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Who needs to know about lean manufacturing?

The dissemination of such knowledge is an investment in the company’s future

Human icons connected with gears.

All employees in a metal fabrication shop needn’t know everything about lean manufacturing, but they should know how what aspects of the process can help them make a difference. Getty Images

You cannot become a lean organization in a knowledge vacuum. That is, you cannot be successful in your lean manufacturing journey if you identify just one person as your lean resource, the keeper of all lean knowledge. These statements almost seem absurd and demeaning to one’s senses and logic, but they are worth exploring.

Perhaps you can boil the matter down to “who needs to know?” Who needs to know about lean philosophies and concepts? Who needs to know about where, when, and how to use the various lean tools and analysis methods? There is a lot to know, especially if you want success from your lean investments and commitments.

The Knowledge

The lean body of knowledge is broad and rich. It is a collection of principles, concepts, methodologies, and tools. Lean principles set a direction. Think of them as the guardrails along the highway. They keep you from running way off course, provide some structure to help lead the organization, and are sharp enough to hold yourself and others—especially those in leadership roles—accountable.

Key lean principles include having respect for people and operating with humility. Pursuing lean without these principles is like driving down a treacherous highway without guardrails. Sooner or later, you’ll run off the highway.

Lean concepts describe what your lean initiative might accomplish. Flow is one concept all fabricators need to manage, be it about material flow, product flow, or information flow. Do products or information flow in a logical sequence and meaningful path? The concept of flow alone does not tell you how to improve the current state, but it certainly paints a picture about what could be.

Lean methodologies provide structure to put ideas into action. Think of this as how-to guidance that a person, when properly trained, can execute successfully. For instance, the changeover methodology takes a person from beginning to end of the changeover process. Press brake changeover is a prime example. The method helps operators transform internal elements (which occur during the changeover, when the press brake is idle) into external elements (when the brake is running and making good parts). The method encourages operators to look for ways to minimize or eliminate the need for the changeover and understand the sequence of steps to effectively transition from the last piece of the previous run to the first good piece of the next run.

Also consider the 5S methodology, which helps you work logically through the 5S process design (how and where information flows), execution (providing training and time for everyone to conduct 5S activities), and follow-up (conducting 5S audits and making feedback actionable to continually improve 5S audit scores).

Finally, you have the lean tools, the hammers and screwdrivers in your lean toolbox. These include the analytical ways you assess and plan for effective operations. Prime examples are the spaghetti diagram and takt-time analyses. The lean practitioner knows which lean tool to pull for the appropriate problem or opportunity.

Examining the lean body of knowledge in this way helps you dissect information into easy-to-understand, logical sections, which you then can associate with people across your organization. Doing this, you spread the lean body of knowledge far and wide, beyond one or a handful of lean champions.

The People

No one person at your company needs to know everything about lean, but your employees’ collective expertise should cover the entire lean body of knowledge. This is a goal worth striving for if your company is serious about its lean journey. So, who in your organization needs to know what? Let’s simplify this discussion by looking at four groups.

The first group consists of company leaders, including executives and senior managers. They set direction and priorities, determine what markets to pursue, and approve funding for investments and projects. They also set the tone for the way people interact. Of course, some people exhibit tactical leadership throughout the organization, but the more senior people set the direction.

The next group is the management team. This might include department heads, functional managers, and others sandwiched between the front-line supervisors and executives. Such managers allocate resources, remove obstacles and constraints, and establish the priority and sequence of projects and investments. These people would especially be involved in guiding efforts that cross functional boundaries where there may be tension and turf-protection issues to resolve.

People in the next group, supervisors and technicians, live lean every day, all while getting quality products out the door on time. They strike a balance between working in the system (regular daily activities) and working on the system (improving processes and making things better). As mentors and role models, they have an oversized impact on the success or failure of your company’s lean journey.

The final group includes those on the front line. They toil all day to get the product to the customer. The front line consists of welders, assemblers, material handlers, inspectors, production planners, HR analysts, and more. They stand on the receiving end of all the direction that came from the senior executives, managers, supervisors, and technicians.

I could have focused on different categories of employees or called out other specific roles, but you get the idea. Different players, each one unique, must mesh like a set of finely honed gears to successfully run a profitable business, execute safe operations, and keep customers satisfied.

Who Should Know What?

Who in your organization has lean knowledge and can execute and lead in a lean way? Are you getting value out of your current or potential lean efforts? Is your company leading the industry with its lean deployment, or is it somewhere in the back of the industrial pack?

Company leaders should have a general understanding of the lean body of knowledge, especially the lean philosophies and concepts. Highly effective leaders internalize core concepts such as operating with respect and humility. They understand the potential benefits of focusing on flow, quality at the source, and excellent 5S.

Managers create measures that reflect the portion of the lean body of knowledge that’s relevant to their company. They understand what lean flow looks like and lead their staffs in designing and implementing flow and rhythm. Managers can link the project-specific work to the business strategy. They have the clout to bust roadblocks, but they also need to understand the relationship between the current state and the future state—and the role lean manufacturing plays in getting there.

Supervisors and technicians must be well-versed in the details of lean concepts, methods, and techniques. Takt- and cycle-time analysis should be a primary catalyst for how they plan the work in their areas. They train their direct reports or people they influence in the use of lean tools, and they act as both formal and informal leaders in deploying continuous improvement and everyday kaizen—the small, frequent improvements front-line personnel can implement on their own.

Finally, front-line employees need to perfect the use of lean concepts and techniques relevant to them. Everyone will be hands-on with 5S waste elimination. Some will need to be good at quick changeover when it’s relevant to their operation. Visual management can be useful to material handlers as they seek to simplify where materials go and how items are identified.

Leave No One Behind

Anyone left out of the lean knowledge dissemination process is put at a distinct disadvantage and is unlikely to help make improvement happen. By sharing the lean body of knowledge in a rational way to all the groups identified, you arm your people to make your company a fierce competitor and a great place to work.

Disseminating lean knowledge is an investment in a company’s future, and it’s more than just training some people once or twice and declaring victory. The key to success is to do something with the newfound knowledge. Put it to work to generate results.

About the Author
Back2Basics  LLC

Jeff Sipes

Principal

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Indianapolis, IN 46234

(317) 439-7960