3 tips for implementing lean production

The lean concept was originally brought to life by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota and formed the basis of the Toyota production system. Streamlining a value chain according to this guiding principle means identifying and eliminating superfluous process components. This means that only processes that add value to the end product should take place.

Since the 1990s, this lean thinking has been adopted by the western automotive industry and subsequently by other sectors of the economy due to its economic success. Today, this philosophy can be applied in almost all areas of the company, so that lean is representative of an entire management style.

The goal of lean production is to optimize the target values ​​of quality, costs, time and flexibility within the value chain by consistently avoiding any kind of waste. In order to improve their value chain with lean production, companies should consider a few things.

For sustainable success, it is essential to continuously review and revise processes. Therefore, a fundamental requirement is to embed the right mentality and skills within the workforce.

In production – it basically doesn’t matter what type of product is involved – companies struggle with unnecessary transport routes and throughput times, high work-in-progress stocks and a lack of transparency between individual production steps. This is typical waste that can be identified and prevented with lean methods.

Historically grown production systems are often characterized by operational blindness and a “we’ve always done it this way” mentality. While the causes can be complex, the effects in all areas are stagnation, frustration and the risk of being left behind. Lean production can actively counteract this.

However, applying lean methods selectively is not enough – instead, a profound mind change must take place. So here are three pieces of advice based on Lean Transformation experience:

In addition to maximum added value and the zero-defect principle, the continuous one-piece flow is one of the three characteristics of the Lean Nordstern. At the start of the lean transformation, its introduction to sub-areas of the value chain is a perfect tool for transplanting the lean idea. The switch to one-piece flow, for example by setting up a chaku-chaku line, reveals the existing waste and eliminates it. In addition to drastic reductions in throughput time, inventory and costs, quality defects are not propagated as they are noticed immediately after they occur. Such quick and visible successes, where employees and managers learn a lot about transparency, streamlining and flow orientation, are the key success factor for the introduction of Lean.

Shop floor at the place of value creation is able to replace unproductive face-to-face and web meetings as a central communication tool. This is achieved by embedding it in a well thought-out cascade with the right departments at different escalation levels – starting with the productive employees themselves. Immediately after the escalation of a deviation, there is a go-and-see at the point of discovery, in which the facts of the matter become clear to every problem solver. This is the only way he is willing to be held accountable for a scheduled measure, including feedback. It is crucial that employees speak frankly about successes and deviations instead of apologizing for their own mistakes or covering them up. On an interpersonal level, this can be done unsatisfactorily via zoom or digital dashboards. Even if, in times of process digitization, analog processes sound more backward than future-oriented, face-to-face meetings, pens and flipcharts are far from obsolete.

Lean Manufacturing aims to create a culture of continuous improvement to make the company better every day. This is not possible without Lean Leaders: capable executives who have learned to look and recognize and are able to lead problem solving or improvement to success. However, the selective application of lean methods can only achieve limited short-term effects. Even didactically perfect method knowledge is quickly lost by the employees in day-to-day business. In-depth lean leadership training is essential, but so complex that it has to be rolled out by experts. She starts with self-management. That means discipline, a systematic approach, self-reflection and asking for feedback. On this basis, the skills to lead others are imparted. Encouraging and challenging makes employees better every day. Guidance through questions forms the basis for appreciation and allows us to get to the root cause. Lean managers trained in this way will have the ability to train intrinsically motivated specialists to become the lean leaders of tomorrow.

The lean transformation can succeed if the philosophy is anchored in the company’s DNA and is lived by the employees. The willingness to do so can be significantly strengthened with successes from the pilot projects, so that a good start can be made. If the workforce, and in particular the managers, are then made to do everything they can to establish and maintain a ruthlessly honest feedback culture, there is the best chance of breaking with operational blindness and authoritarian leadership.