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What’s at the Core of Lean?

I pulled a muscle in my back playing basketball a few days ago, and it is surprising how much movement the core of your body is a part of.

Things you don’t realize—reaching for a computer mouse, pulling open a window, and even picking things up off the floor—all caused more than mild discomfort.

I’m feeling much better now, thanks to a few days of rest and a very caring wife. The downtime gave me time to think about how much easier everything is with core strength. The same is true with Lean.

I’ve gotten my wake-up call to get focused back on basic fitness if I want to prolong my time on the court. But what should you be focusing on in your company to improve its core?

While I frequently mention the continuous improvement culture as the cornerstone of a successful Lean company, there are a few things that are even more central than that.

5S. Standard Work. Daily Management.

It’s as simple as that. Get good at those three things, and everything else about Lean comes much more easily. It’s like having a strong, healthy back. When you’ve got that core strength, you can build on it, do more, and try more complicated things. When the core is weak, even attempting some seemingly basic tasks can be brutal.

Imagine trying to implement kanban without having the rigor to follow the process, or keep things properly labeled and in their right spots. Imagine trying to create flow without standard processes to provide stability. Imagine trying to improve lead time when you don’t have any idea about what work is in progress.

5S. Standard Work. Daily Management. Strengthen those three things, and the rest comes easy.

Featured Lean Thinker: Jay Watson

This week’s featured Lean thinker has been a guest in a few podcasts now. He is Jay Watson of FreeLeanSite.com. Jay is one of those seasoned veterans of Lean from before it was mainstream.

Yet with all those years of experience, he still has passion in his voice when we speak about Lean. In fact, when Jay and I talk, we both get so fired up about Lean, we have a hard time giving each other a chance to speak. Take a few minutes and check out his site and see all he has to offer.

And now, on to his answers…

What does Lean mean to you?

In a nutshell, doing more with less. Lean is an infectious attitude that drives efficiencies, strives for improvement, and respects people in the process.  Lean thinkers are smart, savvy, and usually not satisfied with status quo.  Lean leaders promote lean thinking.  

What was your first experience with Lean, and how did you know you were hooked?

Over twenty five years ago and by sheer chance, I had lunch with Bob Galvin, then the Chairman and CEO of Motorola. We were both visiting a California plant separately and ended up together san his handlers in the cafeteria. After we sat down I thought to myself, “How many times do you get to chat with a CEO? I should ask an intelligent question…” so, after some introductions and polite talk, I asked him if he truly believed in this “Six Sigma” thing (it was in its infancy). 

I think we both realized what an awkwardly dumb question came out of my mouth but, he politely answered. Oh, he wholeheartedly believed in six sigma and was, of course its’ #1 champion – heart, mind, and soul! He said he wouldn’t be doing it, if it wasn’t right – but what he said next surprised me.  He said, “Jay, (he called everyone by their first name) I wish we had started on the total cycle time reduction initiative at the same time we rolled out six sigma. That’s where the waste is”.

Oh, I knew of ‘Ken-X, the 10X Guy’, Motorola’s mascot for cycle time reduction (it wasn’t called Lean back then…). The goal was to attack waste so as to reduce cycle time ten-fold. If a new product introduction process took 10 months, drive it to 1 month; if a procurement process took 10 days; drive it to 1 day….  Lofty goal which I thought was “Mission Impossible” indeed. But, after talking with Bob Galvin the good part of an hour, I started to believe in the power of improvement. He exalted the benefits of positive thinking and idea of ideas (the name of his book). He talked of the vision of Motorola and its’ commitment to Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS). (We had cards with these beliefs printed on them to carry in our wallet or purse…and I still have mine today). He led with the belief that ‘better was better’ and that the company his Dad passed to him was not perfect, but was improving.  As a result of the Six Sigma program, Motorola received the first Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1989. Customer was King!  TCS process improvement team competition became a world-wide phenomenon, and years later, I was honored to be a judge at one such event in Scottsdale, AZ.

It was during that time with Mr. Galvin – that’s when the Lean thing hit me: if Management, in this case the owner of one of the top companies in the world, believes that there is that much waste in business processes that a 10-fold improvement is possible, well I was indeed hooked!

Now, decades later, we see that this “speed of execution” thing, along with safety and quality are driving forces, perhaps prime directives, still in play within every business and industry today.

What is your Lean claim to fame?

Free!  I offer foundational Lean training, interviews, articles, power-point slides, videos, newsletters, web sources, case studies, and project report-outs on www.freeleansite.com for the Lean thinker without cost.

Where do you see Lean going in the future? What is on the horizon?

More free content as the world is hungry for improvement initiatives. I believe these concepts will be taught in High Schools and Elementary schools within the next ten years.

Jay’s autobiography…

Jay Watson is a Lean advocate, Management Coach, and editor of free lean and six sigma sites.

Tags: linkedin

The One-Week Move-to-Gemba Managers’ Challenge

Very few managers have their desks right out in gemba—the workplace they manage. It is unfortunate, as being right where the action is provides a tremendous value.

1. Managers absorb a better understanding of the process.
2. Managers become more accessible to their teams.
3. Managers see problems as they are happening.
4. Managers learn about the ‘flow of the workflow’. (I know it sounds strange, but workdays often have a rhythm to them. The pace and problems follow a pattern.)

Now, a rookie mistake is to simply hear ‘go to gemba’ and think that it will immediately provide insight into an operation. While it is certainly easier to see things from the actual place work is being done than from an office, it is not magic. A manager still has to become a student of continuous improvement and problem solving to truly reap the benefits of being so close to the team.

But learning has to start somewhere, so I challenge you to do what I did as a manager. Move your workspace to where you can observe your team. Whether you manage a group on the shop floor or an office team, join them. Set up a workspace for yourself right near the process you manage. Get a privacy screen for your monitor. Use a conference room or transient office for private calls or meetings.

Sure, there are some inconveniences, but you’ll get used to them in a hurry, and become a much better boss as well. If the floor is noisy, get earplugs. If the work area is too dark, get a desk lamp. Overcome the obstacles with creative thought.

I encourage you to try moving for a week, and then comment below to tell us about your experiences. Don’t think about it. Just try it. It’s only five days. I’m betting you’ll be glad you did.

Tags: linkedin

Lean Articles of Interest: 7/13/2010 (Sports Edition)

This week’s articles of interest focus on sports news…

• The first article highlights the need to think through all of the consequences of an action. Usain Bolt, the current world record holder in the 100 meter dash, has opted out of a race in England due to tax laws. He would have lost money by competing, as it would have opened up his endorsement contracts to British taxes.
• There is an interesting article about predicting success of quarterbacks in the NFL. It will remain to be seen if the chosen metric simply fits past data, or if it will actually work looking forward.
• Peter King, a writer for Sports Illustrated, has had several guest writers this summer. One is an NFL great running back, Maurice Drew-Jones. He talks about the element that separates good NFL players from great ones. His key ingredient is ‘want to’, which also applies to continuous improvement. Also of note, Drew-Jones is a frontline employee. It always adds insight to get the thoughts of the people actually doing the job you are working on.
• Along the same lines, Eric Winston, another NFL player, gives some ideas for improving the NFL. Always nice to see frontline employees trying to make changes.

Tags: linkedin

The Hardest Step of Problem Solving

Contrary to what many people think, the hardest step in problem solving is not coming up with a solution, or even sustaining the gains that are made.

It is identifying the problem in the first place.

Now, there are several different types of problems.

1. The glaring, painful one. It is the broken arm of business. It is the debilitating problem that can’t be ignored. A website or assembly line that has been shut down falls into this category.
2. The small, nagging problems that you would recognize if you paid attention, but have grown accustomed to. A ‘trick shoulder’ is the human equivalent to wasting time searching for papers on a cluttered desk. In both cases, you don’t deal with the root of the problem—you just apply the immediate fix over and over and over.
3. The problems that you simply don’t recognize. These are the high cholesterol of business. Small amounts of excess inventory or slow computer servers are problems in the workplace that you may not be able to easily identify.
4. The problems that you don’t agree on. You may feel your weight is appropriate for your height; your doctor may think you need to lose ten pounds. Your boss may think a 10% improvement is needed to stay successful; you may think your team is already doing well.

The reason identifying problems is so hard is that people only notice (and act on) act on the first one without an external push.

The third one requires education. You can train yourself to recognize problems more readily by reading up on Lean. (I recommend my book, of course.)

>>Train your team to identify waste.>>

The last type of problem is a complex one to solve. Building a continuous improvement culture is a good way to bridge the gap in the workplace.

But for number 2, you have personal control. Try this exercise. Get a copy of our Waste Recording Form, and log every time you do something wasteful in your job over the course of a day. You can use hash marks if to indicate repeated occurrences of the same thing.

My guess is that you’ll be surprised at how much time you waste in the course of your day, and recognizing the extent of the problem often elevates its priority.

Tags: linkedin

What If You Had to Sign the Other Side of the Check?

Most people are accustomed to signing the back side of their paycheck.

The question I’d ask you to consider, though, is whether you’d behave differently if you were signing the other side of the check.

Consider if you had to put your John Hancock on a check for one of the many employees you hire on a regular basis, and think if you are meeting the same standards you set for them.

• Would you want your plumber searching through a disorganized truck for twenty minutes—on the clock—looking for a fitting?
• Would you want your dentist shopping online or reading a news story while you were waiting in the chair with your mouth all prepped up for some dental work?
• Would you want to pay your mechanic to take a personal call while he was working on your car’s brakes, or do you think you should get his undivided attention for your money?

The simple fact is that, for a variety of reasons, employees waste a fairly large amount of time on the job. In addition to the waste associated with poor processes, a 2007 study shows that the average employee in the US wastes up to 20% of his day—1.7 hours—chatting, surfing, and conducting personal business.

Lean helps this situation in two ways. The most obvious is that it makes the 80% of the working time more productive.

>>Look at our Identifying Waste Lean PowerPoint training to help your team get waste out of their processes.>>

But it can also help with the 20%. Some of the reasons given in the study for the waste were that…

• The employee didn’t have enough work to do
• The hours were too long
• The work was not challenging enough

Each of these is also addressed in some way by Lean. It adds structure to jobs, eliminating boredom. It gets work under control, reducing the long hours. It requires the use of more of people’s brains to make improvements, increasing the challenge.

The simple fact is that we want the people who work for us in our private lives to follow Lean principles. If we go back to the Golden Rule, shouldn’t we be doing all we can to add Lean principles to our professional lives?

Tags: linkedin

Featured Lean Thinker: Evan Durant

This week’s Featured Lean Thinker is Evan Durant. Though he doesn’t mention it in his bio, he blogs about Lean on occasion at his Kaizen Notebook blog. I like reading his articles, as we share some common background. Evan works at a Danaher company. I gained a good deal of my experience working under the Danaher Business System. It is interesting to see how similar our perspectives are on a lot of things.

So, without further ado, here are Evan’s answers to my questions…

What does Lean mean to you?

To me lean is all about making sense of complex systems. Manufacturing and business processes have become so big and complicated and disjointed that trying to understand them as a whole is often nearly impossible. Lean allows us to break these down into the simplest elemental pieces and to understand the interactions among these elements in a more holistic way. Then process improvement becomes as simple and basic as determining what the end product should be and incrementally removing waste in its creation.

What was your first experience with Lean, and how did you know you were hooked?

I had had a good deal of training in lean through Green Belt and Black Belt classes, but it wasn’t until I joined Tektronix in 2007 that I saw my first manufacturing cell in operation. I was immediately struck by the simplicity and elegance of the product flow and visual controls, and it was like a light came on. My mind was instantly reeling with the possibilities, and I never looked back.

What is your Lean claim to fame?

I certainly have no claim to fame, and I have so much to learn. But I am particularly proud to have been a part of the lean conversion of an electronic components manufacturer. The degree of change that has taken place is almost staggering, and the resulting financial benefits have won over even the most strident skeptics.

Where do you see Lean going in the future? What is on the horizon?

What I hope to see is a resurgence in manufacturing in the U.S. as a result of more and more lean thinking. I see great potential for this approach to offset the cost benefits of offshoring. We haven’t reached the tipping point yet, but I am optimistic that we are headed in that direction.

Evan’s Autoboiography:

I am currently a Danaher Business System (DBS) Lead at Maxtek Components Corporation involved in creating lean value streams in manufacturing and business processes. Prior to that I worked as a Process Engineer in the electronics manufacturing industry. I have a LeanSigma Black Belt through Tektronix and a Master Black Belt in 5S and Standard Work through Danaher. I graduated from Auburn University in 1995 with a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering.

If you would like to recommend someone to appear as a Featured Lean Thinker, please contact me at Info@Velaction.com.

Tags: linkedin

Failure Isn’t Really Failure

I was recently reading a rather old book on customer satisfaction by Bob Tasca. He had an interesting quote about failure.

“Failure isn’t failure at all—it’s information.”

Now, I am not saying to go out trying to fail just to gather information. But, when you try a lot of new things, you are going to make your share of mistakes.

The key is to not let yourself get discouraged, and if you are a leader, to not discourage your team. Always ask what was learned from the mistake, and what will be done differently the next time.

There are a bunch of variations of a quote attributed to Thomas Edison about his string of failures when trying to invent the light bulb. Supposedly, he was being questioned by a reporter about his progress, and said something along the lines of “I know a thousand ways not to make a light bulb.”

He learned from each failed attempt, and there’s a good chance that if you look up as you read this article, you’ll see the results of the information he gathered. The question for you is, “What information did you learn from your last failure?”

Tags: linkedin

How to Overcome 24 Common Lean Excuses

Change is hard for some people. And since Lean requires a significant shift from typical thinking, it can generate some strong resistance. One of the most common forms of pushback when changing to a Lean mindset is the use of excuses. People are extremely creative at coming up with reasons that Lean will not work.

So, to help you out on your Lean journey, I’ve compiled a list of some of the most common excuses I have heard over my many years of Lean training and consulting.

This month’s featured article takes a look at these beliefs—and even more importantly—addresses what to do when you encounter them.

If you find this list helpful, I also have over a hundred other strategies on how to overcome Lean problem in my survival guide, Whaddaya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?

Our process is different

Why people believe this: Most people have a limited view of other processes, and don’t see the similarities. Many cultures also value independence, so people are biased towards seeing uniqueness in their processes.

The truth: There is a great deal of overlap in processes, and most are not as unique as people think they are. As a Lean consultant, I see new processes and methods with every project, but the majority of the tasks people do are things I’ve seen before.

How to overcome this: Have a couple of go-to people to talk to the group that is experiencing change. They should be people who have recently used Lean to improve their process. Teams believe each other far more than they believe their bosses.

The boss won’t allow it

Why people believe this: History. Most people have had a bad boss at one time or another.

The truth: Bosses are people and have good days and bad days. The bottom line, though, is that managers have to hit their targets. Having teams make improvements in their work spaces is a good way to do this.

How to overcome this: Communication. Ask the boss what is off limits. Don’t assume that the boss won’t do something without asking.

Our customers don’t want it that way

Why people believe this: There are always a vocal few customers that highlight a particular need. Employees also use their own personal sense of value to make assumptions about what a customer needs.

The truth: There is a risk that a vocal minority may not represent your entire customer base. Customer preferences also shift over time, so what they liked before may not be what they want now. Without a deliberate effort to listen to the voice of the customer, there’s a good chance that you are operating under false assumptions.

How to overcome this: Make sure the need matches the strategy. The best products are targeted at a specific group, and will not be valued by other customer segments. Get feedback from the right customers. You may need to include the marketing team to gather this information. You may also want to include a customer in the project, though you will be airing all of your dirty laundry.

Joe is out of town this week and we’ve got to get his buy-in

Why people believe this: Regardless of job title, there is often an employee that carries a lot of (often negative) influence. The team anticipates the challenge in dealing with Joe when he returns to a process that was changed in his absence.

The truth: Some personalities don’t mesh well with others. It can take a lot of active effort to minimize conflict.

How to overcome this: Identify your team’s “Joe”. He’s the one that people tread lightly around. The key is communication. Make sure Joe knows about the changes in advance. Make sure Joe has a chance to give input. But most of all, don’t engage Joe in battle. That’s what the boss, team leader, and champion are for.

It costs too much

Why people believe this: People assume that a new process will have a steep cost to it.

The truth: The long-term cost of a bad process is often higher than the short-term cost of fixing it.

How to overcome this: Don’t be free with the checkbooks, but have faith in the Lean philosophy. When you focus on improving flow and reducing waste, you almost always come out ahead.

I’m not saying to disregard cost in a project. I’m just saying that the cost of a bad process is often far higher than calculated, and the savings from a streamlined process and improved culture is often far greater than they appear.

We already spent $2.3 million on a new machine

Why people believe this: Big dollar numbers make people reluctant to change a process.

The truth: We are talking about sunk costs here. Money that is already spent has no bearing on the current decision. What matters is how much things cost from here on out.

How to overcome this: Look at the numbers without anything that has been previously spent. It is hard for people to do, especially if they are the ones who spent the money.

We tried that four years ago

Why people believe this: People see patterns over time, and assume that this time will be the same as last time.

The truth: Most people don’t stay in the same job very long nowadays. As a result, the few people who do see all the new people, especially managers, recycling ideas over and over.

How to overcome this: Ask for specifics about the failed attempt. Ask why it didn’t work. Show that you are trying to avoid the same problems.

We don’t have time to do that

Why people believe this: People see the added work on top of what they are already doing.

The truth: Without improvements, things seldom get better. Hiring nearly always lags growth and workload seldom falls.

How to overcome this: Leaders need to accommodate the improvement process. That means creating a daily management system and managing the work for people on project teams as if they were on vacation. It also means planning project time in as part of the workload.

Our demand is not predictable/too variable

Why people believe this: Most people have never seen a chart of demand patterns. The demand cycles they experience appear to be unpredictable demand. They also don’t have any means of reacting to changes.

The truth: Demand is more predictable than people think.

How to overcome this: Tracking hourly demand for an office often yields patterns that repeat on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Knowing that there are demand windows lets marketing teams work on leveling, and the frontline works focus on standardizing for each demand level.

We don’t have enough tools to add people

Why people believe this: People see a single set of tools in a work area, and assume that they can’t get help. They don’t think they’d get approval to buy “extra” tools that will sit idle most of the day.

The truth: Many tools cost far less than the price of line stops. True story: A production line made $1000 worth of products per minute. One station fell behind a few times a day, but didn’t have an extra 9/16 socket for someone to come help. A $3 item held up a few thousand dollars worth of production per day. The cost of the tool is often far less than the cost of not having it.

How to overcome this: Standardization. Make a specific plan for how people will help when demand rises or a problem happens. Get the tools for it. Tell the story above if there is resistance, or better yet, run your own numbers.

That machine is too expensive to sit idle

Why people believe this: People see a big, shiny machine, and think it has to be running all the time. If it isn’t producing, it isn’t making money.

The truth: Making the wrong parts or too many parts is far more wasteful than shutting a machine down for a few minutes.

How to overcome this: Long term, get smaller, right-sized machines. Short term, do setup reductions so the machine can run smaller batches and get closer to flow. They’ll be fewer parts shortages that way, and that means less pressure to keep the machine running all the time.

The process is too complex

Why people believe this: People see a hard process with a lot of variation that takes a long time, and they think it is complicated.

The truth: Most things look complicated as a whole. When deconstructed, each step is often very simple.

How to overcome this: Use the Process Recording Sheet. Break the process into several smaller steps and start linking them together. People are less intimidated when the process doesn’t seem so vast and mysterious.

We need flexibility to be able to serve our customers

Why people believe this: People view standardization as a barrier to flexibility.

The truth: The word processing program I am typing with is a process. It knows what to do based on any combination of keystrokes and mouse clicks. There is no process in any company that is more flexible or more standardized than a computer program.

How to overcome this: Create a standard process that lets people have any choice they want, but be diligent about recording the decision points they use. 80 percent of the flexibility they need will be covered by 20% of the decisions.

The other group will never take on that work

Why people believe this: Many organizations are compartmentalized. When that happens, it is unlikely that one will do much to help another at a high cost to themselves.

The truth: Most departments are swamped, and very few would be willing to take on more work, even if it is good for the whole company.

How to overcome this: Value stream management. When one boss runs both processes, there is less resistance to moving work or people up and down the value stream.

We can’t modify the machine/tool/program

Why people believe this: People assume that the machine designer knew what they were doing, and are reluctant to modify machines.

The truth: Designers make a general product that you are applying to a specific task. Your task might not have been exactly what the designer wanted to do.

How to overcome this: First of all, only qualified people should modify machines! It can be very dangerous if done incorrectly. When doing a process improvement, think about how you’d design the machine from scratch, and see how that differs from what you are currently using. Most tooling and maintenance groups have some real wizards in them, when it comes to upgrading a machine.

I’ll get in trouble if it doesn’t work

Why people believe this: (1)Failure is often punished. (2)People don’t like to be punished.

The truth: Great Lean companies have a lot of failures because they try a lot of new things. Not all PDCA cycles work. In fact, the “C” step would not be necessary if there were no problems. Failure is especially high with people who are early in their Lean journey.

How to overcome this: Bosses have to change how they address failures. Treat them like learning opportunities. Have employees talk about what they learned, and what they are going to do to prevent the next failure.

I haven’t been here long enough to know what to do

Why people believe this: New employees are viewed as not knowing the process, and thus don’t know what to do to fix it.

The truth: New employees haven’t formed a bias about a process, and don’t feel defensive about it. They are also not resistant to changing it. Every new employee provides an opportunity to have an outsider’s perspective without the risks.

How to overcome this: Treat each new hire as an opportunity. Require them to use a Waste Recording Form when they are learning a new process.

Nobody’s complaining about the process

Why people believe this: People have heard “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” all their lives.

The truth: Sometimes a problem is far downstream and removed from its source. Other times, “broke” just means missing out on an opportunity.

How to overcome this: Use a healthy dose of metrics to show progress. Tracking performance takes a vague concept of “broke” and puts it into specific, measureable terms.

We are in the busy season/new project going on

Why people believe this: People don’t like the feeling of being buried with work, and often want to wait to get started on a new project.

The truth: There is no such thing as a slow period. Even in summertime or the winter holidays where many businesses have a lull, there are many vacations. People seldom have downtime.

How to overcome this: Get agreement on a specific start date in advance. Remind people of the date continuously, and get confirmation. It helps people plan better, and keeps them from having last minute reasons to delay the project.

Our suppliers won’t change that for us

Why people believe this: Most people don’t have direct contact with business suppliers, so they get their information from how they interact when they shop as a consumer.

The truth: Suppliers want your business, and if they don’t want to alter how they do things, someone else might.

How to overcome this: Always ask the purchasing group if you want something changed. Be prepared to talk dollars. Sometimes you will need to pay a little more for special packaging or smaller order sizes.

If we go faster, someone will get hurt

Why people believe this: People equate productivity with speed. They equate speed with injuries.

The truth: Lean improvements center on consistency of pace and eliminating waste. Lean operations often have less downtime than other operations, but there should also be far less racing.

How to overcome this: Show the person a Lean process. Let them watch someone operating in a Lean manner. Seeing a process in action speaks volumes.

We are already working on that with the (fill in the blank) project

Why people believe this: Companies often have a major initiative going on. Many of these projects had to be ‘sold’ to key leaders, so they have a lot of hype.

The truth: Many projects fall short of the hype, or features get trimmed. Plus, things may sound like they will solve your problem, but in reality, don’t address the issue.

How to overcome this: If you have an option to do a project with similar impact to the one that overlaps the initiative, consider switching. If nothing else is close, get commitment from the project team to include your specs. If they don’t do that, go forward with the project on your own.

It’s already on the calendar

Why people believe this: People see something magical about ink on paper. If it is on the calendar, it’s being handled.

The truth: Unless the project is yours, you probably won’t be getting exactly what you need. Projects also slide or fall off calendars completely.

How to overcome this: If you have a pressing need, do the project. If it overlaps the other project, more than likely, the other project owner will be pleased that you did the work for her.

It doesn’t matter if we fix it—we won’t be able to fix the upstream process

Why people believe this: People recognize that they are small cogs in a bigger machine. There is a tendency to want all inputs to their processes fixed before they work on their own process.

The truth: You will rarely see a process with perfect inputs.

How to overcome this: Never give control of your own future to an outsider. Find the things that you can fix and work on those. In most cases, the supply problem turns out not to be the biggest problem.

One final piece of advice…

Don’t try to talk people into believing that their excuse is not valid. They won’t change their minds, and you will just end up frustrated. Instead, convince them with the actions above. Remember: Seeing is believing.

Tags: linkedin

Featured Lean Thinker: Tim McMahon

In an effort to build the Lean community, I am introducing a new weekly posting in the Gotta Go Lean Blog. Every Thursday, I will profile a “Featured Lean Thinker”. These are the people who have a voice in the Lean community, and are shaping the way people think about and practice Lean. I ask each person the same series of questions so you can get to know them a little better.

This week’s Lean thinker is a fellow blogger, Tim McMahon. Although he writes in his spare time, he has some great articles and has even done a podcast with me about Lean leadership. Unlike many part-time bloggers, Tim is great about keeping to a schedule and posts regularly. Tim started blogging at about the same time as I did, so it’s been interesting to see how both of our sites have grown up together.

And now, Tim’s answers…

What does Lean mean to you?

Lean is all about respecting people by adding value while eliminating Muri (overburdening), Mura (unevenness), and Muda (non value added activity) in all business processes. It is a philosophy which embodies a culture of continuous improvement based on setting standards aimed at eliminating waste through participation of all employees.

Lean which is commonly referred as TPS (from it’s originators) is the “Thinking People System” for me. It is about learning to see waste and solve problems through the development of people. This is a frequently missed and even understated purpose in lean. Lean is truly about people because tools don’t solve problems, people solve problems.

What was your first experience with Lean, and how did you know you were hooked?

My introduction to lean manufacturing is probably somewhat typical.  After coming from a research and development role to an operations role I discovered Lean.  In 1999 I started learning what Lean manufacturing was all about and I have been learning about it ever since.   In the beginning Lean was a way for me to meet operational objectives.  It started tactically with 5S for work place organization, value stream map for creating flow, and a pull system to manage inventory.  There were dramatic results early powered by a sense of accomplishment from empowered problem solving.  I was hungry to learn more.

Now I have found it is a profound way of thinking that encompasses all I do.  Lean is the best business performance system I have seen.  My passion is fueled by those wonderful “a-ha” moments.  Those times when after hours of study and thought the pieces fall into place. 

What is your Lean claim to fame?

I don’t know if I want to claim any specific fame within Lean but I would like to mention some activities I am involved in within the Lean community. I support AME, Association of Manufacturing Excellence, by promoting best practices sharing through social networking.  Social media tools include AMEConnect,  LinkedIn, Twitter, Slideshare, YouTube, Facebook, etc.  I work directly with Northeast Region Board on social media, local networking roundtables, and creating and running AME Workshops.  I actively participate in various local Lean networking groups to promote shared learning in New England.

Where do you see Lean going in the future?  What is on the horizon?

There are many more opportunities for Lean to be successful.  Lean focuses on processes; has a measurable impact on time, capacity and customer satisfaction; and involves all employees.  This formula will help many organizations to be more successful.

I would have to say that the biggest opportunity for lean is in our service industries.  Lean has a proven track record in many manufacturing operations.  I think we all see things everyday in our lives as we interact with businesses that bug us.  These are things that cause poor service, higher costs, less value and more waiting.  It would nice to live in place where continuous improvement is common place.   Maybe that sounds utopian but this is happening in many service industries already. 

Tim’s Autobiography:

I am the Founder and Contributor of A Lean Journey Blog. This site is dedicated to sharing lessons and experiences along the Lean Journey in the Quest for True North. The blog also serves as the source for learning and reflection which are critical elements in Lean Thinking.

Since I believe you should practice what you preach, my day job is a Lean practitioner with more than 10 years of Lean manufacturing experience.  I currently lead continuous improvement efforts for OFS, a high tech manufacturer fiber optic cables and assemblies for several plants in the Northeast.  A major focus is teaching, learning and engaging the organization in Lean Thinking to establish our own process for business excellence.

You can learn more about me on LinkedIn – Tim McMahon, follow me on http://twitter.com/timaleanjourney, or be a fan on A Lean Journey Page.

Tags: Featured Lean Thinker, linkedin

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