Lean in brief:
Lean is a strategy for operational excellence based on the elimination of non-value adding activities ( referred to as “muda” in japanese) and respect for people.
Lean Practitioners Canada:
Lean Practitioners Canada is a not-for-profit organization that exists to change society for the better through the transformative power of lean. We promote lean thinking and provide on-site practical coaching to improve operational performance.
Lean Practitioners Canada (LPC) is a not-for-profit corporation that was founded to improve communities, companies, and individuals by teaching and practicing the skill Lean Practice.
What is Lean Practice? What is its purpose?
The purpose of Lean Practice is to build effective organizations that deliver the best possible quality in the shortest time possible.
Lean is a management system that is built on a foundation of culture, purpose, and respect. The objective of this system is to establish stability in any business by systematic use of standardization, planning, and problem solving.
The Lean Practitioner’s Toolbox has three classes of tools that can be used to achieve Lean Practice. These tools are all have one thing in common, they are all built on the philosophy of eliminating unnecessary activity, these tools are standardization, visual management, flow, continuous improvement, and mistake proofing.
The Lean Paradox
Lean Practice is counter-intuitive in its operational practices and is a paradigm shift from other business process improvement or problem solving approaches.
The Benefits of Lean Practice
Lean organizations contribute to their long term success by implementing Lean Practice. This can be explicitly measured with reductions in inventory, lead time, defects, and turnover. It can also be observed in increased throughput, capacity, job satisfaction, and staff retention.
When traditional business is studied using Lean Practice it is not uncommon to discover that between 40% to 95% of the activity generates some form of unproductive waste. Lean Practice empowers the entire organization, especially front-line workers, with the skill to recognize and eliminate wasteful activity.
World class implementations of Lean Practice can produce productivity gains and reduce operating costs without the need for capital investment or sophisticated automation