Embracing a culture of Lean methods within a company is not always as simple or as quick as some may assume. It does take some time and effort on the part of the top management as well as the employees, and the result is more efficient and productive business processes.
There still are some people that discount the entire lean manufacturing process after having tried it for just a short while because they misunderstood an aspect or two or because they heard it via word-of-mouth and misinterpreted it.
One of the misconceptions about lean manufacturing is that Lean is solely about cost reduction, when this is in fact not the only aspect of Lean. There are various other features such as improving employee drive due to the fact that they are given more ownership of their production area and immediate feedback on their work.
Another Myth About Lean Manufacturing
is that it means no inventory. This is false as once implemented, Lean methods will involve each operation producing what is needed by the next operation and if followed correctly, it will eliminate any opportunity to build ahead on inventories, but it does not mean that inventories are not needed at all.