When people are looking at implementing a lean manufacturing standard in their business they often make the mistake of trying to figure out when their company is lean. Becoming a lean facility is not an end goal which can be reached and then you can move on to something else.
It is a process of ongoing improvement which should become a part of your facilities overall culture of how business is done. The main concept of becoming a lean facility is improving the productivity and eliminating waste. These are things which can be done continuously without ever getting to an absolutely perfect result.
Lean Certifications
There are lean certifications which individual can achieve, but these have more to do with learning the concepts behind the lean philosophy than they do actually becoming a lean company. In fact, many of the people who achieve these certifications fail to ever implement what they learned while taking any classes.
This is why it is so important to first understand that this is not a project to be completed, but a concept to be applied to all aspects of the business in a truly ongoing way.
Implementing Ongoing Improvements
It can be difficult to get people on board for an idea which really has no end in sight. That’s why you should work to implement as many of the improvements as you can as quickly as possible at the beginning of your efforts to become a leaner facility.
When you can show people at all levels of your business that the concepts learned in the lean manufacturing standard are useful and can result in real improvements, you will be more likely to get increased buy in from both management and the front line workers.
You can then put in processes to constantly evaluate and improve all of the different functions that your business does. Before taking on any new work, there should be a well defined process for how it can be done in the most efficient way possible to avoid waste. Once you’ve put a new work stream in, come back to it after a month or two to see if it is working the way you envisioned.
If there are areas for improvement, take the necessary steps to further eliminate waste. With an ongoing improvement plan you can be confident that the processes of tomorrow will always be more efficient, safer and produce less waste than those you’re using today.
Celebrate Success
The fact that you will never be done implementing your lean strategies can sometimes be depressing because it will feel like you are constantly working to be more efficient without ever having a true end in your sights. This is why it is important to celebrate all of your successes in your journey to becoming a more lean facility.
When you make a change which increases your efficiency, you should recognize it as a victory. The more improvements which can be made, the better your facility will function in a continuous way which will help your profitability for years to come.
Additional Resources
- What is Lean Logistics?– creativesafetysupply.com
- Connection between 5S and Lean– blog.5stoday.com
- Lean Manufacturing in a Nutshell– blog.creativesafetysupply.com
- How Kaizen is Imperative to LEAN Success– kaizen-news.com
- Key Concepts of Lean Manufacturing– iecieeechallenge.org
- What Does A Company Utilizing 5s Lean Management Stand To Gain?– 5snews.com
- There is Always Two Groups of LEAN Stakeholders – Leaders and Employees Affected by the Change– aislemarking.com
- How can Lean affect safety?– hiplogic.com