Lean process improvement is a corporate initiative aimed at achieving operational excellence. This is an approach that improves the efficiency and quality of the process, providing faster service and lower costs. Positive implementation is no longer limited to production. It can be successfully applied to service and administrative processes. Manufacturing companies and service companies should take into account the positive impact of Lean on all organizational processes when developing their Lean improvement strategy.
There are five basic steps to developing a strategy for improving the lean process:
- Rate current status
- Determining the future workflow
- Determination of the organizational structure of the future state
- Prioritization
- Development of plans
Match the current state creation flow / process and collect actual process data. While you are collecting data, take notes on the information and the flow of material. Review your data to make sure all the necessary data is collected.
Determining the future workflow
The workflow depends on the product layout and process. For most organizations, workflow is the best place to start. With simplified workflow much easier.
First you will know the final layout and location of the factory or office. However, you should be able to determine where working cells are likely to be used and where they may be missing. You can determine where several pieces of new equipment or moving existing equipment can simplify parts of a complex workflow.
In service processes, creating a workflow is not easy, because office processes are usually invisible. You will need to make these processes visible and intelligently adapt Lean principles to create a stream.
Determination of the organizational structure of the future state
The consistency of the infrastructure supporting elements in the organization. They may not add value in the eyes of the client, but they facilitate or help your processes. Infrastructure includes planning, training, culture, organizational structure, quality methods, utility systems, costing systems and investment policies, and many other elements. Some of these elements are rooted in attitudes, habits, and culture, rather than in specific policies and procedures.
Define your own tools and methods.
Based on your vision of the future state, choose the appropriate tools and principles for improving Lean. You can also define other world-class improvement methods that are not part of the regular Lean tool list.
Prioritization
Then define priorities and use cases. Priority may require the use of certain principles to make the other principle practical. For example, Quick Changeover (SMED) may be required to enable kanbans and work cells. Work cells also work best with small batches. Priority may be Work cells - SMED-Kanban In fact, they are likely to be parallel as well as consistent.
Priorities are partly dependent on precedent, but they also depend on the return on investment. Giving priority to Lean improvements, products and areas that promise the fastest and greatest profits, Lean transformation becomes self-financing. You can use focused improvement tools, such as Kaizen events, to get immediate returns and payback on your investment. The difference in the potential between lean and non-hip companies does not amount to 5-10 percent; these are differences in sea changes in quality, cost, delivery, and, of course, profits.
Another factor in prioritizing is quick payoff or the principle of "low hanging fruit". For many different reasons, it can be very quick and easy to implement one or another of your selected enhancements. Therefore, it makes sense to give such improvements a high priority.
Development of plans
With a broad overview of the situation and vision of the future and knowledge of precedents and priorities, you can begin to plan your course of action.
There are eight steps to implement and maintain Lean improvements:
- Money management commitment
- Identify key process or value stream
- Teach Lean Concepts
- Display the current state of the process flow or values
- Identify the Lean Metrics that best suits your organization.
- Map of the future state of the process or value stream
- Development Kaizen and Project plans to reach the future of the state
- Implementation of plans for the future of the state
Many organizations have tried to excel in the past by copying solutions found by other organizations, either through benchmarking or from a book. Your company is unique and will likely have some unique problems and limitations — you need to customize Lean thinking according to your organization so that you can find your own answers.
Never stop collecting the lessons that you learn on your way to lean. Lean Transformation is a journey not intended, and it will require you to think about your experience and every lesson you learn along the way.
