereafter other systems (eg Visual Management and Problem Solving Boards, Production Boards, CI Work stations, etc) can be introduced.

A weakness in a typical Lean implementation approach can be a fixation on ‘quick wins’ or just learning and applying the tools of Lean (such as just 5S or root cause analysis) instead of focussing on optimising the whole production system.

This systems-thinking approach to Lean implementation considers the whole-organisation and its interconnected constituent processes. Lean systems management is about creating a business strategy that not only sets goals for quality, health & safety, and resourcing, but also for Lean project improvements and innovation. It will help underpin the Lean journey by creating a ‘state of readiness’ and an alignment to the overall direction of the company (from each department) in the achievement of its goals.

Creating a Lean strategy reinforces Lean change initiatives and innovation and helps Department Leads utilising Lean tools and systems to create momentum and by-in when developing people, measuring progress and celebrating success.

To achieve and sustain systematic productivity improvement over time, organisations should consider creating a line-of-sight from the overall strategic goals to the shop floor (Hoshin Kanri) and create a culture that empowers staff at all levels to make innovative changes with Lean tools to improve productivity, reduce wasteful actions  (Muda) and contribute to innovation and growth.  This Lean systems management approach is empowering for operations teams (who often compete on project success) and can help take organisations from best in class to world class.

Honda of the UK Manufacturing group had multiple Lean project teams who competed within the company both locally and internationally. Everyone had been taught Lean continuous improvement skills at work but, on having their Lean projects recognised, became highly motivated and competitive.