Introduction to Lean Thinking

Introduction to Lean Concepts Workshop

Introduction To Lean provides participants with the basic Lean concepts and principles. These concepts and principles will be described and put in context to explain how they can be applied within an office as well as the manufacturing environment.

Lean is simply about creating more value for customers by eliminating activities that are considered waste. Any activity or process that consumes resources, adds cost or time without creating value becomes the target for elimination. One of the important aspects of KAIZEN Lean is the focus on ‘system-level’ improvements (versus ‘point improvements’). It’s the system-level work that can dramatically improve a company’s bottom line results. This knowledge, combined with the understanding of how to remove waste properly, is critical for any successful Lean implementation.

Common Lean improvement tools and techniques will be identified and the class will discuss how best to apply these techniques from a Lean system perspective. The common mistake companies make by focusing on ‘point’ improvements versus ‘system’ improvement will be studied. ‘Point’ improvements create ‘exciting chaos’ while ‘system’ improvement creates dramatic bottom line improvements. Different types of Waste will be defined from a Lean point of view. Class will brainstorm, identify and classify the different types of waste that they see within their own work environments. Identifying waste is the first necessary step. Knowing how to properly remove it, is much more challenging. The root causes of Waste will be examined and successful methods used to eliminate it will be discussed.

A group simulation will demonstrate the power of one-piece flow (vs. batch production). Introduction to Lean will briefly discuss other key factors within an organization necessary to sustain Lean. An examination of the company organization; the leadership and culture, common company measures will be studied in terms of how they reinforce present behaviors and alternative Lean measures will be introduced.

Learning Objectives

• Introduce the concept of Lean
• Illustrate the importance of creating organizational enablers at the beginning
• Build enthusiasm within your team

Who Should Attend?

In many cases, efforts to implement Lean have stalled because the organization involved used various Lean techniques without sufficient thought about creating a Culture that would enable success. This workshop is for those individuals whose task is to create an environment that fosters and sustains Lean changes in their organization.

These could be:

• Operational Leaders
• Value Stream Managers
• Human Resource Managers
• Financial Managers
• Trainers

Lean Advisors employs senior consultants who are veterans in the industries they serve. To learn more about how we can help you make your organization everything that it can be, Contact Us.