Agility Should be the Focus of Lean
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rogers
What are you trying to accomplish? Much of what is written about lean for manufacturing isn't always applicable. When lean literature says, "Only make or provide what the customer wants when the customer wants it," most people say, "You mean there are companies who make things nobody wants?" When lean literature talks about training everyone in lean methods and concepts, manufacturers say, "Everybody around here is already wearing three hats. Who has the time to conduct or attend all this training? We need a lean application that works on-the-job, now!" And when the literature talks about the value of being lean, manufacturers say, "We're already lean. Maybe some companies have extra people around but we don't."
This is not to say manufacturers have solved all their problems, to be sure. Operational difficulties still abound. But classroom training with no connection to the reality of where the work is performed does not provide results. Investments in new equipment, technology and IT, while an initial shot in the arm, become marginalized as competitors acquire the same.
Translating the message into results. The lean message, as it has been communicated over the past several years, has been sold on the idea that lean tools are primarily for cost cutting. But organizations that employ lean tools expecting big savings often find that big results are not forthcoming. They are already skilled at keeping costs as close to the bone as possible.
The value of lean is not so much in the cost cutting potential, but rather in the potential for creating agility – meeting customer demands all the time, every time. A focus on agility does not require different lean tools, but rather how they are applied as part of your conduct of operating. Workplace organization, quick change-overs and setups, work standardization, pull systems, waste reduction/elimination, error proofing, decision making, project management, and problem solving and prevention are what make an agile organization. For example, reducing setup times in order to do more set-ups means increased efficiency and the ability to serve more customers. A clean and organized workspace makes operational problems visible. A systematic process to gather data and solve those problems on the shop floor speeds resolution and prevents recurrence.
However, the central difference with a focus on agility means a different strategic view by leadership and a great deal of discipline on the part of everyone in the organization. It requires an understanding that a lean initiative as a top-line, growth strategy as contrasted to a bottom-line, lower costs tactic.
Getting on the right track. Lean, as too often believed, does not mean “Less Employees Are Needed.” On the contrary, an agile workplace, able to react rapidly to changing customer demands is likely to mean more orders; increased job security; workforce stability; and, consequently, lower costs. Not a bad result.
Making Your Company Agile
- Design jobs and work systems to eliminate waste and maximize the flow of work.
- Provide your employees with the key skills necessary to sustain performance across the enterprise.
- Manage performance by creating an environment conducive to productive work.