Lean Awareness: Philosophy and Tools

by Ross Maynard

Lean Management is a philosophy about skilled and motivated people across the organisation working together to improve the efficiency of processes. This course helps you to understand the concepts at the heart of the lean philosophy, and to think through its application within your organisation.

This course is not currently available

This course will enable you to

  • Understand the definition, history and key features of the lean philosophy
  • Establish the starting point and stages in a lean improvement project
  • Define Value Stream Mapping and the outcome you wish to achieve in an improvement project
  • Understand the principles of good process design and the key tools of lean improvement
  • Structure your organisation's lean improvement efforts, including the composition of an Improvement Team and the stages that the Improvement Team should work through

About the course

"Lean Management" is a philosophy about skilled and motivated people across the organisation working together to improve the efficiency of processes. It aims to free-up time from rectifying mistakes and use it more profitably elsewhere in the business.

The approach has gained tremendous traction over the last 15 years and organisations all over the world are now applying the principles of lean improvement. Nevertheless, lean remains something of an enigma and many people do not fully understand its core philosophy. Some believe lean to be a cost-reduction strategy with the aim of cutting jobs. Others think that lean is part of Six Sigma and is a highly technical methodology. Still others believe that lean is a Japanese approach that can only work within an Eastern culture-set. Lean is none of these things. Lean is not some mystical religion and it certainly should not be about cutting jobs: rather the efficiencies gained can be used to serve more customers and develop new products and services. This course will help you to understand the concepts and beliefs at the heart of the lean philosophy, and to think through its application within your organisation.

Look inside

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Contents

  • What is Lean?
    • What does "lean" mean?
    • Why do people choose lean?
    • How is "flow" important?
    • Why are people more important than tools in lean?
    • What is the Doctrine of Marginal Gains?
    • What are the five principles of lean?
  • Customer Value and Waste
    • What are the stages in a Lean Improvement Plan?
    • How do I establish the Improvement Team?
    • How can I know what the customer wants?
    • How do I define "value"?
    • What can I do about work that doesn't add value?
    • What are the 7+2 wastes?
    • What are the cost impacts of waste?
  • Mapping the Value Stream
    • What is a Value Stream?
    • What is the "Voice of the Process"?
    • What is Value Stream Mapping?
    • How can I use Value Stream Mapping symbols?
    • How do I draw a Value Stream Map?
    • How should I analyse my processes?
    • What measures should I use in lean improvement?
    • What is the Problem Statement?
    • What is the Goal Statement?
  • Improving the Process
    • Where do I start improving the process?
    • How do I get the most out of my team?
    • How do I empower and engage people?
    • How can I gauge the success of the lean culture?
    • How should I deal with resistance to change?
    • How can I analyse problems with the process?
    • What lean process design principles should I follow?
    • How can I test the solutions we've found?
    • How can I design a suitable new process?
  • Creating a Structure for Lean Improvement
    • What elements should the structure have?
    • How can I improve the Improvement Team?
    • What is the A3 Improvement Plan?
    • How do I develop an Improvement Plan?
    • How do I deal with issues I can't resolve?
    • How do I make time for improvements?
    • How should my organisation develop?
    • How can I put it all into practice?

How it works

Author

Ross Maynard

Ross has worked as a consultant and trainer for over 20 years, specialising in finance processes, management information and performance measurement. He supports organisations to understand their processes; facilitates improvement teams; and supports staff to work together as a team to deliver tangible and sustainable improvements.

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