This document provides guidance on how to lead a Lean workout (also known as a Kaizen event) to improve processes using Lean tools and concepts. It begins with an introduction to Lean workouts, outlining that they are extended meetings lasting 1-5 days that involve all process stakeholders. The overall process for a Lean workout follows an IPO (input, process, output) model. The document then provides detailed guidance on each step of leading a Lean workout, including defining the problem and scope, building current and future process maps, identifying and measuring waste, and creating an implementation plan with owners and due dates. It concludes by suggesting processes to consider improving with a Lean workout.

1. Section & Lesson #:
Pre-Requisite Lessons:
Complex Tools + Clear Teaching = Powerful Results
Leading a Lean Workout (Kaizen Event)
Lean – Lesson 14
A review of how to improve a process by leading a Lean workout (a.k.a.
Kaizen Event).
Lean #02 – #12 – Multiple lessons on various Lean tools
6σ Improve #09 – Piloting Solutions: Build the Pilot Plan
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photographic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.

2. Introduction to the Lean Workout
o What is a Lean workout?
• It is an extended meeting that focuses on improving processes using Lean tools and concepts.
 The workout can last between 1 to 5 days, depending on the scale and complexity of the process.
• A workout will allow you to use many of the Lean tools & concepts in one setting.
 The workout is often referred to as a “Kaizen Event”; “Kaizen” is the Japanese term for “improvement”.
– Kaizen is usually referred to as the philosophy of continuous improvement. A Kaizen Event is usually a concentrated effort
by all process stakeholders to improve a process during a short time (e.g., in one week).
• The workout should include all stakeholders who are critical to the process.
• The goal of the workout is to design an improved process with an implementation plan.
 The implementation plan details the actions, owners and due dates to implement the improved process.
o What is the overall process for a Lean Workout?
• Below are the basic steps for a Lean workout outlined using the IPO model:
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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1. Define
Problem &
Scope
2. Build As-Is
Process Map
or VSM
3. Identify
& Measure
Waste
4. Build To-Be
Process Map
or VSM
5. Build
Implementation
Plan
INPUT to Workout PROCESS during Workout OUTPUT from Workout

3. How to Lead a Lean Workout (1 of 4)
o INPUT to Workout
• #1 - Define Problem & Scope
 The first step is to essentially build before the workout a project charter that everyone agrees to.
– A project charter should include a problem statement, scope, team/stakeholders, and expected benefits.
– The Sponsor/Champion should agree with the project charter and can help identify the stakeholders to include.
– It will help save time in the workout if all the workout participants review and agree to the project charter ahead of time.
 The meeting should be scheduled and include all team members (ideally not more than 10 people).
– The meeting duration will depend on the complexity and scale of the process being reviewed.
– Simple and small processes may be done in one day; more complex processes with many stakeholders may take 5 days.
– It’s always better to over-estimate the workout duration and end it early than vice-versa.
– Be sure the Sponsor/Champion agree to dedicate the stakeholder resources for the duration of the workout.
o PROCESS During Workout
• Meeting Kick-Off
 The Sponsor/Champion should kick off the meeting and return at the end to review the results.
 The Sponsor/Champion should reinforce the need for the workout and commitment from the team.
• #2 – Build As-Is Process Map or VSM
 The As-Is process map is extremely critical to the success of the workout.
– The team may be unfamiliar with process mapping; it may help to include an ice-breaker to explain how to build it.
– This may require the longest time during the workout, but it’s essential that it be accurate and agreed to by the team.
 This As-Is mapping process may require dividing the team to build sub-processes.
– For complex processes, try dividing into sub-teams to build the maps for sub-processes and later out-brief to everyone.
 Which do you build: Process Map or VSM?
– Build a process map if you’re trying to improve quality/accuracy in the process including communication & hand-offs.
– Build a VSM if you’re trying to improve cycle-times/efficiency in the process or if it involves more tangible items.
– If you’re not sure which to use, start with a process map and then build a VSM if the need arises.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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4. How to Lead a Lean Workout (2 of 4)
o PROCESS During Workout
• #3 – Identify and Measure Waste
 Identify VA vs. NVA steps in the As-Is map.
– Notate each step as either value-added (VA), non-value-added (NVA) or non-value-added-required (NVAR).
 Review the As-Is map with the 7 deadly wastes.
– For each type of waste, walk through the entire As-Is map and ask
for each process step if that waste exists.
 Notate within the process map each type of waste identified.
– Use different colored post-its or stickers to flag each type of waste
(e.g., all “motion” waste gets a red sticker, etc.).
– If possible, notate the relative ease of measuring each identified waste
(e.g., use “H” for wastes with “High” probability of measuring, “M” for
medium probability, and “L” for low probability).
– Be sure to add to a “Parking Lot” any potential waste identified that is
out of scope for the project.
 Try other Lean tools (like a spaghetti diagram) to find more waste.
 Select the process steps having the greatest potential of waste noted.
– For multiple processes having a lot of waste, focus first on those having
more “H” probabilities and so on.
 Measure the potential wastes identified for each process step.
– If focusing on efficiency (timeliness), calculate cycle times, wait time,
VA time, NVA time, overall takt time, etc.
– If focusing on effectiveness (accuracy), calculate FTY, overall RTY, WIP, etc.
 Eliminate any overlapping measured waste.
– If one opportunity causes multiple forms of waste, be sure the measurements of the waste are not duplicated.
 Normalize all measured waste.
– When calculating waste for each process step, be sure calculation methods and values (e.g., dollars, minutes/seconds,
etc.) are consistent across all process steps.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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H
H
L
H
L
M H
M
L
H
L
M
L
M
T=
I=
M=n/a
W=n/a
O=
O= n/a
D=

5. How to Lead a Lean Workout (3 of 4)
o PROCESS During Workout
• #4 – Build To-Be Process Map or VSM
 Now with the waste identified and measured in the As-Is map, building the To-Be map should be easier.
 Begin by preserving the As-Is map and start building the To-Be map while using the As-Is map as a guide.
– The As-Is map should not be modified; take a picture of it or transfer its content online using Visio or PowerPoint.
– Flow through the As-Is map from beginning to end and replicate the process steps for the To-Be map.
 Eliminate each NVA process step and be sure the preceding & subsequent steps can be linked.
 For each VA process step that has waste identified, discuss how the waste can be removed.
– The process step may need to be treated as a sub-process to completely evaluate how the waste can be removed.
 Once all the steps are rebuilt on the To-Be map, identify any unnecessary cross-functional waste.
– This is where swimlanes or a spaghetti diagram may help identify any motion across different areas or operators.
– In such cases, explore the necessity of that motion and new ways to reduce or eliminate it.
 Apply other Lean tools/concepts to the To-Be map (e.g., 5S, pull or kanban system, poka-yoke, etc.)
 Review the entire flow in the To-Be map to ensure it’s logical and still meets the customer’s requirements.
– Be sure to review the map with any stakeholders who aren’t in the workout but may be affected by the new process.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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 


 

Eliminate NVA
wasteful steps Rebuild VA
steps into
new process

6. Action Description Prereq. Priority Biz Area Owner CT Due
A
Determine if rates (calc'd from codes & pricing model) can be loaded into department
system from a flat file; may require "lying" to the system to make formulas work
N/A High Finance Jones N/A 7/18
A
Submit work request & get IT LOE hours needed to update to accommodate new code
designations
N/A High Pricing Smith 10d 9/3
B Define % thresholds for bucket determination 2A High Pricing Smith 16d 9/3
C Update Retail system to accommodate all 11 code designations 2B High IT TBD 350h TBD
D Update Corporate system to accommodate 11 code designations (part of action 5F) 2B High IT TBD 420h TBD
E Determine rates for each bucket 2C, 2D High Finance Jones 25d 9/12
F Create flat files to be loaded into each system 2E High Pricing Brooks 10d 10/14
G Communicate bucket concept to L&P folks 2F Medium Pricing Brooks 2d TBD
Action 1: Load flat file into Retail System
1
Action 2: Get LOE from IT to add values to Corporate System
2
How to Lead a Lean Workout (4 of 4)
o OUTPUT From Workout
• #5 – Build Implementation Plan
 The steps for building an Implementation Plan are covered in more detail in the Improve phase lessons.
– The steps below briefly outline the critical points necessary for building the implementation plan in a Lean workout.
 Compare the As-Is and To-Be maps to each other and identify the critical gaps between the 2 processes.
– Notate each gap as an action to be added to the implementation plan.
– It’s OK if one major gap needs to be identified as multiple, unique actions.
 For each gap/action, identify the sub-actions necessary to make that action occur.
– For example, sub-actions may include communication, documentation, system changes, training, visual displays, etc.
 For each sub-action, identify any pre-requisite sub-actions, the priority level, action owner & due date.
– This is extremely critical to ensure the entire team understands the plan and their responsibility in implementing it.
 Review the Implementation Plan with the Sponsor/Champion and any other stakeholders of the process.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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Improvements
noted as actions
Owners &
Due Dates
Priority of
each sub-action
Sub-actions & pre-
requisite actions

7. Practical Application
o For the processes you interact with regularly, which ones are relatively small and in
your control and may be ideal for improvement?
• Try following these Lean workout steps for your own process under your control.
 This will get you comfortable to the process for the Lean workout to see how it works.
o For other processes that are larger in scale and over which you don’t have full control,
which ones may be ideal for improvement?
• Try investigating these further to see if a Lean workout may help in streamlining the process.
 Who would be the Sponsor for the effort? Will that Sponsor allow you to lead a Lean workout?
 Talk to the Sponsor about getting his/her support for letting you lead a Lean workout.
 Then, follow the remaining steps for planning and leading the workout.
Copyright © 2011-2019 by Matthew J. Hansen. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means (electronic, mechanical, photographic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior permission in writing by the author and/or publisher.
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