Lean management

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Lean management (or shorter: lean) is an approach to managing organization by creating value for customer. It is a long-term approach that requires continuous improvement in all areas of organization. The lean management is about values, not ideas. That means, it's aim is to bring profit or other benefits to the organization and it's stakeholders.

The origin of lean management was Toyota production system, which has evolved into Lean manufacturing. As the lean manufacturing became popular, more and more non-production organizations wanted to use its methods. The lean management is an answer to these needs. It provides general principles which can be applied to production and service organizations as well as public administration or NGOs.

The lean management is similar to Total Quality Management, as it stems from the same roots and uses similar methods. The TQM was popular in 80s and 90s, and it was known more as a philosophy and set of ideas, less as a set of tools. This pragmatic approach is typical to lean management.

Main concepts

The main concepts of lean management are:

Main fields of lean

The main fields of lean management are:

All these fields are described wider in separate articles.

Lean office (administration)

Lean office is a version of lean for offices and administration. It enables organizations to streamline administrative processes and create efficient, dynamic, continuously improved office environment.

Lean development

Lean development uses principles of lean manufacturing in order to achieve defects free software of design of the product. While the lean manufacturing aims at making product without defects at minimum costs, the lean development's objective is to create a product/software that will fulfil requirements of users.

Lean product development

The lean product development achieves effects through a set of 13 principles. The results of LPD program are increase of innovation (even 10x) and increase of number of new products (4-5 times).

Lean software development

The lean software development is related to Agile project management. It translates lean manufacturing ideas into domain of software development.

Lean project management

Lean project management is an adoption of lean philosophy into area of project management. It uses mostly tools and techniques of lean development to create value for the project customer.

Examples of Lean management

  • Kaizen: Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning “improvement”. It is a key concept of Lean Management, emphasizing continuous improvement by employees at all levels. Kaizen activities can be as simple as a 5S event or a single-minute exchange of die (SMED) project, or as complex as a total productive maintenance (TPM) program.
  • Just-in-Time: Just-in-Time (JIT) is a production system that attempts to minimize inventories and increase efficiency by producing only what is needed, when it is needed. It is based on the principles of reducing waste, minimizing the time between the customer’s order and delivery, and ensuring that all parts of the production system are working efficiently.
  • Value Stream Mapping: Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a Lean management technique used to identify and eliminate waste in a process. It is a visual representation of the flow of material and information through a process, from start to finish. VSM helps identify non-value adding activities and areas of inefficiency, allowing teams to focus on improving the process.
  • 5S: 5S is a workplace organization system designed to reduce waste and increase efficiency. The 5S model consists of five steps: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. Each step helps to create an orderly and efficient work environment, which in turn increases productivity and reduces costs.

Advantages of Lean management

Lean management is an approach to managing organization by creating value for customer. The following are the advantages of lean management:

  • Streamlined processes: Lean management promotes streamlining of processes, which reduces waste and increases efficiency. This can lead to lower costs and higher customer satisfaction.
  • Increased agility: Lean management allows an organization to respond quickly to changes in the market and adjust strategies to stay competitive.
  • Improved customer satisfaction: Lean management focuses on customer satisfaction by reducing waste and delivering value quickly. This improved customer satisfaction can lead to increased sales and loyalty.
  • Improved team collaboration: Lean management encourages teams to collaborate and share ideas, which can lead to better problem-solving and more innovative solutions.
  • Improved quality: Lean management promotes continuous improvement, which can lead to higher quality products and services.
  • Reduced cycle times: Lean management helps reduce cycle time, which can lead to shorter lead times and faster delivery of products and services.

Limitations of Lean management

  • Lean management may not be suitable for all types of organizations. It is more suitable for organizations that produce tangible goods and services, and not so much for those that focus on knowledge-based services.
  • Lean management focuses on continuous improvement, which can be difficult to maintain in the long-term. It requires a commitment from the organization to ensure that it is being implemented consistently.
  • Lean management focuses on eliminating waste, which may not always be feasible or desirable. For example, some processes may require additional resources to be effective, and eliminating them may result in a decrease in efficiency.
  • Lean management can be difficult to implement due to resistance from employees. Employees may be reluctant to change their work practices and processes, and may not understand the need for the new methods.
  • Lean management requires a significant amount of data collection and analysis, which can be complex and time-consuming. This can be difficult to manage and can lead to inaccurate or incomplete data.

Other approaches related to Lean management

To complement Lean Management, there are several other approaches that can be used to help manage organizations:

  • Kaizen, which is a Japanese term meaning "change for the better," focuses on small incremental improvements that add up over time to create positive change. Kaizen encourages employees to identify areas for improvement and then to work together to make these improvements.
  • Six Sigma is an approach that focuses on reducing defects and improving processes by utilizing a set of tools and techniques. Six Sigma is a structured approach to problem-solving that seeks to identify and eliminate sources of defects and errors in order to improve the quality of products and services.
  • Agile is an iterative approach to project management that emphasizes responding to customer needs and quickly adapting to changes in the environment. Agile focuses on collaboration between teams, continuous delivery of high-quality products and services, and customer feedback.
  • Design Thinking is a creative process that involves identifying the needs of users and then designing solutions to meet these needs. Design Thinking is an iterative approach that involves user testing and feedback in order to ensure that the product or service meets the needs of the customer.

In summary, Lean Management is an approach to managing organizations that focuses on creating value for customers. There are several other approaches that can be used to complement Lean Management, including Kaizen, Six Sigma, Agile, and Design Thinking. Each of these approaches has its own set of tools and techniques that can be used to help organizations improve their processes and deliver high-quality products and services.


Lean management — recommended articles
Toyota production system — Lean development — Kaizen — Lean product development — World class manufacturing — Continuous improvement — Six sigma — Innovation and change — Lean software development

References

Author: Slawomir Wawak

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