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Lean & Kaizen

There can be varying definitions of Lean. The Toyota Production Method actually is related to a Lean Transformation—a long journey of building a culture and leadership focused on processes and people. The goal is elimination of waste, standardizing processes so that gaps can be measured and improved upon, and Kaizen, which is analyzing a process and improving it. It has a lot to do with a focus on delivering real value to customers by understanding what it is the really want.

There are Lean tools, including Standardized Work Processes (standardizing work processes where it has an impact on Safety, Quality, Productivity, Cost or People), 5S (which can have various meanings including Standardize, Sort, Self-Discipline, Sweep and Straighten, or Set in Order, Sort, Shine, Standardize and Sustain). These are both ways to drive out waste in our processes, add more value, and have tools to ensure quality, while at the same time increasing safety, quality and productivity, and reducing costs.

How does our process improvement training program relate? First, if you are already using Lean tools, or are on a Lean Transformation journey, our training program may have relevance if you’re finding it difficult for your team members to communicate and solve problems together. Our program can add and improve relational skills to the technical processes you’re currently doing, in order to obtain better improvements to your processes, and ultimately, better results. We also do it in a way where you team is not waiting for the Lean leader to do all the thinking and leading, it teaches them, and continues to reinforce their behavior, of how to solve their problems with their team.

If you’re not using Lean tools you’ll get an exposure to Lean thinking with the technical problem solving skills we use in our training program. Participants will be using Process Flow Charts and Ishikawa (Fishbone) Diagrams as tools to evaluate the relationships, resources and processes they and their teams are responsible for. We’ll also be looking at Root Causes analysis to get to a solid understanding of what needs to change. The best part is your team will be learning and practicing relational skills to solve problems, both for themselves and with their teams, so they “own” the changes, are responsible for them, and adopt them in a meaningful way because they came up with them. This is a key component of our Measurable Management® training program.

Kaizen is analyzing a process and improving it; it also stands as a symbol for continuous improvement. We value your employees and believe they are “the best consultants” and they already work for you. Our job is to facilitate the training so they learn and practice both the relational skills and technical skills for problem solving and creating improvements—completely aligned with the most important issues facing your organization. At the end of the training they’ve proven to themselves and you they have the skills, and results—and are set to continue the process on their own.

Key Business Organization Concepts