	Lean – An Introduction Lean means ensuring that all work within a business is done in the most efficient and effective manner possible throughout the organisation. Like many modern management techniques the approach originated in Japan, migrated to America and is now worldwide. It started in Manufacturing, and has now spread to all types of organisations and businesses, including and Logistics and Services. It also includes such concepts as process and performance management, which are additions to the management vocabulary in the last 20 or so years, so it is relatively all-encompassing as regards modern management approaches. The fundamental concepts in Lean are Value, Waste, Flow, Pull & Perfection. Value (added) – Every organisation takes inputs and translates them into outputs, which are then sold to a customer. The customer pays a price which is a real measure of the market value for the item. Thus an organisation adds value to inputs – a value that customers are willing to pay for. This is the over riding criterion for determining value added. Waste is defined as activity within a work process or intermediate items that the customer does not value. It is incumbent on the organisation to get rid of this waste. There are activities, however, such as regulatory requirements that cannot be avoided, even if non value added. The types of waste include: defects, over processing / rework, overproduction, unnecessary movement, unnecessary transportation, excess inventory, waiting / delays that interrupt the flow. Flow is concerned with the movement of material or information – in the act of producing an end product or service of value to the customer. Businesses are successful to the extent that they can move material or information with as little disruption as possible. Pull is the term assigned to an operations strategy which requires downstream process steps to signal a need for replenishment before the upstream activity commences. Ideally a customer purchases a product / service, which then triggers the steps to produce that product or service. The traditional “push” system kept people and machines busy. A product was “pushed” to the next operation. But what happens to the production not yet needed? This results in Waste. Perfection. The idea of total quality management is to systematically and continuously remove the root causes of poor quality – with the ultimate goal of achieving zero defects. One is on a journey that never stops. The following are some key Lean principles: Define value from the perspective of the end customer. Identify the entire value stream for each service or product (family). Create flow by eliminating waste e.g. minimize handovers, rework Design and provide what the customer wants only when the customer wants it – respond to customer pull / demand. Pursue perfection. Creating flow and responding to customer pull gains become significant as the steps link together. Maximise the clarity on benefits to be achieved and if necessary set targets. Train people on the floor as involvement by those undertaking the activities in question is essential. Eliminate constraints, bottlenecks and set up times. Standardize work as much as possible. Apply continuous improvement. If an individual does not the job he /she is supposed to do in the first instance, escalate it up to the next level as soon as possible. The role of the manager / supervisor is as a coach e.g.(vs. control role vs. QA role) Address the weakest link. “By your controls shall you be known”. A data driven process focuses on the facts rather than the loudest voice in the room. Lean is also about culture and people, not just tools. Lean is closely tied into Process Management which involves the management of inputs, outputs and a flow of related activities that transform inputs into outputs. It occurs at an intermediate level in an organisation and is key to efficiency and effectiveness. Flows include work activities, materials, equipment and facilities, and information. Information systems are often an integral part of a process. Processes can be measured, managed and optimized. A Value Stream is a particular form of a process whereby customer value is added at each step in the process. Processes are a fundamental part of the work and management of an organisation. Analysing activities by means of process characteristics is a key enabler of performance improvement in an organisation. Remember that it is very difficult for individuals to beat the "system" or process, so effort has to be put in into developing the best process possible. Six sigma techniques are a particular method of ensuring reliable processes. Such processes are normally metric rich and often require statistical techniques to improve reliability capability, as common sense based approaches can generally only reach 3 sigma reliability levels (error rate of 1 in 370 or a daily event occurring once every year). Buzzwords include error rates, defects, error deviation. A process with a deviation rate of 6 sigma is generally considered to be near perfect, as 6 sigma represents an error rate of 1 in 10 to the power of 6 or a daily event occurring once in a million years. Lean also includes the Quality Approach, which is an inherent part of any successful organisation. Key concepts here include Continuous Improvement / Kaizen and Total Quality Management, and includes quality not only in terms of the level of technology involved, but also being evaluated from the perspective of the customer. It has now evolved into ISO 9000, which is an international standard that defines the essence of a quality system within an organisation. It is primarily process driven, and initially excluded performance concepts, but these are now integrated within the concept. Developments of ISO 9000 include further standards such as the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) standard, which developed a balance between processes and outputs and introduced the concept of excellence within an organisation. The 3 demons of good processes are generally regarded as Delay, Defects, and Deviation. For more information on key Lean techniques, please click here. In terms of *teamwork, it is vital that the output of the team exceeds that of the individuals involved. Benchmarking* is necessary as every organisation must understand its marketplace position and what is needed in terms of “best practice”

Lean – An Introduction

Lean means ensuring that all work within a business is done in the most efficient and effective manner possible throughout the organisation.

Like many modern management techniques the approach originated in Japan, migrated to America and is now worldwide. It started in Manufacturing, and has now spread to all types of organisations and businesses, including and Logistics and Services. It also includes such concepts as process and performance management, which are additions to the management vocabulary in the last 20 or so years, so it is relatively all-encompassing as regards modern management approaches.

The fundamental concepts in Lean are Value, Waste, Flow, Pull & Perfection.

Value (added) – Every organisation takes inputs and translates them into outputs, which are then sold to a customer. The customer pays a price which is a real measure of the market value for the item. Thus an organisation adds value to inputs – a value that customers are willing to pay for. This is the over riding criterion for determining value added.

Waste is defined as activity within a work process or intermediate items that the customer does not value. It is incumbent on the organisation to get rid of this waste. There are activities, however, such as regulatory requirements that cannot be avoided, even if non value added. The types of waste include: defects, over processing / rework, overproduction, unnecessary movement, unnecessary transportation, excess inventory, waiting / delays that interrupt the flow.

Flow is concerned with the movement of material or information – in the act of producing an end product or service of value to the customer. Businesses are successful to the extent that they can move material or information with as little disruption as possible.

Pull is the term assigned to an operations strategy which requires downstream process steps to signal a need for replenishment before the upstream activity commences. Ideally a customer purchases a product / service, which then triggers the steps to produce that product or service. The traditional “push” system kept people and machines busy. A product was “pushed” to the next operation. But what happens to the production not yet needed? This results in Waste.

Perfection. The idea of total quality management is to systematically and continuously remove the root causes of poor quality – with the ultimate goal of achieving zero defects. One is on a journey that never stops.

The following are some key Lean principles:

Define value from the perspective of the end customer.
Identify the entire value stream for each service or product (family).
Create flow by eliminating waste e.g. minimize handovers, rework
Design and provide what the customer wants only when the customer wants it – respond to customer pull / demand.
Pursue perfection. Creating flow and responding to customer pull gains become significant as the steps link together.
Maximise the clarity on benefits to be achieved and if necessary set targets.
Train people on the floor as involvement by those undertaking the activities in question is essential.
Eliminate constraints, bottlenecks and set up times.
Standardize work as much as possible.
Apply continuous improvement.
If an individual does not the job he /she is supposed to do in the first instance, escalate it up to the next level as soon as possible.
The role of the manager / supervisor is as a coach e.g.(vs. control role vs. QA role)
Address the weakest link.
“By your controls shall you be known”.
A data driven process focuses on the facts rather than the loudest voice in the room.
Lean is also about culture and people, not just tools.

Lean is closely tied into Process Management which involves the management of inputs, outputs and a flow of related activities that transform inputs into outputs. It occurs at an intermediate level in an organisation and is key to efficiency and effectiveness. Flows include work activities, materials, equipment and facilities, and information. Information systems are often an integral part of a process. Processes can be measured, managed and optimized. A Value Stream is a particular form of a process whereby customer value is added at each step in the process. Processes are a fundamental part of the work and management of an organisation. Analysing activities by means of process characteristics is a key enabler of performance improvement in an organisation. Remember that it is very difficult for individuals to beat the "system" or process, so effort has to be put in into developing the best process possible.

Six sigma techniques are a particular method of ensuring reliable processes. Such processes are normally metric rich and often require statistical techniques to improve reliability capability, as common sense based approaches can generally only reach 3 sigma reliability levels (error rate of 1 in 370 or a daily event occurring once every year). Buzzwords include error rates, defects, error deviation. A process with a deviation rate of 6 sigma is generally considered to be near perfect, as 6 sigma represents an error rate of 1 in 10 to the power of 6 or a daily event occurring once in a million years.

Lean also includes the Quality Approach, which is an inherent part of any successful organisation. Key concepts here include Continuous Improvement / Kaizen and Total Quality Management, and includes quality not only in terms of the level of technology involved, but also being evaluated from the perspective of the customer. It has now evolved into ISO 9000, which is an international standard that defines the essence of a quality system within an organisation. It is primarily process driven, and initially excluded performance concepts, but these are now integrated within the concept. Developments of ISO 9000 include further standards such as the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) standard, which developed a balance between processes and outputs and introduced the concept of excellence within an organisation.

The 3 demons of good processes are generally regarded as Delay, Defects, and Deviation.

For more information on key Lean techniques, please click here.

In terms of teamwork, it is vital that the output of the team exceeds that of the individuals involved.

Benchmarking is necessary as every organisation must understand its marketplace position and what is needed in terms of “best practice”