Normally when you first hear the word Lean it brings up an image. You probably think of thin people or meat with not fat attached. Perhaps something fast, sleek and agile, maybe the phrase Lean and mean comes to mind?
Lean means different things to different people but what does Lean mean when applied to a business.
Well there are lots of descriptions but some of the most commonly accepted Lean descriptions of companies are they:
• Produce products with fewer defects
• Need less effort to design, make and service their products
• Use fewer suppliers
• Key processes performed in less time and with less effort
• Need less stock ( inventory ,WIP etc)
• Have fewer accidents
Basically it is a firm that consumes less of everything and accomplishes more with less.
Lean companies use less material, less time, less energy, less space. They are driven by customer demand and use the most effective and economical way to develop and deliver their products or services.
Lean is not new, some of the tools and techniques have been around for many years. However, round about the 1980’s the phrase was coined and it has grown to represent a particular set of ideas and methods, which when combined are referred to as Lean.
• Continuing and unrelenting focus on providing customer value.
• Maintaining continuous, incremental improvement.
• Taking the long term view
• Matching customer demand and providing everything that is needed at the right time.
• Using proven tools and techniques to reduce variation and attempting to completely eliminate waste.
It is this focus on eliminating waste that is at the very heart of Lean Thinking
Capacity= Work + Waste
Eliminate the waste and you will increase your capacity and with less cost.
Lean methodologies have been applied and adapted across just about every type of industry. Banking, construction, healthcare, government, manufacturing, engineering, design, back office administration and lots more besides. It is not just for the more “industrial” sectors, it can and has been, applied across a diverse range of services. There are lean implementation projects/programmes for supply chain, administration, management, product development, manufacturing and many more.
Lean has resulted in significant improvements to products and services across the globe. It brings them more quickly, more cheaply and more reliably.
Lean focuses on eliminating waste at every level and every element of an organisation. It does not matter whether you are one person working in a box room or a multi-national employing thousands, Lean will provide significant improvements to your business.
Lean shows you how to use less time, space, energy, effort, material or anything else you use to deliver your product/service to your customers/clients.
But Lean is about much more than a set of tools and techniques and eliminating waste. Lean has to become a way of organisational life, a way of thinking, a philosophy. You do not just “Do Lean” and forget about it. It is an ongoing commitment to continual incremental improvement based on a belief that processes can always be improved.
When Lean fails it is because organisations do not fully understand the commitment required and that it is an ongoing journey to a destination that you will never reach. That is not to say that Lean is a tortuous, frustrating process, it is not. It is exciting, empowering, a breath of fresh air but a firm must be committed.
Individuals, teams, departments and whole organisations learn every day. With Lean, the lessons are learnt, the knowledge is embedded and the cycle is repeated. All the time organisational knowledge grows and improvements are made and capitalised upon.
www.executivecompass.co.uk
The phrase “waste not, want not” is incredibly accurate when applied to organisations. Even in the best run companies, waste is everywhere.
Some Lean practitioners use the analogy of putting on their waste goggles, when they do this, they say they see waste everywhere!
• Use of more raw materials than needed
• Rework-making mistakes
• Using more space than you should
• Excess inventory
• Taking too long to develop and produce your services
• Using more equipment than necessary
• Using too many people.
Lean means different things to different people but what does Lean mean when applied to a business.
Well there are lots of descriptions but some of the most commonly accepted Lean descriptions of companies are they:
• Produce products with fewer defects
• Need less effort to design, make and service their products
• Use fewer suppliers
• Key processes performed in less time and with less effort
• Need less stock ( inventory ,WIP etc)
• Have fewer accidents
Basically it is a firm that consumes less of everything and accomplishes more with less.
Lean companies use less material, less time, less energy, less space. They are driven by customer demand and use the most effective and economical way to develop and deliver their products or services.
Lean is not new, some of the tools and techniques have been around for many years. However, round about the 1980’s the phrase was coined and it has grown to represent a particular set of ideas and methods, which when combined are referred to as Lean.
• Continuing and unrelenting focus on providing customer value.
• Maintaining continuous, incremental improvement.
• Taking the long term view
• Matching customer demand and providing everything that is needed at the right time.
• Using proven tools and techniques to reduce variation and attempting to completely eliminate waste.
It is this focus on eliminating waste that is at the very heart of Lean Thinking
Capacity= Work + Waste
Eliminate the waste and you will increase your capacity and with less cost.
Lean methodologies have been applied and adapted across just about every type of industry. Banking, construction, healthcare, government, manufacturing, engineering, design, back office administration and lots more besides. It is not just for the more “industrial” sectors, it can and has been, applied across a diverse range of services. There are lean implementation projects/programmes for supply chain, administration, management, product development, manufacturing and many more.
Lean has resulted in significant improvements to products and services across the globe. It brings them more quickly, more cheaply and more reliably.
Lean focuses on eliminating waste at every level and every element of an organisation. It does not matter whether you are one person working in a box room or a multi-national employing thousands, Lean will provide significant improvements to your business.
Lean shows you how to use less time, space, energy, effort, material or anything else you use to deliver your product/service to your customers/clients.
But Lean is about much more than a set of tools and techniques and eliminating waste. Lean has to become a way of organisational life, a way of thinking, a philosophy. You do not just “Do Lean” and forget about it. It is an ongoing commitment to continual incremental improvement based on a belief that processes can always be improved.
When Lean fails it is because organisations do not fully understand the commitment required and that it is an ongoing journey to a destination that you will never reach. That is not to say that Lean is a tortuous, frustrating process, it is not. It is exciting, empowering, a breath of fresh air but a firm must be committed.
Individuals, teams, departments and whole organisations learn every day. With Lean, the lessons are learnt, the knowledge is embedded and the cycle is repeated. All the time organisational knowledge grows and improvements are made and capitalised upon.
www.executivecompass.co.uk
The phrase “waste not, want not” is incredibly accurate when applied to organisations. Even in the best run companies, waste is everywhere.
Some Lean practitioners use the analogy of putting on their waste goggles, when they do this, they say they see waste everywhere!
• Use of more raw materials than needed
• Rework-making mistakes
• Using more space than you should
• Excess inventory
• Taking too long to develop and produce your services
• Using more equipment than necessary
• Using too many people.
