lean six sigma implementation success story

Eating the right kinds of protein can help build muscle and shed pounds. They might read that protein is good for you. Or, maybe they read the book, but they cherry pick the parts of the book that fit with their existing diet. They might find all sorts of crackpot ideas and snake oil nutrition information that's more self serving than accurate. Let's say that person does a quick web search instead of reading the book. Maybe they were told, by a doctor or a loved one, to read that book. Maybe they don't really want to lose weight or have a newer, healthier lifestyle. People can do any ole' dumb thing and call it “Lean.” An Analogy to Nutrition and Lean LivingĪs an analogy, let's say a person reads a book about nutrition. Listen to Mark read this post ( learn more & subscribe): When managers do bad things to employees in the name of Lean, this is called a “Lean horror story,” not a “bad manager horror story” or a “workplace horror story.” I call this “ Lean As Misguidedly Executed,” or L.A.M.E. Yet, the use of tools without the context of Lean philosophies or a Lean management system still gets labeled as “Lean.” Forcing people to remove family photos or making them put tape around their keyboard… that's not Lean. If people are irritated, annoyed, or outright ticked off because of Lean, there's probably a big problem.Īnd, that problem is NOT employees who are “resistant to change.”Ī tool as simple as 5S is supposed to engage employees in making their work easier, improving quality, preventing problems and frustrations, and allowing them to do a better job for customers and patients.īut, in the hands of a clumsy, old-school manager, 5S becomes a new, overbearing weapon. Lean is about creating a better workplace, one where employees are listened to and supported, where employees are allowed to participate in continuous improvement. It's not just because it's funny… it's because there is a kernel of truth that resonates with people. There's a reason that the “ Bad Office 5S Video” has over 135,000 views. But, we see something as basic as 5S get misapplied all the time (see this blog post and this satirical video I created). Lean tools can seem pretty simple to apply. In my 20-year career, in manufacturing and in healthcare, Lean has been a powerful and effective methodology for meeting those goals, along with improving quality, reducing waiting times (for products or for care), and reducing cost. Too many people end up hating their jobs or going home crying or exhausted at the end of the day. At a more global scale, too many patients are hurt or killed by preventable medical errors. Those are the important problems that I'm passionate about (and have been able to help fix, at least in some local situations).

When people ask me why I do what I do, my first answers are: It argues for a nuanced approach to Lean, acknowledging its limitations and ‘horror stories' in order to effectively achieve sustainable improvement.

Tl dr: The blog examines the pitfalls of poorly executed Lean methodologies, using an analogy of a cheeseburger to discuss unhealthy implementations.

Lean six sigma implementation success story