Looking to reduce costs, develop quality AND improve your customer’s experience all at once? Then the answer everyone is talking about is LEAN. We’ve all heard about it; Kaizen, 5’s programs, Six Sigma… But has it actually worked?

A study by BCG shows that only a few manufacturers are seeing genuine, sustainable improvements and that’s the dilemma. How do we make Lean sustainable?

A dramatic change in focus needs to occur. We need to stop focusing on the techniques that need to be implemented and focus on our people; how do we engage them and get them on our side. The philosophy of lean needs to be at the centre point of what the organisation does rather than the tools and techniques we are trying to implement.

But applying this philosophy is one thing; however, we need a greater focus on the whole organisation embracing the changes, not just a few individuals on the production line. If the employees are empowered by the changes they can make (whether it is through pay incentives or just having their voice heard) we may see a shift in sustainable lean processes.

But does it need to be sustainable? Surely we implement Lean principles on projects within the organisation, and isn’t the idea of a project that it ends relatively quickly…

What are your thoughts??

Author: Bryony Wreathall bsw@blt.co.uk