The first question which comes to anybody's mind is why Lean!
The only answer to this, in my opinion is Survival, Improved performance & Savings!

Survival:
As the competition is an irrefutable fact. With the consumer being pampered with multiples of options for any product or service for that matter, only the one with optimized yet flexible enough processes is bound to survive! Forget the old ford model-T gag: you can have any colour on your car, as long it's black!

Improved Performance & Savings:
Discover the hidden potential of your organisation, see the various lead times, costs and labour requirements go drastically down as you tread the path of Lean!



Senior Management to agree and discuss their lean vision:

For any lean transformation to be a Success, the commitment of the Senior management to drive it is a pre requisite, many transformation experts advocate the Bottom Up Approach, which indeed is the Original idea but with the Economic factors driving the company's performance and the stiff competition any organisation is bound to face, it is prudent on the part of the senior management to drive such initiatives so as to realize the benefits in a relatively shorter period. This also provides the organisation a clear cut path to tread and in fact reduced surprises! In fact many successful Lean Organisations have a corporate team guiding the other function in the implementation and stabilization phases.

Brainstorm to identify project leader and set objectives:
The key to any improvement project is the clear definition of the Objective & the Deliverables. the selection of an able leader - a person who has the ground control and mass acceptance, trained in the principles of lean, should be the ideal person for the job.

Communicate the plan and vision to the workforce

Another step is to create the Communication plan, a set of documents, communiqués and meetings targeted to convince the workforce of the benifits of the initiative. Care should be taken to explicitly assure the work force of their job security this is in order to prevent any wrong and unintended communication going to the workforce.

The vision of the organisation should be put before the workforce and ample time should be given for it's assimilation down the line. Ample number of contact programmes and help desks are recommended to sort out any issues of mis-communication.


Ask for volunteers to form the Lean Implementation team (5-7 works best, all from different departments)
& Appoint members of the Lean Manufacturing Implementation Team

For any diagnostic and implementation project, a team with a good mix of freshers and experienced employees should be considered. The team is usually Cross Functional, i.e. each member derived from a different function. But care is usually advised in choosing the right people for the job.
This team reports to the Project manager.

Train the Implementation Team in the various lean tools

Consider employing the services of an external consultant, many are available. This improves transparency in the process and in many cases outcomes correctly are highlighted. An external consultant will also be pivotal in the initial training of the team members.

Make a point of trying to visit other non competing businesses which have implemented lean

Doing such will help you gather many Best Practices and an insight into the practical part of implementation.


Select a Pilot Project – 5S is a good place to start Run the pilot for 2-3 months

This has often proved to be a good Team Building exercise. In fact many new team members and Line Leaders are identified in this kind of projects.

The Line leaders are the part of the workforce who help percolate the New Values.
There is an ancient saying in Sanskrit:

Evaluate, review and learn from your mistakes

The most important but often neglected aspect of the transformation process. It is often advised to have a Knowledge Bank of the learnings. Though every effort must me made to challenge Old conceptions of how the system works!

Roll out pilot to other factory areas
As the confidence of the driving team and the management solidifies, roll out new projects in areas similar or identical to the Pilot project.


Evaluate results, encourage feedback

Evaluation of the results should not only be on the Hard aspects but also be on the Soft aspect of a Pilot transformation project. Many pilot projects are not a complete success but their impact on the Softer side of the organisation certainly paves the way for a great turnaround.

Once you are satisfied that you have a habitual program, consider introducing the next lean tool
Select the one which will give you the biggest return for your business

The other Lean tools including TPM, GKWs & Value stream analysis are the next levers to operate.

All the best for your Lean Transformation Exercise.

In the next post i will come up with a structured approach as utilized my me in Heavy Fabrication Industry.

Iniyavan