Tim McMahon and Jeff Hajek discuss how to evaluate your
Lean progress, and what you can do if you seem to be falling short. They will cover leadership, training systems, Lean tools, culture, infrastructure, and more.
Talking PointsWhy measure? Need to confirm that the actions you are taking are getting your where you want to go.Means several things: 1. Have to know where you started 2. Have to know where you want to end up 3. Have to know the lay of the land 4. Have to chart a course 5. Have to know where you are along the way 6. More important to check location relative to plan than to destination-Countermeasure to get back on trackChecking progress means comparing 3 and 4, and then taking action.Takeaways: Hard to tell where ‘There’ should be—top strategy Easy to tell if path was wrong, but hard to tell if it will be right (hindsight is 20/20)
Common way companies are measures is by big picture results—No distinction between how the world measures Lean and non-lean companies. It is about measuring business objectives. Lean affects the processes to Standard Metrics: Tier 1: Profit margin, sales, profit Tier 2: Quality metrics, Lead times, Customer satisfactionChallenges Industry dependent Wide disparity in progress Pockets of excellence (world class in one metric, average in another) Strategy dependent (i.e. margins for Nordstroms vs. Walmart)Have to link external evaluations to internal processes/Lean efforts Company: PD Department: KPIsBest indicator is progress—need to develop a trend to see if you are going in the right direction, and with enough speed
Process/systems focused metricsDrivers behind ‘big picture’ improvement Actionableeasily measurable understood by teamsKey: Direct link to processesTalk through animation Important thing is not absolute value—it is progress Won’t happen without also focusing on the drivers of CI efforts
Among most controversial-Leads to arguments among ‘Lean Zealots’Some recommend tracking Lean activities; others resistJeff’s Recommendation:Use as a secondary measure or as a countermeasure measurement, but audit to prevent gaming the metrics. Provides a good indicator when progress is slower than planned.
Have to follow up on projects to make sure tasks are accomplishedHow diligently teams follow-up on projects is a litmus test of Lean progress—Do they take initiative to make changes?Don’t just track the individual project follow-up. Look at how well projects are completed across the board.
Always have the tools for ‘normal’ jobCheck to see if the right tools are present, and that they are properly maintained