1. www.TedMag.com Mar. 09 • the ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTOR 33
business M o n e y M a t t e r s
“Lean” is a term derived from the Toyota Production
System, which considers the expenditure of resources for any goal
other than the creation of value for the customer to be wasteful.
Common sense would dictate that lean practices are something in
which all industries should be interested. The challenge, however, has
been in moving lean from manufacturing to service-oriented indus-
tries. In 2006, Nathan Bye, then-manager of organizational develop-
ment for a company in the Midwest, wrote his master’s project on
applying lean principles to an electrical distribution firm. The project
drew up complete plans for training a new group of managers.
It applied lean concepts to the opera-
tions side of a distributorship. In Bye’s
scenario, the vice president of opera-
tions is in charge of inside sales, counter
sales, and warehouse operations. Each
branch of the business matches this
structure, so lean training affects the
central distribution and supply compo-
nent for the sales staff.
The process begins with a two-day
orientation program for the vice presi-
dent and area operations management
personnel and covers principles of lean
management and how they apply to the
electrical distribution industry.
Included are scenarios for small
group work as examples of thinking
lean. These are set-ups for future proj-
ects, which may center on areas of
opportunity at a particular location or a
problem involving multiple locations
with similar types of business focuses.
The projects are assignments that
should be completed within one month
—and that apply lean concepts to exist-
ing workflows. After completion, reports
on the projects are presented by the
groups that applied lean principles to a
problem. These are followed by discus-
sions of what was done, what worked,
and what could be improved.
A second day was devoted to refor-
matting applications with large-group
feedback in mind, followed by planning
for following actions.
Next, employees critique others’
projects, with the goal of adding value
to the whole organization. Those the
leader has trained on lean principles
then provide their critiques, allowing
the groups the chance to experience
management’s approval of their efforts.
Trainers remain available to the em-
ployees throughout this period in order
to facilitate progress and troubleshoot
problems.
A celebration of the results, such as
an informal lunch gathering, is attended
by the president of electrical supply, the
vice president of operations, area opera-
tions managers, and branch managers.
The purpose of this event is to instill a
sense of solidarity and meaningfulness
to the daily work lives of the employees.
A lean training toolkit designed for
application to electrical distribution
should be made available to employees
via the company intranet. Designed as
discussion springboards for meetings
held by area operations managers and
branch managers, the toolkit should
consist of recent books, journal articles,
and internal publications.
The daily application and consistent
management practice inspired by this
attention to lean processes is designed
to change the work culture and atti-
tudes of employees.
For those interested in the materials
used in the project as well as those
seeking more information on imple-
menting lean training, contact Misty
Byers, editor of TED magazine, at
mbyers@naed.org. ■
Bye is human resources development
manager for AISIN Holdings of America
in Seymour, Ind. He can be reached at
nathan.bye@gmail.com. Smith is a profes-
sor at the College of Technology at Purdue
University in W. Lafayette, Ind. Reach her
at smith11@purdue.edu.
Trim the fat
How to implement lean practices in a service-
oriented industry. by Nathan Bye and Taggart Smith
Think thin.
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