Lean mindset and approaches have permeated this generation’s corporate culture. Many practitioners of lean thinking are greatly impressed by usefulness: it doesn’t cause any additional expense, it is applicable to most business set-ups and has a wide uses. There are many advantages that can be gained an only a few principles to live by. With a few lean management techniques and some lean mindsets, the company is on its way to the promised continuous improvement.
In truth, lean is all about prevention of wasteful practices. The process of identifying and removal of waste or Muda becomes the task at hand as one adopts some lean management techniques. Some of these lean management techniques are: Just in Time (JIT), Total Productive Maintenance(TPM), Total Quality Management (TQM), Flow Charts, and 5S System of Organization. The five lean principles – Value, Value, Stream, Flow of Value-added elements, Pull Demand from the customers, and Quest for Excellence – significantly affect the lean techniques in the same way these affect the lean tools and processes.
Regardless of the lean management techniques that are selected to pursue excellence, there are basically four steps involved and these are:
*The first step is to acknowledge that there are wastes and wasteful practices in the system that need to be eliminated. To ignore that such waste exist is to deny oneself the opportunity to have such wastes extracted and rectified.
*The second step entails identification of these waste and wasteful practices. Lean management would expect those roots to be snipped from the root causes. Some tools may be used at this step like the Effect or Ishikawa Diagrams.
*The third step involves looking for a solution that is based upon the principles of lean management principles. It is important to find out how it will affect the entire company and not just the problem held in question.
The last step is the execution of the lean management techniques and ensuring that the expected results are coming as such. Thus, this step requires training, evaluation, monitoring, visibility, and follow-up. These are time consuming and need to be sustained.
To undertake all these with high probability of success, one must use tools, direct them in “search and destroy mode” of waste and wasteful practices, and make sure that it will be cause positive effects for the entire organization.
