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By Doug Howardell
Lean! Lean! Lean! They’re chanting it in corporate boardrooms around the globe. Yet, the
reality is that only a few companies have achieved any significant measure of Lean-ness.
Why are companies struggling to get Lean? Is it lack of top management commitment? I
don’t think so. The top guys want all the bottom line savings and increased flexibility that Lean
promises. Is it a lack of computer systems that support lean? Not at all. Lean doesn’t take a
computer. It’s a set of tools, or more like a tool box full of tools and techniques. Is it the people
who work in these would-be Lean companies? Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter.
Companies are not brands that customers recognize or the products that they sell.
Companies are not the buildings they’re housed in, the web site that represents them in
cyberspace, the computers that house their data, or the processes by which things get done.
Companies are a collection of people voluntarily banding together to produce a product or
service. In order to have a Lean Enterprise, you have to have Lean people. And the people have
to get Lean before the company can get Lean.
What makes Lean People? It is the convergence of three spheres: experience,
knowledge and skill. Specifically, it’s experience in the business or industry, knowledge of the
tools and techniques of Lean Thinking and the “soft” skills that allow them to put that experience
and knowledge to work. While I’ll touch on experience and knowledge, the main thrust of this
article is the skills required to take the experience and knowledge and apply to helping the
company become Lean.
Experience
Experience means that you have a thorough working knowledge of the industry in which
you work. To have a thorough knowledge of your industry means that you are aware of all the
general requirements of the field. You see the big picture that represents your part of the world.
Important things you should know about your industry include:
• Major providers and suppliers
• Customers, clients or patrons
• Standard methods of matching providers and customers
• Sources of income or funding and how to get these
• Specific language used
• Specific governing rules or laws
• Behavioral norms and expectations
• And more…
People have sufficient experience to support Lean initiatives when they have thorough
knowledge of the industry in which they work.
Knowledge
A search of an on-line book store came up with over 16,000 titles on the subject of Lean,
and that excludes all the books on lean as in dieting. All the books on Lean manufacturing or
Lean enterprise are meant to teach the Lean tools and show their application. Clearly the
knowledge part of puzzle is well covered.
Lean Enterprises are created using tools from that tool box I mentioned. A short list of
some of Lean’s basic tools includes.
Value Stream Mapping Six Sigma Quality
The 5 S’s Visual Management
Kaizen Events Process Reengineering
Cellular Manufacturing Line Balancing
Kanbans Single piece flows
Mistake Proofing Self inspection
There is only one problem with these tenets and tools; they have to be applied by people.
These are the same people who are doing things the old way today, the same people who have
been doing things this old way for a long time, the same people who have a vested interest in
doing things the way they have always been done. This is the biggest challenge in getting Lean.
You have to get the experts at doing things the old way to do things in a new way. Do not
underestimate this challenge. Anyone who has tried to implement change in any organization
knows that getting the people to change is the biggest problem.
Skills
In order to have a Lean Enterprise, you have to have Lean people. There are seven skills
that make people Lean. The seven Lean People Skills are prerequisites for effectively applying
Lean Enterprise tenets and tools. The skills are:
1. Understanding Value
2. Identifying and working the value stream
3. Being Adaptive
4. Taking the Initiative
5. Innovating: Changing things for the better
6. Having a Collaborative outlook
7. Leading from below
Because a company is only as good as its people, these Lean People Skills are the
prerequisites for creating a Lean Enterprise. Like the tools of Lean Enterprise, some of these
skills are not new in themselves, but they do take on much greater importance for the people of a
Lean Enterprise. These Lean People Skills should be viewed as a set. Everyone working in an
Lean Enterprise requires them all. A weakness in any skill is the proverbial weak link. It is a flaw
that must be corrected. Let’s take a look at each of the Lean People Skills.
All the goals of the Lean Enterprise, reduced waste, faster through put, reduced costs,
and higher profits, can only be achieved through the efforts of its people. To achieve these goals,
the people must have knowledge of Lean tenets and tools, experience in their industry and
function, and they must possess the skills to respond to constant change, constant demand for
more, and constant quickening of the pace. The Lean Enterprise must assure its people possess
all three elements. Experience is something that happens over time. Knowledge and skills come
from education and training.
Education and training do not happen by themselves. A training and education plan must
be put in place. That plan starts with assessing the training needs in the three critical areas,
Knowledge, Experience and Skill. The assessment acts as a strategic improvement plan and
training needs analysis that will lead to accomplishment of your goals. A good assessment tool
will evaluate all three critical areas, provide feedback to each individual and collect and
summarize the individual results into meaningful categories.
When your organization has assessed a sufficient number of people, you can plan
training classes to strengthen the organization’s ability to implement Lean tools. If you assess
everyone in your organization, you can use the results to develop specific course rosters. To
develop a roster, select a minimum acceptable score for Knowledge, Experience and each of the
seven Skills. Then identify those individuals with scores below that minimum and that’s your
roster for a specific course. If you assess a sample population, you can define combinations of
departments and management levels that need specific courses. After you select a minimum
acceptable score for Knowledge, Experience and each of the seven Skills, identify combinations
of departments and management levels with scores below that level. Example: Manufacturing –
Supervisors need training in Understanding Value from the Customer’s Perspective; Sales –
Executives need Knowledge of Lean tools and tenets. Then identify everyone in that combination
of department and management level (e.g., all Sales Executives) and that’s your roster.
Once the assessment is completed and evaluated, you can develop or procure training in
the areas where the assessment showed you need additional information. Next, schedule the
training and education sessions being careful not to overbook individuals into too many courses.
Reassess your people after the training to assure your learning goals have been met.
Creating Lean People requires you to act. Start right away. The board room is
demanding it, the competition is doing it and you can’t wait any longer. Lean Enterprises are
created by Lean People.