LEAN

Why Some Organizations Succeed With Lean
and Others Do Not

What is Lean
Manufacturing

 

Anything that fails over 90% normally gets kicked to the curb.  For some reason organizations around the world keep trying to implement Lean (TPS) despite that failure rate.

So why does Lean seem to revitalize some organizations and stultify others?

TPS is an attitude, a philosophy, an ingrained way to behave and think. Success with Lean requires weaving that belief system into the fabric of your company. It is commitment to employee development, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction founded in planned, controlled, and measured change. A company that fails to implement that fails to implement Lean.

Companies that live that thinking experience phenomenal results.  Organizations wishing for similar success without similar commitment succumb to the siren call, and fail.

TPS is NOT:

  • a euphemism for pushing inventory and costs back on suppliers
  • a set of tools to copy/paste
  • a silver bullet
  • something to try for a while
  • industrial engineering
  • common sense

Lean is but one road to operational excellence. No road in that direction is undisciplined, relies on executive omniscience, and believes current conditions will meet future needs.

If you are interested in discussing improving your competitive position, email me. I’m interested to discuss your goals.