Lean Principles
Lean Objectives foundational to your Vision and Values for lean continuous improvement
Lean Principle # 1
Every Lean Implementation is an Invention
There is no such thing as
'cookie cutter' lean
You can't just "do over here what they did over there".
You can't just "hire someone who used to work at Toyota".
You can't just "buy some lean tools with online training",
and then expect them to be used effectively.
(despite all of our efforts to try to come close to that ideal...)
Tools do not answer the question of "why", only the question of "how". A guiding principle answers the question of "why". When people understand why, they become empowered... to make good decisions. ~ Excerpts from the Shingo Model Handbook |
Lean Principle # 2
Don't Reinvent
Yes, Lean Principle # 1 is "Every Lean Implementation is an Invention"
but that doesn't mean that you want to start from a state of ignorance.
Start with field-proven Lean Systems
and then... make them your own
These Lean Principles are Common to any Lean Systems
As you continuously improve your own lean systems for your own unique organization and culture,
make sure that your inventions always stay true to these 'True North' lean principles.
- Lean Culture
Lean culture is the sum of individuals' habits. Especially lean leadership habits.
Lean Management Systems are systematic ways to shape those habits.
First thing to look for:
If your leaders have not yet established
job security,
then you do not have a Lean Culture. - People Empowerment
Your management trusts your people. People are responsible for their own area - cleanliness, maintenance, organization… There is a flat organization structure with many self-directed teams. Everyone has continuous improvement responsibilities, and there are systems for daily coaching. Everyone understands the organization's strategic direction, and why their team's current Strategic Challenge is so important.
- Focus on both: Process and Results
Many MBA schools still teach 'Management By Objective' (MBO),
which encourages managers to establish a goal,
and then 'give your people the freedom' to reach that goal in their own creative way.MBO is incompatible with Lean. If you're going to be a successful manager in a lean organization, then, yes, you will participate in choosing your team's next Strategic Challenge to support strategic direction, and yes, you will empower your people to come up with creative ways to make those goals happen, but you will be very interested and involved in the details of how they do it.
-
Focus on Flow
In a typical lean journey to lean transformation,
people get their first exposure to their first lean tool or method
because they are seeking to put out an urgent fire.(Hopefully), they soon discover that the best ways
to find and eliminate the 7 deadly types of waste
almost always focus on lean flow. - Value Stream Management
Value Stream Mapping
isn't even the most visible evidence of value stream managementTraditional organizations organize and manage in functional silos.
(Operations, Accounting, Maintenance, Purchasing, Engineering...)Lean organizations organize and manage
by focusing on the flow of value to the customer. - Visual Management
If it's hidden, it can't be improved. One important lean principle is to use diverse tools and methods for Visual Management to make it as visible and obvious as possible — What is normal? Is there anything happening (real-time) that is abnormal?
- Throughput — not Output
Your lean objective
is throughput, not output(Inventory that is sold,
not just produced)Lean systems are designed using pull systems
to quickly produce to actual customer demand.(rather than building to a forecast of projected possible customer demand)
- Scientific Method
Every lean tool and system is a unique application
of the Scientific Method of Problem Solving
for different common challenges encountered on a typical lean journey. - Hansei
- Quality Problems are Swarmed
When anyone identifies a quality problem, work is stopped, (so that no more defects are produced),
and a team of people from many parts of the organization
swarm to quickly identify and eliminate the root causes,
and then to institute countermeasures to ensure that that never happens again. - Standard Work
What's so wrong with backsliding into old habits?
If people just backslide into old habits,
then why even try to improve?In a lean organization,
every routine process has standard work,and every manager and leader (even the CEO)
devotes a percentage of their day to Leader Standard Work.
Managers don't just dictatorially command their people to "think better".
They provide tools, systems, and one-on-one coaching
for Hansei Lean Thinking. (Systems for how to think better)
Road map for a typical
Lean Transformation
There are more principles of lean
As you progress on your own lean journey toward lean transformation,
you will discover additional lean objectives and ideals,
but this is a pretty good list to bookmark and come back to... often.
Lean Principle # 3
Lean Ideals provide 'True North' direction
Lean Ideals are impossible...
That's why they're called ideals.
Their purpose is to provide 'True North' direction —
toward which every member of your organization is commonly striving,
and yet will never fully reach.
Lean Ideals are a vision...
If your organization has a written Vision Statement,
it will undoubtedly include most of the following lean objectives and ideals
that are common to every lean organization.
And if your organization does not yet have a Vision Statement,
then you might save some time and just get started with these...
- Zero defects
- Deliver exactly what is needed
- Defect-free
-
Zero waste
Your lean objective
is to eliminate
the 7 types of waste- Produce without any of the 7 Deadly Types of Waste
- 100% value add
- Zero safety accidents
- For workers, customers, and the surrounding environment
- Instant delivery
- Deliver on demand — exactly when requested
- Produce with the shortest practical cycle time and lead time
- Ideal = unlimited capacity
- Batch size 1
- Produce exactly the quantity requested — in the smallest batch size possible — ideally one at a time
- Zero response time
- Immediately respond to problems, changes, and challenges —
applying lean principles and scientific methods
for root cause analysis and problem solving
- Immediately respond to problems, changes, and challenges —
A Strategic Challenge
is the link between PDCA and your Strategic Plan
Lean Principles and Ideals are too vague and distant
to serve as useful guides for daily kaizen and PDCA Coaching Cycles.
Even your Strategic Plan or Annual Hoshin is too high-level
to serve as a useful guide for daily process improvements.
A shorter-horizon 'Strategic Challenge' (established by your mid-level manager)
provides a clear direction
for what is needed
from your team
to support the other teams that will depend on you
when you all reach the next resting place
on your never-ending lean journey toward your never-changing lean principles.
Criteria for a Strategic Challenge
Your mid-level manager needs to come up with
a Strategic Challenge
for your Value Stream and/or Department that meets the following criteria.
1. A compelling description of a desirable state
A process breakthrough that will bring competitive advantage
Condensed to a compelling short rallying cry to focus the team's attention and effort.
Examples:
| Wouldn't it be great if we could... | Rally Cry |
|---|---|
| make any item the same day that it's ordered, and ship the next day | Ship tomorrow |
| get the results of any lab test back within 2 hours | Know today |
| completely eliminate safety accidents | No accidents |
2. Far enough away to be a stretch
It can't be done with existing processes in their current conditions
3. Believable
Close enough to be within reach
(believably achievable within 3 to 30 months)
4. Clearly defined outcomes
Clearly defined measures and targets for process results that must (somehow) be achieved
The leader for each area of responsibility works with his or her coach
(at the next higher level)
to determine the capabilities needed from each value stream, value stream loop, department, process, and supporting function — in order to support the stretch goals of the next higher level
thereby uniting every effort at every level
of the organization
to pull together to support the highest level strategic plan.
5. Many options to reach those outcomes
Plenty of options for scientific experimentation
for HOW to produce those desired outcomes
Puzzling enough that the details for how to reach those measures
are not already obvious
If there is no 'unclear territory',
then you have set your Strategic Targets too low
What's the point of conducting PDCA scientific experiments
if you think you already know the answers?
How to come up with your next Strategic Challenge
The most common way to identify potential strategic targets
is to create Current State and Future State Value Stream Maps.
What does each value stream need to deliver?
What does each loop within each value stream need to deliver?
A "loop" is a section of a value stream
 Why is flow so important? Start with Flow As explained in our online training for What is a Lean Journey? If you still have any value stream then there should be nothing strategic to think about. The strategic challenge for that value stream (or segment) needs to start with Lean Flow |
See more training for how to choose a well-considered Next Target Condition
Suggested Reading and Resources for
the Principles of Lean
Remember, whenever you don't immediately find what you're looking for,
you can browse the Systems2win Site Map
or use Google Site Search (in the upper right corner of every web page)
The Shingo Model
The Shingo Principles of Operational Excellence
provide a comprehensive and well-thought-out summary of lean principles.
Source: Shingo Institute
You can download the Shingo Model Handbook and Poster at shingo.org/model
After you download your (free) handbook,
you will want to set aside about an hour to read and thoroughly digest their:
- Well-written explanations of each Lean Principle
- Examples of Ideal Principle-Based Behaviors
- Excellent explanation of the relationships between Lean Principles, Lean Systems, and Lean Tools
Tools do no answer the question of "why", only the question of "how". A guiding principle answers the question of "why". When people understand why, they become empowered... to make good decisions. ~ Excerpts from the Shingo Model Handbook |
More Lean Principles
A frequently cited reference for Lean Principles is Jeffrey Liker's book, The Toyota Way.
When you search for 'Lean Principles' within
The Lean Enterprise Institute, (lean.org),
you will find their 5 Steps of Lean
as well as an interesting article about early sources of lean principles — pre-dating Toyota.
Lean Manufacturing Principles
What's the difference between Lean Principles
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The Toyota 4 Rules In Use
In their paper Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, Harvard Business Review, 1999,
Steven Spear and H. Kent Bowen boiled down the essence of all lean systems to these Lean 4 Rules In Use:
Rule 1) Clearly specify all Activities
Standardize work
- Content (what is being done?)
- Sequence (in what order?)
- Timing (how long should it take?)
- Outcome (what clearly defined measurable results are expected?)
Rule 2) Clearly define all Connections
to every customer and supplier
No ambiguity
- Direct (no intermediary between)
- Yes or No answers (no maybe)
Rule 3) Clearly define all Pathways
Organize for uninterrupted flow
- Simple (with as few steps and people as possible)
- Direct steps to deliver the requested product or service
- Clearly defined Standard Work and Work Instructions
Rule 4) Continuously Improve
Develop leaders who can apply the scientific method to improve anything
- Direct response to any problem that arises
- By those doing the work — as close to the problem as possible
- Whenever possible, start as an experiment
- Supported by a coach
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The Gemba Interview Questionnaire Use your Gemba Interview Questionnaire (gemba-interview.xlsx)
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Learn even more about the Principles of Lean
- Lean Flow
- Lean Leadership
- Road map for a Typical Lean Journey
- Hansei questions to stimulate Lean Thinking
- Return to the Lean Training home page
