2 Second Lean Summary
"A Lean strategy will always yield a simpler, safer and better product, and with happier, very involved employees."
By adopting Lean thinking, one can reduce the stock and directly tackle two crucial maxims: cut waste and improve constantly.
Running production in large batches requires lots of space, machinery and workforce, additionally, the means to move products around. Instead, if opted for ‘U-shaped manufacturing cells,’ each worker becomes responsible for producing only one item from start to finish. This process offers many benefits, such as, workers produce less inventory, make fewer mistakes and create less waste. One-piece production improves cash flow.
The first thing that lean seeks to destroy is waste. As an organisation, your task is to eliminate it. There are eight sources of waste: Transport (moving people, products & information), Inventory (storing parts, pieces, documentation ahead of requirements), Motion (bending, turning, reaching, lifting etc), Waiting (for parts, information, instructions, equipment etc), Over production (making more than is immediately required), Over processing (tighter tolerances or higher grade materials than are necessary),
Defects (rework, scrap, incorrect documentation), Skills (under-utilizing capabilities, delegating tasks with inadequate training)
Defects (rework, scrap, incorrect documentation), Skills (under-utilizing capabilities, delegating tasks with inadequate training)
By eliminating waste, it is possible to achieve better outcomes as lesser energy expenditure. Consider every potential small improvement. Lean means hunting down all possible wastes and helping employees improve their work all the time. Provide the team with appropriate example by always attempting to make every task and process simpler.
Lean can be applied in almost all spheres of life including activities performed at home. Seek out for potential small improvements that can be done in daily routine which may save you time/energy/money.
Toyota makes millions of improvements every year, all generated from the ideas of their employees worldwide.
The author suggests taking a ‘pilgrimage’ to Japan - the center of Lean thinking, if one has means and time, to learn directly from the experts at Toyota.
The 5S concept of Lean can serve as an elementary guideline for starting any organization’s Lean journey. The 5 ‘S’ stand for:
‘Seiri (Sort)’ – Decide what is needed and what is not. Get rid of non-required items.
‘Seiton (Set in order/straighten)’ – Systematize how you display tools.
‘Seiso (Shine)’ – Clean floors and workspaces daily.
‘Seiketsu (Standardize)’” – Share best practices and represent them visually.
‘Shitsuke (Sustain)’ – Mark where certain things belong.
This can be implemented all at once, or only a subset to get started. For example, Hoks, a Japanese manufacturer that went from a multi-million-dollar loss to an amazing $10 million profit in only a few years, began its transition with only three S: sweep, sort and standardize.
To integrate Lean in organization culture, one needs to start building a culture that displays lean principles in every day life. For example, use ‘morning meetings’ to share performance updates and success stories with your team. Start with five minutes every day, and scale up the meetings to last about 30 to 45 minutes. During this time, no one works; everyone has to share insights and improvement opportunities. Rotate the task of leading the meetings to generate and encourage leadership within the team.
Everyone likes acknowledgement and admiration for their achievements. In Lean culture, the individual comes first, then the process and then the product. Build an inclusive, proud culture and enjoy more content faces in the organization.
Some people might struggle to come up with ideas for continuous improvements in the workplace. Simplify this process by asking for small, incremental enhancements. Ask “how can you save just two seconds in your daily working routine?” If everyone performs these two-second improvements every day, those seconds will accumulate to a significant savings in time and resources. To recognize your team’s creative enhancements, walk around the facility each morning to see how your employees have improved their workplace.
A simple idea becomes powerful when one “sets the expectation, inspects the expectation” and then “reinforces the expectation.”
As a lean leader, one needs to be humble, show openness when mistakes are made and always praise the staff. Problem-solving concepts becomes simpler when others happily share their ideas for improvement.
To strengthen the idea of two-second lean, make sure the improvements are built on following three pillars:
‘See waste’ – To eliminate the eight wastes, people must recognize them.
‘Continuously improve everything, everybody, every day’ – Keep building on your achievements.
‘Make before and after videos of all your improvements’ – Videos makes the achievements visible to everyone. They can be educational and show progress and can even be used for marketing purposes.
As per author one doesn’t need to hire consultants to start on Lean culture. All one needs do is move through this list of 11 steps, one at a time:
1. Make sure the CEO personally embraces and adopts the Lean idea.
2. Hold team meetings daily.
3. Teach the eight wastes.
4. Encourage everyone to make videos.
5. Point at yourself when you demonstrate waste.
6. 'Fix what bugs you.'
7. Begin implementing lean practices in any places that no longer work.
8. Get started yourself; don’t wait for an external consultant to appear.
9. Leave family out of it; never teach your spouse or children to be Lean.
10. Don’t hesitate – once you begin, you will soon gain recognition as a Lean leader.
11. Always look for a simple solution to any problem.
If at any time the culture needs more drive, go back to step 1 and repeat until the workplace experiences revival.
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