Revolutionize Your Business with Lean Process Improvement
Companies looking to continuously improve turn to Lean methodology to help them achieve this goal. Lean process improvement is designed to help the company eliminate waste from its processes. The company analyzes and assesses ongoing projects to see where the processes can be improved. With the help of Lean techniques, a company can offer customers more value by continuously improving.
Understanding Lean Process Improvement
Supply Velocity helps clients implement Lean techniques so the focus turns to those tasks that add value. The company must understand that the Lean consultant only puts it on the right track. The learned processes must be regularly used to keep the company moving forward.
Lean Benefits
Companies that implement Lean process improvement methods see numerous benefits. Efficiency increases across the board, and collaboration improves. Waste diminishes because teams work only on critical tasks. Employee morale improves as all workers are encouraged to make growth an ongoing process. Customers are happier because they receive more value, and the company remains relevant.
A Multi-Step Process
Companies must understand that numerous steps must be taken to achieve these improvements. First, the company has to uncover areas where improvements are needed. A Kanban board or root cause analysis template may help during this stage. When areas needing improvement are identified, the focus turns to finding workable solutions. Employees should be included in the process, as they know what works and what doesn’t. Multiple views increase the likelihood of viable solutions being found.
Implement the solutions. All employees, from upper management to the new hire, must be on board with the solutions, or they won’t work. A project plan template may be used to determine how to implement solutions. All stakeholders can review the plan. Once it is implemented, they can track and monitor the progress.
Business owners need to determine why some solutions work and others don’t. Data collected throughout the process will help make these determinations.
How Lean Process Improvement Differs From Other Methods
Business owners may question why they should focus on Lean process improvement rather than other methods. Value stream management focuses on product development and delivery rather than processes. Agile emphasizes people rather than processes, while DevOps is designed for software teams. All methodologies work together, so a company can focus on one and implement strategies from the others. The company will offer a better customer experience when all methods are used together, increasing satisfaction and loyalty.
Lean Principles
Lean process improvement revolves around five basic principles. The company must determine which activities add customer value and map the value stream to ensure projects remain on target. Roadblocks must be removed before they interfere with the team’s flow. Companies must then produce based on actual rather than forecasted demand. A company must find additional ways to improve the processes and uncover inefficiencies to correct them. Lean process improvement is a core component of many businesses today.
Toyota introduced Lean manufacturing decades ago and continues to use the principles today because they are effective. Any company looking to implement the principles must understand this is not a one-and-done process. This process is designed to be cyclical, although companies should focus on one process issue and then move to the next. Doing so allows them to solve that issue and ensure the improvements are beneficial and the company moves forward.
