Lean management is not focus to achieve one simple target. It is not a technique companies use to strive towards their goal. It is not fixed or square or round. Instead it is a moving target, it changes constantly and it is a process of learning and improving. Though it was developed by Toyota Production System and copied by many other companies it is not simply just mimicking what Toyota had accomplished.
Now, why is lean management not a technique? Well, it is not something you can get out of the book and train your employees based on what you have read and then have those employees to train new employees on the same technique. As years goes by, months even, lean management will have change as it needs to suit the current needs or companies, employers and employees.
Lean is not implemented for certain department or employees or even so “troublesome” employees. You should not implement it because you have to but you should implement it because you need to. It is a culture that should be practiced at every level of organization and by every team. Hence, the company’s outcome and efficiency would continuously be improved.
Moreover, lean eliminates waste and all of its form. This mean that it is important to identify work or resources that provides a significant value towards the company’s outcome. Effective work adds towards your customer and this is what every company should look for, therefore ineffective work should be disregarded. When you eliminate these wastes, you are open to many spaces in which you are able to fulfill the needs of your customers.
Many companies be it local or international, the work environment are mostly always the same. The most common practice is to give a sense of fear in the workplace in which with fear it is believed that workers will tend to work harder and put more effort in everything. However, this only creates a very stressful environment and makes workers feel pressured which will eventually leads to a decreasing performance and ending with the employee handing their resignation. Lean management is focus on improving the work process instead of creating fear within each individuals and blaming others for any wrong doing.
Everyone tends to do their best when they are in a stress free environment, so lean management tends to bring back the joy in working. Team work is what the lean management encourage so that responsibilities and ownership can be shared and this will in turn cut through organization walls. Lean ensure quality and safety for both staff and customers and that is why it is beneficial for a smooth working process.