Why are there so many Lean specialties?

Why are there so many Lean specialties?

The main reason for the specialties is that Lean is primarily thought of as an improvement philosophy for manufacturing. In fact, it was originally called “Lean Manufacturing.”

But those who got good at it quickly learned two things. The first is that the tools could be modified for office work, and second, that the shop floor was only part of the opportunity with Lean. Getting the most out of it required improving the supporting processes as well. So, the “Lean Office” was born.

Seeing the potential, people soon migrated the tools to a variety of places. But it was still hard for people to accept that a manufacturing focused philosophy could help them.

So enterprising consultants and writers saw an opportunity, and re-branded sets of tools as Lean Service, Lean Hospitals, and Lean Government. The primary reason is to get people to be more responsive to welcoming Lean into their work area.