by Jerry Fulkerson

Well, it’s not exactly as bad as that meme describes but, if surveys are to be believed, the success rate is pretty low for Lean implementations.  In an article on i Six Sigma they offered a failure rate of 50%-95%.   Given the difficulty of getting an accurate answer to the question, “Is your Lean program successful?” tightening that reported range any further isn’t likely.  But, it doesn’t have to be.  It’s enough to say that a large number of Lean initiatives either wither and drop away or become relegated to a status of “make work”.  The real question is…why?

Many companies have, at one time or another, actively explored integrating Lean manufacturing into their operations.  When a company wants to dip a toe into Lean, 5S is the usual starting point.  Unfortunately, that’s often where it stops because, until it becomes an integral part of daily operations, a solid 5S program takes a significant commitment of time and effort.  All too often, other perceived operational necessities crop up to push 5S down on the list of priorities, leaving it to resurface only when visitors are expected or audits are scheduled.  In that scenario, TPM, visual management systems, PDCA projects, Kaizen, SMED and all the other useful bits and pieces of a full Lean program seldom get a chance to see the light of day. The lesson to learn is that staying the course is critical.

Lean manufacturing isn’t a one size fit all proposition.  To some degree, especially at the start, a company’s management can pick and choose the tools in Lean that make sense for their organization.  This approach allows smaller companies, with more limited resources, to enter a Lean environment at a more measured pace.  But, there are still basic requirements and methods. From an implementation standpoint, there are five mistakes which can shut down a Lean program faster than holding the power button down on a computer.

• Not building the foundation first – Any kind of a program has to be built on a solid, dependable foundation. In Lean, that foundation is built with Total Productive Maintenance and 5S.  A robust and functioning TPM program will ensure that the machinery is dependable and available when needed.  A robust and functioning 5S program will ensure that the people doing the work are dependable.  Beyond the benefits that 5S provides on its own, it helps people develop the self-discipline to follow standards.  If a Lean initiative isn’t started with sound TPM and 5S programs then it will not succeed.  Sooner or later, either the people or machinery will fail and all of the other improvements that are made will fail with them.
• Ineffective top level commitment – Lean can’t be driven from the middle. It has to be supported from the top down and implemented from the bottom up.  Too many executives want to transform their organization into Lean, so they assign a manager or director and then scratch Lean off of their “to do” list.  That won’t work.  If leaders want their company to be successful with Lean, they have to be as trained, committed and involved as everyone else in the company.  If they aren’t, not only will it send the wrong signal to the masses, it virtually ensures that obstacles which need to be removed for success won’t be.
• Incomplete employee involvement – There also has to be a realization that many of the best ideas are going to be found and the best implementations are going to be done by associates on the front line. These are the people who see the waste and fight the problems every day.  But, change can be frightening.  If the workers on the floor don’t understand why changes are being made and how those changes can help the process and improve their work lives, then they won’t buy in.  Without that, any change is doomed to failure.  So, how is the buy in accomplished?

First, everybody needs trained, at least in the basics.  I know, that can’t be done overnight, but it is possible to put together a plan and make sure that the first class taught has a couple of folks from the production floor in it.  The goal isn’t to make everyone a statistician or Lean Sensei, but if everyone knows what a Muda walk, spaghetti diagram or PDCA project are and why they are used, then there is a better chance of avoiding resistance.

Second, make sure the teams are built in a cross functional and cross level manner.  Let everyone help define the problems, gather the data, contribute to the fishbone diagram, answer the five whys and test the solutions.  Let everyone have a turn leading a team.  If the front line associates own the solution then they will move heaven and earth to make it work.  If they don’t, it doesn’t have a chance.

• Narrow project focus – Executives and managers tend to have preconceptions about which problems in their organizations constitute high value targets for Lean manufacturing. They might feel that the inventory is out of control, rejection rates are too high or OEE is too low.  They are probably right, inventory rates, scrap rates and operational effectiveness are critical areas, but they are also very likely to be the most difficult to control, requiring the most resources in the form of time and capital to resolve.  While working on those big problems, why not let teams simultaneously work on smaller ones in areas of their choosing?  Solving them will not only give them a sense of satisfaction and confidence, but they might stumble onto a lower visibility problem that begs for resolution and yields significant savings. It’s the serendipity principle.
• Unreasonable expectations- This dovetails into the last point. Leaders often  have an expectation that, given the commitment they are making to a program, every project should be a touchdown that adds points to the scoreboard.  Life isn’t like that and neither is running a business.  That’s true whether the business is in manufacturing, health care, retail sales, or anything else.  It’s nice to drop back and make a sixty yard touchdown pass but, more often than not, it’s grinding out three or four yards per play on the ground that wins the game.  When someone comes with a project that is unlikely to have a huge impact, instead of telling them to go find something bigger, let them try.  Even if all they get is that three yards, it’s still an improvement.  More importantly, it will let them hone their skills so that when they’re needed for the big projects they’ll be ready.  It also doesn’t hurt that, as they work on smaller projects, they’ll be spreading the word about Lean.

Even though I’m just a shop rat engineer, I’m fairly certain that a Lean Sensei won’t have major heartburn about anything I’ve said.  I’m also fairly certain that they could and would change the priorities and add other failure modes to the list.  If any Lean Champions are reading, feel free to contribute in the comment section.  I look forward to your input.

See ya