Becoming lean and mean
Becoming lean and mean
So, ‘lean’ is a simple philosophy about 2 main things – flow and waste.
It starts by thinking about the customer (never a bad thing!). What does the customer want? What is he/she willing to pay for?
Then for each product or process, think through all the steps involved and ask yourself – which of the steps add real value? Which improve the offering we make to the customer? Which simply add cost?
Then work out how to get materials and information flowing – with no stops. One key is to have workstations ‘pull’ the stuff they need when they need it instead of the more general approach of pushing it to them when the previous workstation has finished with it. (This results in lots of work-in-progress – and your money being tied up.)
Try to reduce the number of steps needed to get something out of the door and moving towards the customer.
Try to avoid picking things up and dealing with them more than once. Keep the flow going!
You won’t reach perfection – but anytime you move a tiny step nearer, you improve your service to the customer and you improve tour bottom line.
Becoming lean and mean - To learn more about this author, visit John Heap's Website.
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The concept of “Lean” originated in Japan at Toyota when a group of engineers hit upon the simple idea of improving efficiency by shifting the focus of attention from the individual machines and workstations (and how well they worked) to the flow of the entire process.
So, ‘lean’ is a simple philosophy about 2 main things – flow and waste.
It starts by thinking about the customer (never a bad thing!). What does the customer want? What is he/she willing to pay for?
Then for each product or process, think through all the steps involved and ask yourself – which of the steps add real value? Which improve the offering we make to the customer? Which simply add cost?
Then work out how to get materials and information flowing – with no stops. One key is to have workstations ‘pull’ the stuff they need when they need it instead of the more general approach of pushing it to them when the previous workstation has finished with it. (This results in lots of work-in-progress – and your money being tied up.)
Try to reduce the number of steps needed to get something out of the door and moving towards the customer.
Try to avoid picking things up and dealing with them more than once. Keep the flow going!
You won’t reach perfection – but anytime you move a tiny step nearer, you improve your service to the customer and you improve tour bottom line.
Becoming lean and mean - To learn more about this author, visit John Heap's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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