9789147098811 by Smakprov Media AB

Paula Braun

Robert Kessiakoff

Introduction to Lean â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Overview, Experiences and Reflections

Introduction to Lean − Overview, Experiences and Reflections

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Content Preface: Increased competitiveness through Lean..........................................................5 1. Selecting the road ...........................................................................................................7 2. Four-leaf clover................................................................................................................9 3. Dare challenge your processes!.................................................................................. 11 4. Quality, quality, quality.............................................................................................. 13 5. But why does it take so long in spite of rushing?................................................... 15 6. Shouldn’t we be able to use our resources better?.................................................. 17 7. Objective: Just in time................................................................................................. 19 8. What are the obstacles? What kinds of waste do we have?................................. 21 9. Countermeasures.......................................................................................................... 25 10. Standards – better than their reputation................................................................. 27 11. Continuous improvement – the learning loop...................................................... 29 12. Tools................................................................................................................................ 31 13. A learning organization.............................................................................................. 35 14. You may keep your job................................................................................................ 37 15. Reflect and look for true answers!............................................................................ 39 16. See the whole!............................................................................................................... 41 17. Five basic principles to succeed................................................................................. 43 18. Have you met false prophets?.................................................................................... 45 19. Just do it!........................................................................................................................ 47 3

Preface: Increased competitiveness through Lean We, Paula Braun and Robert Kessiakoff, have written this book on Lean Thinking and Tools because we have seen all the positive things that this leadership philosophy can bring. We owe a lot to Charlotte Rudenstam for her help with interviewing and scrutinizing facts. We have been working with lean processes and lean tools for many years on an international basis and want to share with you some of our experiences of how lean makes organizations more profitable and sustains profitability through continuous improvements, always with the customer’s best in view. You will meet a number of people we have met and worked together with during those years, people who will tell how they worked with lean and how that has affected operations, staff and customers. Lean has no experts; however there are people with more or less experience. We are happy to share our experiences. We see that organizations working with lean manage to produce goods and services on a timely manner, at the right quality level, and with optimal resources, often helped by small and incremental improvements. We have been working together since the early 2000’s. Paula has a degree from labor- and organization psychology and pedagogics. Early on she felt that just looking at the soft values in order to achieve wellfunctioning operations was not enough, so she started looking for something that captured more and so found Lean.

Robert has been working for more than two decades as CEO, among other companies also for AC Nielsen Co in Sweden and Greece, and as Head of European Operations, with offices in Germany. From time to time he has been self-employed as well as worked for shorter periods of time as CEO in other European companies. When he got in touch with Lean, he felt so good about it that he focused on it full time from then on. We founded the company, Lean Concepts, to a great extent cooperating with our colleagues, principally in the US (Lean Transformations Group). Our beacons are: • Every client shall be our best reference • Leading Lean Capability • The team is more than the individual. We see that our clients are driven by the following vision: From good to great through operational excellence. With this book we would like to introduce you to Lean. We hope that, having read it, you are as enthusiastic about it as we are. Don’t hesitate to contact us! Welcome to the world of Lean Thinking and Tools Paula Braun and Robert Kessiakoff

Which road to take!

Lean is a strategy to achieve your overall goals. With Lean Thinking as a starting point, your problems are visualized, thus making it possible to develop and test counter measures for all the problems that you identify in the operation. 6

1. Selecting the road “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to”, answered the Cat. “I don't much care where.” “Then it doesn't matter which way you go”. From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Could you honestly say what your operation’s situation is right now? Maybe you spontaneously say “Yes!”… but, do you know on a deeper level? Do you have the necessary overview to really know? Lean philosophy starts right there: in the real world, by mapping the operation’s real status. Why –how can you otherwise improve it if you lack the necessary knowledge about what it is like today – about the current state? How then will you know what needs to be improved? Where the bottle necks are? What you need to measure? What it takes to increase profitability? The goal of lean is getting satisfied customers. And we mean all customers, from your closest co-worker and colleague to the final customer. Many people ask us about the meaning of the word lean. In many languages there is no really good translation of the word, but we usually say that it is about streamlining and economizing the resources, and doing it together in the organization where the actual work is performed.

Lean is a leadership philosophy or a business concept if you like, with a range of principles and practices. Lean is a way of doing more with the resources at hand, without the need for anyone to worry about stress or losing their job. The principles are applicable in all trades and lines of business. With lean you are able to learn how to eliminate waste (i.e. waiting or rework) built into your systems and to concentrate on what creates value from your customers’ perspective. By visualizing and agreeing on an ideal future state you will create an operation where all waste has been eliminated and all stake-holders are winners. A well-executed lean operation will produce a creative environment where you are working with continuous improvements and have a basis for decision-making that describes why and how change has to be made. Lean will involve everyone through clear and distinct communication and has leaders who sees and appraises their staff members. Lean is also about the courage to stop and look for the real reasons why problems arise, to dig deeper than the top-soil and to avoid quick fixes. Thus we challenge you to reflect on: • What does your operation look like right now? • Why is it as it is? Lean Thinking and Tools is to a great extent based on common sense and simple logic. It offers a structured work method and a leadership that leads and supports staff – not one that delivers solutions. Which road do you choose?

“In management, we felt that we had reached the end of the road with ever more top-down reduction programs, and that it was time to try something new….” The quote describes what makes more and more executives decide to adopt lean thinking as a strategy to develop their operation. This book is designed for all who want to get an insight into the basic cornerstones of Lean Thinking and Tools. These are presented together with a number of reflections from leaders and staff on the impact of starting to implement lean in their operations. Lean Thinking and Tools is basically common sense and the ability to challenge what happens. Is what we are doing really creating value for those we are supposed to serve, i.e. customers, staff, owners and society? A value creating organization has other demands on the operation than what is usually the case today. “Why didn’t we as leaders see these things earlier? Why haven’t we stimulated discussion with those who really know how the operation works? Through this process we are less blind to defects on our own backyard; we are beginning to see how it actually works and are getting ideas about how to improve the processes. Most leaders would want that kind of culture!”

Paula Braun has more than 15 years’ experience as a self-employed consultant and is one of the founders of Lean Concepts AB (2002). With a background as a social scientist her issues have been about organization development and coaching of managers. Paula is one of the pioneers of Lean in the service sector, administration and management. Robert Kessiakoff has been running his own consultancy since 1994 and brings more than 20 years’ of experience as CEO, European Business Director and board member in various Swedish and American companies listed on the stock-exchange, 15 years of which he was based abroad. He is CEO of Lean Concepts AB, which he founded with Paula Braun, and is a member of the Lean Enterprise Institute/Lean Global Network Faculty. Best.nr 47-09881-1

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