Description of what deeply trained Lean sensei look for when visiting an operation that claims to be Lean:

“… If they see material flowing smoothly through the plant from start to finish in a steady cadence and people actively engaged in doing value-added work based on a defined pace called takt time they will be very impressed. They will be even more impressed if there is evidence of visual management showing at a glance the state of the operation and whether processes are in standard. However the most impressive thing will be seeing evidence of people on the floor actively engaged in daily problem-solving. Unfortunately we rarely see much evidence of any of these things.”

Toyota Culture by Jeffrey Liker & Michael Hoseus (McGraw Hill, 2008) p. 4.