5 Steps To Lean Implementation

There are so many different things to consider if you are wasting a great deal of money at your manufacturing plant. How did your costs get so out of control and what can you do about fixing these costs before they bankrupt your company? Effective implementation of a program known as lean manufacturing can be one of the best things for your organization. You need to look at different ways in which you can focus on implementing it successfully so that you can reduce costs, eliminate wastes, and to have a productive company overall. Lean manufacturing is not only successful with manufacturing plants but it has been successful with many other organizations as well from businesses to companies in the healthcare industry. Here are some of the steps that you need to follow in order to implement lean successfully into your organization:

1. Learn how to do lean assessments. The lean assessments will help you to pinpoint what your company's strengths and weaknesses are. You need to be able to determine where your company has been able to implement lean and where you need to focus more of your efforts on lean. Some companies get it right where others only have it correct in a small percentage of the area. You have to really look into conducting proper lean assessments so that you can get the results that lean is promising. When you are doing assessments you want to focus your efforts on choosing the right managers to implement it. You need people that really understand lean and are positive role models to the rest of your staff members. These individuals are going to make a world of difference in the way that lean works for your company and will be able to get everyone else on board with the program.
2. Use tracking tools. For you to be able to really implement lean in a successful way you have to consider using the right type of tracking tools. You need to have something in place that will assist you in being able to understand how you are doing with lean and to make sure that you are able to deliver consistent results. It is a smart idea to look at each process individually and to plan for small changes and big changes. Each area of the company should have a team that is responsible for their own areas so they can be able to give you the right results.
3. Start small. When you implement lean it is a wise idea to look at setting short term and long term goals. Do not make too many large steps all at once. If you try to take on too much at once, it makes it harder to achieve success. You should focus on having goals set for short-term needs like 6 months and long-term plans like a 5 year program. This way you see how it works now and where you are headed in the future to create a successful company.
4. TRAIN! We cannot stress lean training enough! If you want to find success you have to take the time to really train your employees for it. Create a good training program that will help you to understand how to implement it but also shows your employees their roles and responsibilities with it. You need to focus your efforts on training everyone not just the managers for successful implementation of lean.
5. Performance rewards. What motivates your staff? How about throwing rewards at them!? A great way to continue with the right results from lean will be by taking rewards that can offer them some type of motivation to work harder and do better. You should always work on having a reward system in place so your employees will stay focused on the new skills they have learned.