Lean thinking can be applied to both products and services. It is often discussed but we believe, seldom fully understood. So what is it?
Lean is part of a suite of methods which are incorporated in Value Management approaches to business improvement. The main focus of lean is operational improvement and it is particularly useful for volume operations and it really does provide a powerful focus for operational issues. However “lean” is not appropriate in all situations and its methods are generally less useful for bespoke products and services, low volume/high variety products/services and prestige or esteem services.
At its heart “Lean” is a simple philosophy designed to help organisations identify the activities that are preventing them from being effective and eliminate them using a systematic approach and a range of improvement tools.
As a concept, lean is very easily understood, which is both a blessing and a curse because whilst it is good that people can quickly understand the benefits it can take a long time to learn how to apply the tools and techniques properly, which is why so many lean programmes fail to deliver the improvements people hope that they would or fail to embed themselves in the organisation. In addition, most people who do lean only ever learn one or two tools ( usually 5s and Process Mapping) and because of this limited exposure to lean believe that this is the extent of it.
In reality, Lean is a very deep concept that can be applied strategically, to set the direction or tone of the whole organsisation, or tactically to repair a single problem or set of problems within the organisation.
Give us a call and we will explain lean techniques and how they fit within the overall value management framework and how they can benefit your organisation, no matter what industry you are working in.
"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."— Paul Dickson
Lean is part of a suite of methods which are incorporated in Value Management approaches to business improvement. The main focus of lean is operational improvement and it is particularly useful for volume operations and it really does provide a powerful focus for operational issues. However “lean” is not appropriate in all situations and its methods are generally less useful for bespoke products and services, low volume/high variety products/services and prestige or esteem services.
At its heart “Lean” is a simple philosophy designed to help organisations identify the activities that are preventing them from being effective and eliminate them using a systematic approach and a range of improvement tools.
As a concept, lean is very easily understood, which is both a blessing and a curse because whilst it is good that people can quickly understand the benefits it can take a long time to learn how to apply the tools and techniques properly, which is why so many lean programmes fail to deliver the improvements people hope that they would or fail to embed themselves in the organisation. In addition, most people who do lean only ever learn one or two tools ( usually 5s and Process Mapping) and because of this limited exposure to lean believe that this is the extent of it.
In reality, Lean is a very deep concept that can be applied strategically, to set the direction or tone of the whole organsisation, or tactically to repair a single problem or set of problems within the organisation.
Give us a call and we will explain lean techniques and how they fit within the overall value management framework and how they can benefit your organisation, no matter what industry you are working in.
"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."— Paul Dickson
