Getting results from a lean manufacturing effort is exciting.
At the beginning of a lean journey, when a lean consultant implements standardized work and introduces other basic technical tools, clients are often eager to expand the effort as quickly as possible. The results of lean are impressive and the need to improve in other areas that appear to have “quick fixes” lures clients into thinking they should scale the effort to multiple areas simultaneously.
But this is a trap you have to avoid falling into.
What’s the problem with this eagerness to scale? The client is viewing lean manufacturing as a tool for firefighting rather than a complete way of doing business- one that takes time to learn, develop, and implement. To achieve a successful lean implementation, there are 3 foundational things that companies need to commit to.
3 things you have to commit to for a successful lean implementation
1. Choose an area of focus that will have a significant impact on the business results (for example, the largest product line)
In my first attempt at implementing lean manufacturing, we started small, thinking we would learn more quickly at a lower risk than if we tried the implementation on a larger scale. That changed when TSSC started working with us. They set the focus on our largest product line, responsible for half of our sales. We needed to make a major impact on the business by focusing on the area of greatest potential. The key takeaway from my first experience implementing lean was don’t start small. Choose the area that will make the largest possible impact on the business.
The focus of lean manufacturing remained on that product line for many years. Of course, improvement activities focused on that single product line impacted virtually the entire operation over time. Smaller product lines benefited from improvements in upstream process that fed into the major product line and most, if not all, of the smaller product lines. However, the focus, commitment, and resources remained on transforming that single product line and its value stream for many years.
The benefits of focus are major improvements in cost, quality, and delivery. Perhaps more important was the development of a deep understanding of lean manufacturing by many people in the organization, which allowed the successful spread of lean manufacturing through the entire corporation and outside suppliers. After 3 years of focused effort with significant internal resources, net profit after tax increased from 7% to 14%, inventory turns increased from 14 to 30, and order to ship leadtime dropped from 10 to 3 days. These results were accomplished with the focus on a single value stream, not by attempting to implement everywhere at the same time. The return on investment on an annual basis was 15 times the cost of implementation. As you can see, successful lean is about playing the long game. You won’t get the same results with a rushed, shortsighted mindset.
2. Commit to remain focused on that single area. Don’t use lean manufacturing for firefighting or attempt to spread to the rest of the organization right away.
Lean manufacturing implementation requires that a company remains focused long enough to build a sustained lean environment. Building deep knowledge, technical tools, techniques, and philosophies requires learning through implementation of each element in its appropriate sequence. More harm than good is done with haphazard, chaotic, out of sequence attempts at implementing lean manufacturing.
The general outcome of an unfocused approach is a failed attempt, leaving the company with the impression that “lean doesn’t work here.” Success requires commitment to a single area of focus until it becomes the example for the rest of the organization.
3. Allocate adequate internal resources to the lean transformation.
The people on your team that are part of the transformation should be full time positions filled by the best people you have. The number of people required depends on the size of the area, amount of work required, and the timeframe for creating a learning example for the rest of the organization. These people must be willing and able to learn and change many things within the company.
Lean manufacturing also requires significant commitment and allocation of resources from top management. The people responsible for lean implementation should be high performers selected from inside the organization. In the example I gave above, these were people that knew the company, its people, and products. They knew how to get things done within the organization, but were open to learning a new way. Expertise of lean came from experts outside the organization, and the team members came from manufacturing and engineering. Later team members came from other areas of the company, including production team members. This core team of change agents remained in place for years- they were not recruited for other responsibilities until they had deep knowledge of lean and were ready to move into leading roles within the corporation.
Too often in my consulting practice, the lean team is made up of people who are ‘available,’ or it becomes just part of a person’s already full time job. The worst thing you can do as a company leader working with a lean consultant is assign 1-2 people to the implementation who spend almost no time working on implementing the system, or do it as a side project/afterthought. This is the ultimate recipe for failure.
Are you looking for a lean manufacturing consultant? LJ OKeefe Inc is a premiere lean manufacturing consulting firm with over 30 years of experience based in Atlanta, Georgia. Contact us today to discuss your challenges and learn how we can help you stop wasting so much time and money. Or, check out our client's real results, our approach and services, and other helpful lean manufacturing blogs.
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