What is Lean Manufacturing?

At the heart of ‘lean’ is the customer, and a focus on the customer’s definition of quality. Lean production involves being able to deliver a product or service to the customer on time, in full, every time. You might be asking; what’s that got to do with lean? The simple answer is 'everything'.

Put yourself in the customer’s shoes for a moment. I know you can do it; you’re probably somebody’s customer several times a day, whether it’s in the supermarket, the petrol station, the news agent or even at work.

So what is it you really want? Could it be value for money? Would you be just a little bit upset if you found out that you were paying for somebody’s poor work practices? What if you found out that a loaf of bread, costs ten cents more than it should, because the baker always made more dough than he used, and made you pay for it? And what if you found out that, that same baker, always baked more loaves than he could sell, and added another five cents to the cost of each loaf to cover that as well?

Lean philosophy tells us that the customer shouldn’t be paying for anything that doesn’t add value to the product, or service that is being provided. So, do you know what lean manufacturing is now?

If you answered with something like: eliminating waste, or only doing those things that add value for the customer, you’d be on the right track. Lean manufacturing is about both. If you are going to do only those things that add value for the customer, you have to eliminate waste. So let’s go back to our baker for a moment.

We know two things about his baking practices, he always makes too much dough (and throws out the excess) and he always bakes too many loaves, and throws out what he doesn’t sell. What do you think the baker would say if you asked him why he made you pay for his waste? He’d probably say that if he didn’t he’d go broke. By not covering all of his production costs, including his waste, he wouldn’t make enough money to stay in business. And if you asked him why he made too much, he’d probably say because that’s they way he’s always done it. It was probably the way he was taught. Remember the old truism “you can never have too much of anything”? Still think that it’s true?

Our baker friend could reduce his waste, and his costs (and perhaps his prices), if he were able to eliminate or reduce the extra dough and bread he threw out. By measuring his excess dough every night (bakers usually bake at night) and working out what the average quantity was, he could reduce the amount he threw out significantly, simply by reducing the amount of dough he made by the average amount of waste. If he did the same thing with the loaves he threw out, he’d be able to further reduce his waste, and his costs.

This is a simple lesson in lean manufacturing, but there is still one thing to learn. It doesn’t stop! You keep trying to reduce or eliminate waste. And the thing is, you not only get less waste, but you get better at what you do, all the time, because you’re always learning, and improving on what you do.

Talk about workplace learning :)

What lean practices are being used in your workplace? How has 'lean' reduced waste and costs where you work? Do you have lean stories do can share with us? We look forward to hearing from you.

Peter Hancock

Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd


Free 'LEAN' learning resources:

 

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Related Article:

• Why focus on workplace learning?

Why focus on workplace learning?

Most people don’t think about workplaces as learning places. Traditionally schools, universities, colleges and, even kindergartens, are thought of as learning places—but not factories, building sites, warehouses, offices, salons, workshops, or butchers’ shops! Many of us have the idea that learning is what we do first—then we go to work, out into the ‘real world’, and we think we won’t have to bother with learning any more!

However this is not the case. The ‘real world’, and the world of work, requires us to learn and to keep learning. With constant changes in markets, customers, clients and products; new technologies, new systems and ways of working; shifting policies and regulations—even with new managers, and staff; learning becomes essential, whether we like it or not. So there is a need for learning at work. There are various ways to meet these learning needs, training is only one of them. And while training (either on, or off-site) may be useful, there are many other possibilities. Some of them are not very well understood, nor used effectively.

There is an enormous amount of important learning happening in workplaces—whether we realise it or not. Much of this learning happens without any formal training or instruction at all. It is important to remember that learning happens without teaching—even when we’re not aware of it. In workplaces there is a great deal of informal learning going on, all of the time. Sometimes, unfortunately, what people are learning turns out to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution! All of this learning needs to be understood, and some of it changed.

We also know from our own school experiences, that it is quite possible for there to be a great deal of teaching (or training) going on—but what people are learning can be an entirely different matter!

That’s why, although we’re a Registered Training Organisation with nationally recognised courses to offer, we focus on workplace learning, change and productive work—not just training. It is important to understand that there are many factors involved in trying to ‘drive’ or facilitate change (or continuous improvement) in a workplace. When training is successful in ‘making a difference’ it is usually because there are multiple factors within the workplace which support and strengthen the learning. For instance:

• People are given the opportunity to apply what they have learned and practise the skills they develop.
• There is support for some ‘risk taking’ (in learning and development) and ‘mistakes’ are recognised—sometimes even celebrated—as opportunities for improvement.
• The culture of the workplace values, recognises and rewards learning.
• Opportunities are available and systems are put in place to ‘capture’ and share learning across the organisation.

Conversely, without these things happening, even excellent training programs may fail to have real impact as ‘things go back to normal’ after the initial enthusiasm of the training session wanes.

You might like to share your stories with us!

• What are people learning in your workplace—and is it all productive learning, which benefits both individuals and the organisation?
• Is learning valued and celebrated in your workplace? How?
• Can you think of examples where teaching or training has taken place, but nothing has changed? Why was that?

Dr Peter Waterhouse
Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd.

Related Articles:

• Is your workplace sick?
• Symptoms of a sick workplace
• Why blaming doesn’t work
• Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions?

Is your workplace sick?

Is your workplace ‘sick’? We don’t mean sick the way some young people might say new music, or clothes, or a film is sick—meaning that it is unusual and different, but also trendy, cool and highly desirable.

No, we mean is your workplace sick the way we (human beings) sometimes get sick.

When we’re sick we are unwell, we’re not functioning properly; we’re not ‘firing on all cylinders’. So we can’t perform the way we’d like to—things don’t happen the way we expect them to happen. Sometimes there’s an ache, or a pain that’s quite specific. This gives us a clue to where something is wrong. At other times it’s not so obvious, the symptoms may be many, subtle, indirect, or variable; but we still know something’s not right. Being unwell can be mildly irritating, or it can be completely disabling. It can be frustrating, it can slow you down; or it can stop you in your tracks. Being unwell can make some things difficult but others absolutely impossible. It can be demoralizing and in some cases it can lead to people giving up altogether.

In our experience all of these symptoms can also be found in sick workplaces. Unhealthy workplaces don’t function very effectively. They’re bad for people and they’re bad for profits. A workplace can be seriously sick—or just a little off-color. Either way there is room for improvement.

However in most workplaces it’s the people (a person or group of people, you know, “Them!”) who get the blame. It’s rare that anyone really stops to ask; ‘What’s wrong with this place? Why do these things keep happening? Does it have to be like this? Could it be different – could it be better? Why can’t we fix this?’

Sometimes when we’re sick we go to the doctor. Most times we can get well again. But there aren’t too many doctors who can ‘diagnose’ and ‘cure’ an unhealthy workplace. There are some specialists in universities and high-powered consulting firms who know about these things. However they tend to be expensive, not very accessible; and they talk a language which is difficult to understand. These, ‘specialists’ often have their own formula, or ‘model’. They want the client organisation to conform to their model, the one-right-way a business should be structured and run. But we know the variations are almost limitless and that there isn’t one-right-way to do most things.

That’s why we are starting this blog. We are not in an Ivory Tower (or a glass tower either) and hopefully we’re talking in plain language. We want to connect with people in workplaces who are interested in these issues. In particular we want to talk with managers, supervisors, team leaders and business owners who are interested in creating and sustaining ‘healthy’ workplaces. In our experience a ‘healthy’ workplace is also a happy and productive workplace. And we’re not just talking about Occupational Health & Safety here—although that’s an important part of the story; we’re talking about the well-being, productivity and performance of the workplace as a whole. We know that training isn’t always the answer (that’s why it’s only part of what we do) but we also understand that in various ways it is possible to make a difference. ‘Sick’ workplaces can become healthy and productive.

So, do you think you’re in a ‘sick’ workplace? Or were you once in a sick workplace? Did it get better? Or worse? How? What happened? Why don’t you tell us something about it? We may be able to help but even if not, others out in Blogspace will have ideas to share. We look forward to hearing from you.

Peter Waterhouse & Peter Hancock
http://www.wli.com.au/


Related Articles:

• Symptoms of a 'sick' workplace
• Why blaming doesn't work
• Why focus on workplace learning?
• Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions?