Category Archives: Lean

A production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination. Basically, lean is centered around creating more value with less work. Lean manufacturing is a generic process management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS).

To Lean or not to Lean

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I am always amazed at the passion people have for following/not following the different methods to enhance, improve their business.  Some say following “fads” is detrimental to long term improvement yet other stand by a particular model stating vast improvements and yes there are those that jump on every band wagon. I also often read comments on blogs stating one method came from another, or this one is better than that because the first is a fad when this one is not….etc, etc.

So which is correct, which can stand up on its own merits? – in my belief, it is all of them and none. These are all just tools, which should be used to solve the problems they were designed for and when used with other tools will meet the requirements of the business and help it achieve its goals.

To use an analogy: it is like building a house, builders use hammers, screwdrivers, saws, workbenches, etc.  Although they can use a hammer to punch a screw into wood, a better tool is a screwdriver, so the same with all these tools. So firstly you learn about the tools, their applications, their suitability and their flaws. Then you gain the experience by putting these things into practice.  For example a 2lb hammer may do the job but if the job requires a 12oz hammer, that is what should be used.

BUT, all these business tools will evolve for each industry, business, and company, even down to work station. The ability to improve the business is incumbent on the managers and employees to make things work, to know and feel how it all fits together.  One of the major problems until recently (as I see it) is that Finance ran the company,  this was through the micromanagement of costs – at best this took the focus away from real management of the business and at worst focused on aspects of the business as standalone entities (saving money in each but leaking money between all the gaps).

I am sure we have all seen one function/department make improvements at the detriment of another. Managers and staff need to take accountability for the whole process and the benefits of using bottom line goals, work across the business and use all the tools (as appropriate).

To Lean: Lean has been used to varying extents and capabilities by many, for millennium (usually entrepreneurs); the difference is, we have now named the method and people are writing about it and more are using it. So, it is not a fad but just another tool that has been (re-) identified.

Cheers
Mark

KPIs – Who needs them?

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What KPIs would you suggest are the best for Customer Service and/or Supply (logistics, purchasing, warehousing, distribution, etc)?
Many people can advise the regular quantity/volume based ones but providing real quality based KPIs is much more difficult.  Not because it can be hard to define them, it is usually more to do with people’s perception at which point quality measurement should measured – this is especially so with Customer Service.

I manage this by getting a definition of what the Key Result Areas are, then getting confirmation as to what aspects indicate success in each area, only then can the KPIs be set.

But KPIs must be easily obtained, and easily monitored.  This also depends very much on cycle times.  Daily/weekly and monthly KPIs should all reflect different aspects of the business and together tell a story of how the company is functioning.

Many times I have seen reports and KPIs that actually hinder the process, using up vital resources and sometimes even sending people on exercises that are not required as the message gets diluted or worse, confused.

Good KPIs are invaluable for a business in identifying trends and gaps in process and capabilities – the not so good ones are at best, a waste of time.