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The 5 Concepts of Lean Thinking Summarized

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Lean thinking is really conceptualizing lean principles and how they apply to a specific enterprise. Because Lean principles started in Japan with the Toyota Production System, its primary application has been in manufacturing. Today, Lean manufacturing has been growing in interest and popularity as more and more companies look for increased agility, faster to-market production, and stream-lined processes that reduce wasteful practices. Its implementation has even spread outside of fabrication into a broader business use. 

Whether in lean manufacturing or lean management in other industries, five primary principles have been established to capture the goals of lean. These concepts were captured by, and summarized here based on the book “Lean Thinking” by Womack and Jones. And while the concepts themselves are simple, the implementation takes time as perfection is the final goal. 

Lean Thinking Concept 1: Value 

Value is what is delivered, and set primarily by the customer. What the consumer is willing to pay should be the goal of production to meet that value and also provide profit to the producing company. For example, if a consumer is willing to pay $10 for a widget, the company should use that value as their benchmark for production, eliminating waste and improving processes to meet customer expectations. 

When customers are having their expectations met and companies are making profits, this is considered perfection. 

Lean Thinking Concept 2: The Value Stream 

Understanding the flow of the life-cycle of a product is the only way to truly eliminate waste. The Value Stream concept examines the flow from production to disposal of any given product to find areas where value is lacking and can be improved, or where processes are wasteful. Some wasteful processes may be unavoidable due to certain circumstances such as lack of technological advances or access to resources.  

The awareness that is created in regards to the wasteful processes allow them to be corrected or improved for better outcomes. 

Lean Thinking Concept 3: Flow 

Flow refers to the state by which all processes are in alignment making production move forward without interruption. As wasteful practices are eliminated, production increases. This includes processes that previously halted product launches and to-market deliverables, something critical in today’s market where agility, speed and quality are of tremendous value. 

Flow is the state where wasteful down-time no longer exists. 

Lean Thinking Concept 4: Pull 

Lean concepts tend to reduce cold inventory because rather than relying on forecasting demand, they put in place communication and manufacturing methods that allow for production on the fly – as customers order. 

What if “busy work” was eliminated and production only happened when a sale closed? It’s a revolutionary mindset and manufacturing concept that both increases efficiency and output. 

Lean Thinking Concept 5: Perfection 

While we have all been taught that nothing is perfect, lean concepts are rooted in achieving perfection through continuous improvement. When an organization truly implements lean tools and concepts, they strive to get to the root of problems, never using a “band-aid” approach for fixes, but rather really dig into data and processes, and be willing to change based on feedback. They in essence create agility in business by being perfectionists focusing on lean. 

 

Contact me today to learn more about lean thinking and how to apply it to your business to create more efficiency and profitability. Together, we will create a continuous improvement culture and healthier bottom line. 

 

What Makes a Lean Management Leader? 

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lean management

 

The topic of Lean Management may have started in manufacturing, but today’s businesses are looking to the tools to improve other industries as well. 

Created by Japanese industrial engineers, the concepts of Lean manufacturing were designed to reduce waste, in a variety of forms. And while developed mid-century, the tools are still being used as a standard in efficient management. 

Lean managers look to focus on providing high value to customers while eliminating wastefulness through improved workflows. The concept works to engage customers, vendors and employees in ways that create a feedback system for continuous improvement. 

What Makes a Lean Management Leader? 

Lean management involves everyone, yet the lean leader needs to be completely on board or “bought in” on the idea of lean practices and continual process improvement. Management must be willing and able to ask probing questions to get to the root of both problems and customer motivations. They must be willing to discover answers they may not like in order to challenge the status quo. 

Regarding Customers: 

Do you know why your customer buys from you? 

Do you know what they value about your business over your competitors? 

Are you able to anticipate their changing needs based on what you know about their values, wants, and needs? 

Do you know what improvements you could implement that would serve your customers even better? 

Regarding Your Team: 

Do you have a culture of blame and mistakes or one of “lessons learned”, which fosters a learning environment? 

Is problem solving guided with the objective of finding the right problem, root cause and establishing the right resources? 

Do you use open-ended questions? 

Is there a focus on processes and their actual, tracked results? 

Is there a plan in place to discover inefficiencies? 

Do you deeply understand the value stream, including sub-processes and their effects? 

Does the management team demonstrate Lean values and behaviors? 

Does management challenge the status quo? 

Does your Lean management team go to the action and use 3Gen? 

 

Gather the information to determine where you are as an organization and where you want to be in regards to lean management. If you discover you need support, a refresher, or even full implementation of lean management practices, consider PBEX, LLC, a leader in Business Process Management, Lean Process Management, Lean Manufacturing, and Organizational Lean Process Improvement.