ABOUT LEAN
Lean is a term that refers to a continuous process of evaluating your organization's activities to find time and effort spent in non-value creating work (waste), specifically modeled after the concepts and practices of the Toyota Motor Company. Although the principles of the "Toyota Production System" were developed on the manufacturing floor, they can be used successfully in service industries (health care, financial services, government, etc) and in office and administrative functions (engineering, budgeting and planning, human resources, etc) to improve performance for any organization.
An organization's successful Lean transformation is not a one-time event, but requires a long-term commitment to the culture of Lean thinking. Lean thinking is an integrated approach by people working together in designing, doing and improving work processes to produce and deliver goods, services and information. The improved competitiveness of the organization means that new opportunities, previous not envisioned, will appear. Resources freed up in one part of the organization will be used in other parts to create value.
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To be LEAN
you must
practice LEAN
every day!
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Create Value |
 | Learn from history |
| | Growth through trust |
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Challenge your process |
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From thinking to tools |
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Work smarter |
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Challenge yourself |
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Seeing the whole |
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Go now! |
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The Lean Overview
The fundamental objective of Lean thinking is to create the most value while consuming the fewest resources. This is done by defining value from the customer's perspective, and distinguishing process steps that create value from those that do not. Lean goals are to:
• Reduce lead time & process time, and improve quality by eliminating waste
• Utilize employee potential
• Strive for best practice with standard work and built-in-quality
• Flow and level the process (Value Stream Perspective)
• Continuously improve (Kaizen)
The principles and the opportunities for a Lean transformation are applicable regardless of industry or type of activity. It is all about "learning to see" and elimination of all various types of waste that is built into an organization's systems, and to look at what is value creation for the organization.
Employee involvement is key to a successful Lean transformation
Lean must be a join effort by an organization's leadership and its employees. Employee commitment and motivation are core in Lean thinking. The key for a successful Lean transformation is to start a process whereby the knowledge and ideas of all employees are fully utilized, and driven by a Lean philosophy. Positive results will be achieved immediately.
Lean thinking has the added benefit of enabling employees to see themselves as valued members of a work team. Teamwork is important for the development of the workplace and competence of each team member. Value stream mapping is a Lean tool whose successful implementation is dependent on the employees who are doing the work. It is through the work teams where commitment and motivation are created for the implementation and understanding for improvements that result from the Lean transformation process.
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