One Reason Lean Implementations Fail
"Standards are, in my opinion, the most important foundation of Lean and one which is often underrated and given less attention by manufacturing professionals. This is one of the main…
Definition of “Standardized Work”
As I mentioned in the previous post, there are many things to "standardize" in business. In the Lean Business Culture, perhaps the most important thing to standardize is the work…
Standards: The Solid Foundation of Lean
If we visit a company that is serious about the Lean Business Culture and watch carefully, we would see this: They have STANDARDS for nearly everything! If we would watch…
Training: Convert Desired Behavior into Actual Behavior
"Once the standardized work is defined it provides a picture of what should be happening. To turn the desired behavior into actual behavior requires training through enough repetitions that the…
Embrace Both Stability and Change
"Lean thinking, on the other hand, is about embracing both stability (standards) and change (kaizen literally means 'change for the better') at the team level, where work really happens." The…
Make Improvement Possible
"As [Misaki] Imai explained so well in [his book] Kaizen, it is impossible to improve any process until it is standardized. If the process is shifting from here to there,…
Standardized Work: A Different Mentality
Lean turn-around expert Art Byrne responding to interview question about 'Standard Work' during his leadership at the Danaher Corporation:“It’s a simple concept – for every job, create a standard and…
Standards are the Starting Point
"Until standards are defined in any operation, it is not possible to truly make improvements." The Toyota Way Fieldbook by Jeffrey Liker & David Meier (McGraw-Hill, 2006) p. 112.
Confirm that 5S is Being Followed: Audits
"Do 5S audits periodically, give scores to different groups, and hold them accountable for improving their scores. Toyota team leaders and group leaders audit their processes regularly, often with daily…
“5S” makes Work Areas Safe, Productive, and Reliable
"The objective of workplace organization is to create a functionally organized work environment and not to simply give the appearance that things are organized." Lean Office and Service Simplified by…