Breakthrough improvements are major changes in processes that yield business-altering results. Continuous improvement, on the other hand, is the relentless attack on waste that makes companies get better at a steady pace. A strong, improvement-oriented company will have both breakthrough improvements and a continuous improvement culture as part of its Read more…
Accounts payable (AP) is an accounting term. It is the listings on a company’s financial statement of the obligations to pay off short term debt. This is most often in the form of bills for materials and services received and short-term loans. It also includes things like accrued payroll expenses Read more…
Who is the governing body of Lean? The short answer is that there is no governing body for Lean. There are, however, quite a few powerful influencers. In terms of companies, Toyota is the company most closely associated with Lean. While they have no authority over “Lean”, when they speak, Read more…
What keeps people from trying Lean? What are the barriers? There are several reasons companies choose not to try to implement Lean. More accurately, it is the people who make decisions for the company who decide not to try it. The first common reason is reputation. Some people have heard Read more…
What books should I read first when starting out in Lean? The first and best answer is, of course, Whaddaya Mean I Gotta be Lean? Building the Bridge from Job Satisfaction to Corporate Profit. It is a great place to start. It was written by Jeff Hajek. The first half of the book Read more…
Should I believe the hype about Lean? As you research what to expect from Lean in terms of specific performance increases, you will undoubtedly come across a glut of claims. The thing to keep in mind is that many of these claims come from sources that benefit from the improvement Read more…
How successful are companies at Lean? When researching Lean, it is easy to find examples of companies that are extremely successful at Lean, but it is harder to find information about what the chance of being one of those companies is. In all the years of researching about Lean, I Read more…
How long does it take to become Lean? First, let’s define “becoming Lean” as creating a culture and system that is generally recognizable to other companies as being “Lean.” It’s a vague description, but Lean will mean different things to different people. The second complicating factor is that the pace Read more…
Do financial incentives work in Lean? Yes, financial incentives work, when done right and for the correct things. When I have this discussion with people, I always start the conversation by asking what happens if you stop paying your employees. Obviously, the financial incentive of a paycheck makes the person Read more…
Can a single department implement Lean on its own? The short answer is yes, but only to a degree. Many of the problem-solving tools and leadership activities work within a group’s own boundaries. You can do 5S and implement Standard Work. You can install poka yokes, and manage with KPIs, and daily management without a whole Read more…
I see a lot of talk in Lean circles about blaming the process and not the person. The truth is, people fall on a spectrum for most skills and characteristics. I’m not sure if it is a bell curve or some other distribution, but with nearly all traits and skills, Read more…
I am often asked about how I go about helping a company get started on its continuous improvement journey. When I am acting as a consultant, I generally view that as the wrong question. There’s one question I like to ask before the ‘how’ that has probably the highest correlation Read more…