Mar 6 2012

What is the role of a manager in leading the implementation of Lean?

This is the first in a series of questions I have received from the Spanish magazine APD (Asociación para el Progreso Directivo). My answer is as follows and, perhaps, your comments will help me make it better:

The answer is different for every level of management and every functional area. Let us just take two examples: the CEO and a production supervisor.

The decision to implement Lean should be made by the CEO, and he or she must be able to communicate it to the rest of the organization. The CEO needs to understand what is at stake for the company’s business. For example, it may be that the company must excel at manufacturing rather than outsource it because the risk to intellectual property would be too high, and, since Lean is the state of the art in manufacturing, it is the way to go… This is only one example, there may be other reasons. Whatever they may be, the CEO must understand and articulate them.

The CEO must also understand the extent of the task and be committed to seeing it through. It means having a staff that is equally committed and not backing off when individual projects fail. It means giving Lean implementation the priority that it deserves, as second only to shipping product. In particular, no other initiative must be allowed to interfere with it. For example, the implementation of a new ERP system does interfere with Lean in two ways. First, it drains needed resources, and second, it locks existing practices in place, making them more difficult to change. ERP should therefore be postponed until the company reaches an appropriate level of Lean maturity. The CEO must also personally visit project teams in actions and attend report-out sessions.

Production supervisors are at the opposite end of the management ladder, and combine direct access to production operators with the authority to command support from logistics, maintenance, quality, and other groups. This places them in a unique position to be effective leaders for Lean projects on the shop floor, and it behooves their superiors to make sure that they have the time to do it.

By Michel Baudin • Management • 29 • Tags: Lean manufacturing, Management

29 Comments

Kevin Hop
March 6, 2012 @ 8:57 pm

Another role of top management is in the organization structure. My experience has been that managing tomorrow’s job (lean improvement projects and activity) must be separated from managing today’s job (production).

If the decision by top management is to delegate this improvement management to the individual level – meaning that each individual in the company has roles in both areas and must manage tomorrow and today together – today will always win out. Tomorrow will fail. One of the Honda Way principles is that the current customer always has priority over the future customer. In the same way current production always has priority over future production.

So a key role of top management in the implementation of lean is to set up an organization structure which allows tomorrow’s job to maintain priority along with today’s job. There are different ways to do this. But the key is to separate the management of the two worlds. We do not separate the two worlds – gemba, gembutsu, genjitsu (3 Actuals) is still the foundational principle. We just keep the daily management of the today’s job completely separated from the daily management of tomorrow’s job.

One of the best ways to do this that I have experienced is to have a centralized Continuos Improvement (CI) type group which facilitates all the projects, activity and training, has a budget, has a small core of expert lean practitioners and then rotates production supervisors through the group on an semi-annual basis. Best of both worlds. The bring a needed balance to the CI group with their intimate knowledge of the processes and machines. It is a win-win for everyone.

The production supervisors learn lean by dedicating 100% of their time on tomorrow’s job for the 6 months. When they return to the floor to do today’s job they have deep understanding of lean and ownership. At the end of 3 to 4 years you have most of the production supervision “graduated” through the rotation. Then you start over again. A very strong and deep lean organization results.

The rest of the people in today’s job (team leaders and production associates) participate in the improvements and are fully trained and engaged in the lean implementation activity but are not burdened with the dilemma and struggle of prioritizing their work on a daily basis. They can stay focused on their number one priority of production while supporting the lean improvements that come into their areas.

Reply
Jos Visschers
March 7, 2012 @ 4:36 am

Comment in the Businessleaners.com discussion group on LinkedIn:

We have currently a lot of discussions on this topic. I think it depends on what manager you mean! For myself it´s clear. As a manager my role is to actively stimulate, motivate, encourage, train, coach and help to find new ways of improving to a lean environment, but what about all the others? What I see working is that they need to be actively involved. That means visiting the shop-floor and seeing and understanding what really happens. Based on what we understand from there stimulating discussions on how to do it better. Then agreeing on actions and tightly monitoring on the progress. Demonstrate the good behavior as this will stimulate other in the same direction.

The problems come when managers do not have time or interest to find out what lean is about!

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Kamran Ahmed Syed
March 7, 2012 @ 7:27 am

Comment in the PEX Network &I QPC… discussion group on LinkedIn:

First he should be very clear about HOW he is going to do it based on his past experiences, company culture and management support. There is no fixed Roadmap or SOP for its implementation. He should be able to convey his ideas to all hierarchal levels and be open to and listen to all ideas/suggestions from different people. A pleasant personality with good training skills is a must.

Reply
Timothy Acker
March 7, 2012 @ 7:30 am

Comment in the PEX Network &I QPC… discussion group on LinkedIn:

1. Decide what is important (identify the organization’s constraints).
2. Prioritize what to work on first, second and so on.
3. Remove barriers.
4. Don’t tamper with the processes being worked on.
4. Get out of the way (let your people solve the issues).

It is always amazing to me how few managers can do these things.

Reply
Kerrie Rich
March 7, 2012 @ 7:36 am

Comment in the Lean Six Sigma discussion group on LinkedIn:

To take the stats and measures, then apply lean methodology and data retreival templates to the floor, train and educate staff on the methodologies of LEAN thinking and data extraction.

Empower, monitor and manage the throughput activity by retrieving daily, weekly and monthly stats and volumes data via the templates and report regularly back to management

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Ray Oglesby
March 7, 2012 @ 8:14 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:
The manager should lead by example always. He/She should thrive to be the center or the grounding in all lean thinking. Think of it this way the manager is like the center of a wagon wheel always there always strong and with out them your lean work will not roll.

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Muhammad Ehsan
March 7, 2012 @ 8:17 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

I think, when the manager decide to implement the lean system, he/she should first have a complete understanding of the system himself/herself. Also the manager has to think and decide the extent up to which he/she can go with the Lean system implementation. The manager should also need to clarify the roles and responsibilities of different key workers especially the assistant managers, group leaders, and also if possible to the lower level workers as well. Because in Lean System (LS) implementation, workers always show some reaction, therefore taking them all in confidence before starting the implementation process (this might be in the form of some incentives) can be very much beneficial. This will help in removing first hurdle in the implementation of LS. This will boost up the performance of the workers as they will think as the part of the planning process. This is not an easy task but after this, the managers has to simply use the tools and techniques (such as 5S, Poka-Yoke, JIT, Kanban, Kaizen, SMED, TPM, Cause & Effect Diagram, 5 Ys, etc..) of the LS to improve the overall performance culture of the enterprise, Which will ultimately
result an increase in the profit.
But one of the shortcoming of LS, that it never produce results in hours, days and even sometime in months, it is only profitable or measurable in long terms.

Reply
Michel Baudin
March 7, 2012 @ 8:30 am

@Muhammad Ehsan –

Your requirement of the manager to have “a complete understanding of the system” before starting is unrealistic, because such an understanding can only be obtained through implementation. There is no alternative to starting implementation with incomplete knowledge, using every project as a learning opportunity for the whole organization, including the top managers.

Also, a successful Lean implementation produces measurable economic results in a few months, as soon as the pilot projects are completed. This is not long-term.

Reply
Lee Peacock
March 7, 2012 @ 8:37 am

Comment in the Lean Learning Center on LinkedIn:

From my experiences as a leader of Lean the role is one of being a driving force behind the winning of hearts and minds, Lean must involve the workforce, not just the leaders of the initiative, it’s hard work to break tradition, especially in areas were lean is not heard of, i have worked in a number of Companies as a consultant and the biggest challenge has always been winning people over to the idea and explain the benefits. The sad fact is, as Humans, we don’t always embrace change.

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Jordan Breindel
March 8, 2012 @ 5:35 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

I think the role of the manager changes depending on the size of the organization and the position of the manager. If the manager is at a higher level, it is first important that they at least understand Lean concepts and also understand that is is not meant to be a short term fix. It is about changing the culture of the organization in order to encourage the identification of waste and then continuously eliminate it. It was mentioned in an earlier post that walking the talk and leading by example is important. I fully agree.
Although a higher level manager may not be directly involved in leading the change, they should have a good understanding of the tools. For example, 5S in not just about cleaning. It is a foundational piece in bring about a cultural change by getting employees involved in improving their areas. If you can not do 5S, good luck on trying to use some of the other Lean tools!
On the other hand if that manager is not going to directly drive the Lean effort as they may do in a small organization, they need to select the proper individuals to lead the transformation efforts. This is not about picking some other manager that needs something to do. This is about picking a person with the energy and passion for driving positive change. We all know the type.
It was also stated in an earlier post that the manager must provide the resources for the Lean transformation. Again, I fully agree with that observation. No Lean transformation is going to be successful without either human or financial resources. Additionally, some moral support is nice when events don’t go as well as planned. Remember, Lean organizations are also supposed to be learning organizations so we learn from our mistakes and move forward. Sorry for the long-winded rant!!

Reply
- Michel Baudin
  March 8, 2012 @ 5:53 am
  
  You are assuming that 5S is the easiest of Lean tools, and, I suppose, that organizations should start their Lean implementation with it. Much of the Lean literature says the same. In my experience, however, organizations that start with 5S never go on to anything else. Most fail at 5S and the few that succeed consider themselves Lean because they have 5S.
  5S is assumed easy because it is not technical. If fact, it is the opposite. It is difficult because it is not technical. By comparison, tools like SMED or cells are easy to implement because they have a rich technical content.
  To me, telling a company to start with 5S is like telling a kid with problems in school to tidy up his room. The room probably needs it, but the kid probably won’t do it, and it won’t solve the problems even if he or she does it.
  Telling a company or factory where to start is the most important recommendation a consultant can make, and should be based on an understanding of the specifics of the business — products, technology, people, economic conditions. I consider a stock answer like “Start with 5S” to be lazy consulting.
  
  Reply
  - Jordan Breindel
    March 8, 2012 @ 10:10 pm
    
    Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:
    
    No, I really am not assuming that 5S is the easest tool however since it is visual, people can relate to something happening. Change also becomes apparant to more people unlike tools such as TPM or SMED which can be very effective but only to the people who are directly affected by the improvements. I totally agree that too many companies do 5S and think they are Lean. I feel that a good 5S program is a foundational piece of the larger Lean picture. Additionally many of the other Lean tools are based on 5S. While appling TPM we “Clean to detect” and then try and maintain clean equipment so we can find leaks or maybe even metal fillings. SMED is based on organization and visual management. Even creating flow requires being able to figure out what in invetory and what is not. On a clean production line it is also easier to find the bottlenecks, expose waste, and detect potential safety issues. You make some great points however I am not a consultant. I am the Mfg Eng who was assigned to go into several production lines and fix them. Athough we did not roll out a formal 5S program initially, I did apply many of the 5S basics so I could find the real problems. Once the areas were more organized many of the real problems became apparant and were addressed. This allowed us to deal with quality, equipment and inventory issues. We recently elevated our 5S program to a more formal level and with many of the other problems behind us are making real head way. Thanks for your comments
Mohamed Gabr
March 8, 2012 @ 5:55 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

I believe managers role in Lean implementation is to provide the right environment for a successful Lean implementation which includes:
– set vision and roadmap
– Right resources to lead the implementation
– Creat a culture of why-why analysis, 5S, PDCA in the company
– to be seen as role models when it comes to behaviours
– Participate effectively in few Lean projects

Reply
Pat Wardwell
March 8, 2012 @ 6:00 am

Comment in the Northeast Shingo Prize Conference 2012 discussion group on LinkedIn:

Some things I think are important for the manager: to create a favorable environment for learning and provide time and resources for people to practice. The Manager is also responsible for giving employees the “know why” behind the decision to implement lean so that they have a compelling reason to want to change.

Reply
Paul Wojtuszewski
March 8, 2012 @ 6:04 am

Comment in the Lean Six Sigma discussion group on LinkedIn:

Set the vision, explain the concepts, tools, metrics and methods.

Then coach , coach , coach. All thru monitoring visual managment and metrics at the Gemba.

Reply
Gabrielle Domenge
March 8, 2012 @ 10:06 pm

Comment in the Continuous improvement, Six Sigma, & Lean Group on LinkedIn:

A manager is responsible for the development of his/her people so that they see and know how to improve their own processes. Facilitation of improvement and continual challenge to seek better is the managers role.

Reply
Robbie Howarth
March 9, 2012 @ 9:59 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

The key here is understanding the tool and the philosophy behind it. 6S (Workplace Organisation) and Visual Management should be handled at the same time, if you cannot do 6S you cannot do some of the more complicated lean tools, also it serves as a test of a companies seriousness towards lean because it requires discipline and remember 6S and Visual Management when used correctly exposed abnormality and waste and when removed create a stable platform to operate from in the chosen pilot area, this leads later to production predictability when used with other tools like cell design & layout/material flow, 6S gives us a chance to use problem solving tools to remove waste, reduce costs and increase productivity but it is not a magic wand and should not be seen as 1 item, it requires tactics, knowledge, skill and experience on the part of the lean champion to guide the appropriate personnel through this very early stage of the lean journey, after you have done Blue Sky, Policy Deployment, Balanced Scorecard, VSM, decided on the correct KPI’s and measured yourself to remove gut feeling, gestimation, and create a true state of understanding of the process in the total value chain, again their is a lot to do and it will take a book of knowledge to explain the picture clearly.

Reply
- Michel Baudin
  March 9, 2012 @ 10:24 am
  
  If 5S were easier than other Lean tools, you wouldn’t see the remains of so many failed attempts to implement it, with grimy banners still hanging in the shop after 5 years. The problem with 5S that it is intrinsically something you have to do plant-wide or not at all. You cannot do it in one part of the plant and hope to make it stick. If it doesn’t stick, it is just spring cleaning with the first three S’s, not 5S.
  
  The first reason it fails as a starting project is that you have to involve everyone. The second reason is that, in a traditional job-shop, the motivation is not there. If, as a machinist, you have been operating the same lathe for 15 years, you will perceive a shadow board for tools as just a means of making it easier for somebody else to learn your job. On the other hand, if you work in a cell and rotate between positions, you will have the need.
  
  There is a difference between doing a 5S project, which is plant-wide deployment, and using shadow boards as part of a cell project. The proper timing for plant-wide projects involving everyone is not when you start but when you have done enough local projects to give the program the momentum and the credibility to pull it off.
  
  Also, it’s 5S, not 6S. I see Safety as a whole other subject that does not belong in a list with the other S’s that are instructions to get rid of unnecessary items, have labeled postions for necessary items, etc. 5S does improve safety, but there is more to safety than 5S.
  
  Reply
  - Jordan Breindel
    March 9, 2012 @ 4:08 pm
    
    Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:
    
    Michel, I agree 100% with your statements. Getting the ball rolling with small local 5S activities starts to pave the way for the larger program. It sets the tone and starts to bring believers on-board. There are in fact people out there who enjoy working in a need organized work enviroment! I also hate when it is called 6S. The pure state is 5S: Sort, Straighten, Shine (or Scrub), Standardize, & Sustain. Safety was not part of it. However, with that being said, it is now called 6S where I work because the GM said so. Maybe he is smarter than everyone else or maybe he doesn’t understand that it just adds confusion to the program.
Robbie Howarth
March 10, 2012 @ 7:56 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

6S includes safety Renata, hence the sixth S on the 6S audit checklist. 6S does not involve everyone, this is why it fails, the experts say use a small pilot cell to implement 6S, use it as a training zone, do not be afraid of small failures it is part of the learning curve, but the main reason 6S fails is not because it is a tool, it’s because the senior management team does not support lean it is not interested enough to see the big business picture, hence other comments on other LinkedIn networks concerning senior management support to lean programmes and add ons, lean is not an add on, its an operational business need, imagine if 6S was measured as a part of a department managers KPI’s and key targets for the year it would happen, also managers need to go through a behavioral change, you don’t do learn 5S or lean from an office, you do lean in Gemba, imagine having a problem on the production line with 6S and saying let’s go to my office in the other building on floor 6, what a joke that would be.
The shadow board is not just to show were the tools go it is much more than that, the shadow board should also show if a tool is not there, tags on the side to show who has got the tool, especially for the air force military and FOD. I always felt that civilians did not understand 6S or 5S for what it truly is, it’s not about cleaning up, it’s about removing the need to clean, it’s not about a simple tool board, it’s much more than all that, how do you see the tools on the board if you are working at night and the power goes off line….shadow boards have reflective shadows so you can see the positions without clear light at night that’s what we did in the RAF in battle conditions, we took 6S beyond simple things.
6S does involve safety, what do you think SORT does, and SET, we are all responsible for safety with or without 6S, so let’s not get simple, if you want to go for the Shingo Prize or the JITPM, etc. then start looking at best practice and your goals. We talk about confusion Jordan, then I ask you this, did you all come together to achieve a “common understanding”?, if not then the team did not work together, I find it fascinating that we senior managers blame the tool first. I find that the West has come to learn about a lean tool, but it does not understand the philosophy behind the tool, that is the key, get to understand the Japanese Philosophy, I did not say do it the Japanese way, just learn where it all came from to understand the lean tools, techniques and methodologies and why they were created in the first place.
And again, it’s a journey, with plenty of little learning mistakes along the way guys, just like kids learning to ride a bicycle, they make mistakes at first then get to learn about it better and improve, and that’s what life is about.

Reply
- Jordan Breindel
  March 10, 2012 @ 7:57 am
  
  Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:
  
  Robbie, Prior to our new GM, the tool was called 5S. Our corporate office and all the training documentation refers to it as 5S. When he arrived he decided to call our program 6S. There was no discussion about it. Many of us now spend a fair amount of time trying to explain to our employees that is is in fact pretty much the same thing. I also totally agree with you the safety is really built int a good 5S program. I also really like your statement about the “Philosophy” of applying Lean.
  It truly is a cultural change and I don’t believe most of the American companies get it. Most managers are focused on hitting short term targets because compensation is based on those measures. I didn’t really understand this until I read “The Toyota Way” . This book helped me understand that it is a culture and not a bunch of tools that are going to bring instant change and “fix” everything. You made some great points in your post!!
  
  Reply
Emilio Clausen
March 10, 2012 @ 8:02 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

Management role is to focus on the processes first and not on the results. Train his people to visualize and eliminate wastes, suggest, standardize and implement kaizen and 5S events, and gather data to drive continuous improvement (VSM, SMED, leveled production, JIT, etc.)

Reply
- Michel Baudin
  March 10, 2012 @ 8:24 am
  
  The idea that managers should focus on processes rather than results keeps popping up everywhere. In other words, it doesn’t matter if the patient dies, as long as the operation was performed according to the rules. This kind of thinking is common in large bureaucracies, but you rarely encounter it in start-ups.
  
  The key question is: do processes exist for any purpose other than achieving results?
  
  You seem to imply that all there is to Lean implementation is Kaizen events. What about all the parts of Lean that cannot be implemented through Kaizen events?
  
  Can managers be expected to have the technical knowledge to train their people in Lean?
  
  Is gathering data a role for managers?
  
  Reply
Robbie Howarth
March 10, 2012 @ 11:31 pm

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

HI Michel
Some good comments/questions, and thanks Jordan. no Kaizen is a tool that comes later, I would use a 6 phase approach, discuss with senior management just what is lean manufacturing all about, do they understand they must go through the change barriers, communicate effectively look at the complete plan and not just lo-hanging fruit, hence Blue Sky is for a Lean Programme – Vision, Mission & Strategy, with a structured approach, the alignment of the appropriate KPI’s will measure and show “where we are”, we need to decide “where we want to go” as senior managers, so Phase Zero is all about Blue Sky, Policy Deployment, Business Scorecard, and KPI’s (if we don’t measure we cannot improve), it helps use to see who we are and where we are.

Once senior managers understand some basics of the lean journey, then we need to make sure “we agree to agree” on what we are going to do, hence a “common understanding” of our approach, we need the leadership, vision, charisma, challenge, patience and the will or drive to get there.

Gathering data usually starts with people who understand how to collect real data and not gut feeling, and you need 6 months of data to show what is going on, I would also say that I would encourage people to gain the knowledge and experience with data as it can be misleading initially for many.

Technical knowledge to train is an art, it has taken me many years to learn, but I started out learning to train and that needs to have a belief that “people are great, people want to do well” and I want to help them to grow, not everyone has these skills some learn, some don’t.

Kaizen is a tool I would use further down the road, but to start; I would use 5 or 6S, Visual Management (Visual Factory), Standardization, Cell Design & Layout, Material Flow, 7 wastes walks, and expose problems then teach people to learn how to conquer effective problem solving, the quality tools, and really remove the problem areas, remember Effective Problem Solving means the problem when removed should not raise its ugly head again, so that was Phase 1, then when we are more comfortable, it’s now been 6 months, we are starting to see improvement, then start thinking about Kanban/JIT, TPM, QCO, that’s phase 3.

Then after another period of improvement, people are now very confident, small successes are being seen and measured and people are gaining confidence, now let’s look at TPM again (how many pillars do you want 5 or 8?, Low cost gravity feed, simple conveyor systems (if required) smooth flow of material through the factory and so on but you notice its planned, coordinated, agreed, in bight size chunks and the measurable by now are becoming more honest and we can see change and improvement, it’s a journey, it requires knowledge, experience, and a lot of patience along that yellow brick road……

Reply
Wesley de Souza Brum
March 13, 2012 @ 7:25 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

It’s not depends on only the managers. But a lean process is important to everyone in the company to stay ahead of the competitors improving the working standards, focus on activities that add value and reducing losses.
The methodology can be applied without great efforts.

Reply
Asbjorn "Ozzy" Larsen
March 13, 2012 @ 7:27 am

Comment in the Lean & Kaizen discussion group on LinkedIn:

Interesting post and comments by the group. In my many years of implementing lean world wide, I have spent the most energy in helping managers “see” the waste. If the staff is unable to “see” the waste generated, there is no tool that will help get rid of it.
A tool, such as 5S or SMED, will be temporary and will quickly fade as no one see the benefit after a while (a.k.a the waste). “Anyone” can go in and show short term accomplishments by forcing tools and tell everybody how great lean is an all too often the “program” will fizzle because we don’t see the wast generated in an organizaion. Until the managers become more involved in a leader role, sees the waste AND admits there is waste, there will be very little sustainable progress in an organization. Education is key, through gemba walks to identify and see the waste.

Reply
Kokou Hermann Attiogbe, MBA/HCM
March 14, 2012 @ 8:55 pm

Comment in the APICS The Association for Operations Management discussion group on LinkedIn:

The role of the manager in implementing lean process is to formulate the strategy for competitiveness, direct the selection, design and the reengineering process quality. He also has to monitor the operations strategy, managing changes in order to reduce waste; increase value. He definitively also has to listen to the staff in brainstorming sessions. He has to be lean but not mean.

Reply
Kiran kashyap
March 25, 2012 @ 11:36 pm

The role of the manager in implementing lean would be:
1) To form a team of like minded people across various levels of hierarchy which will carry forward all the systems and procedures to the next leveldown the line.
2) To ensure the systems are not diluted due to change of members in the team.
3) If any team members are added, the manager has to ensure that the new team member is completely trained in all aspects of lean.
4) Train the trainers on continous basis to sustain systems implemented.
5) Involve process owners in implementation of lean and build owner ship.
6) monitor the developments on continous basis.

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Role of Management in Lean (In Spanish) | Michel Baudin's Blog
June 30, 2012 @ 5:45 am

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