Lean manufacturing is the continuous improvement methodology of choice for experts around the world. It’s a people-focused practice that focuses on reducing production and response times within your operations. These practices create a framework that empasizes eliminating activities that do not add value for the customer, and focuses on reducing cycle, flow, and throughput times. While originally developed for production - Lean methodology has been adapted to help us improve everything from marketing to customer service.

The 5 Pillars of Lean.

The Lean philosophy in manufacturing is built upon five key pillars that drive efficiency, reduce waste, and improve overall productivity. 

1. Value.

Clearly define what value means for the customer. This means understanding the end result that is most important to them, and aligning your production processes to deliver this value. By identifying and focusing on value-added activities, manufacturers can thus eliminate what Lean calls “non-value-added steps” throughout processes and procedures. 

2. Value Stream.

Map and analyze the ‘value stream’ for each product you produce. This usually means identifying all the steps and processes involved in delivering the product: from raw materials, to distribution to the end-customer, and everything in-between. By visualizing this value stream and eliminating any bottlenecks or inefficiencies, manufacturers can better manage and optimize the flow of materials, information, and activities from start to finish.

3. Flow.

Make value flow without interruptions. Flow involves optimizing the movement of both products and information throughout the production system. By eliminating delays, excess inventory, and unnecessary transportation, manufacturers can achieve a smooth and continuous flow of work that actively reduces lead times and increases responsiveness throughout a value chain.

4. Pull.

Let the customer ‘pull’ value instead of having it ‘pushed’ on them. Instead of pushing products based on forecasts or assumptions, manufacturers adopt a pull-based approach, where production is driven by actual customer demand. By aligning production levels with customer needs, companies can avoid overproduction, minimize inventory costs, and improve customer satisfaction.

5. Perfection.

Pursue perfection. True perfection is, of course, impossible. But this pillar of Lean represents the mindset of striving for improvement and excellence in all aspects of your processes. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement, empowering and democratizing employee involvement, and embracing innovation, manufacturers create the building blocks for predictable and sustainable success.

Kaizen is a Japanese term and business philosophy that means “change for the better.” It’s a strategy that involves everyone in an organization to contribute to a shared goal: achieving continuous improvement. Kaizen originated in post-world war II Japan and was first implemented in Toyota factories to avoid manufacturing errors. Today, it’s become synonymous with lean manufacturing.  

The pillars of Kaizen.

Kaizen is all about making small incremental improvements. Its implementation can vary depending on the organization. Broadly speaking, Kaizen is based on 5 core principles. 

1. Know your customer → put the customer experience first. 

2. Zero waste → seek to eliminate waste and use fewer resources. 

3. Spend time on the shop floor → Kaizen promotes gemba walks to understand where customer value gets created. 

4. Be transparent → make performance measurable and progress visible. 

5. Empower people → set goals and give people the tools they need to reach them. 

Together, these principles sustain Kaizen as a practice. To support these pillars, you also need a solid foundation based on standards. 

How standard work facilitates Kaizen.

Standardization is critical in Kaizen. The best way to implement standardization in your operations is to create standard operating procedures (SOPs). SOPs are standard guidelines your team needs to follow to complete a given process. Your team needs to implement standards in order to achieve consistency in their work. But SOPs are also crucial to achieve continuous improvement: they set the baseline for further optimization. 

The benefits of SOPs.

Reduce errors and downtime in the shop floor: when your team has SOPs and standard work instructions that are easy to follow, they will know how to best operate equipment and perform tasks. This, in turn, reduces errors and prevents downtime.

Maintain consistency and quality control: there is no quality control without consistency and no consistency without standards. These standards, shared throughout a company, ensure that the task at hand is done right every time it’s performed. This means predictable results and consistent product quality.

Improve productivity and performance: clear procedures make your team confident and efficient. Better SOPs help get the job done right, and improve the confidence of frontline teams. 

But it’s more than productivity - collecting feedback to improve SOPs is just as important as implementing them. 

Crowdsourcing knowledge to drive Kaizen.

Companies who are successful at driving Kaizen know that it’s important to empower people. Your frontline employees know what happens on the shop floor and in the field and can suggest the best improvements to optimize your processes. Use platforms that allow you to crowdsource knowledge and start documenting best practices from across your organization. 

Why crowdsource knowledge? 

It helps you motivate employees → Engaged employees are less likely to leave your company and drive productivity in their daily work.

Share best practices across sites → Optimizations that work in one plant can be more easily implemented in others when your operational knowledge is documented. 

Ensure knowledge is not lost when someone leaves the team → This is especially relevant in manufacturing, an industry that’s seeing many employees retire and is currently affected by high rates of employee churn. 

Onboarding team members to drive Kaizen adoption.

A solid introduction to your Kaizen practice will also help you get employees engaged and up-to-speed quickly. And what better way to do this than through good onboarding. Companies that have a standard onboarding process and user friendly work instructions can improve speed to competency up to 30%. 

Checklist for Kaizen onboarding.

• Provide access to knowledge from the start: build employee autonomy by providing the relevant knowledge from day one. 
  
  
• Give your employees easy to use tools: work instructions should be device-agnostic. They should be easy to access from a mobile device on the shop floor.
  
  
• Motivate and empower: companies with motivated employees achieve far greater things. Train your team with motivation in mind and give them tools that allow them to submit feedback easily. 
  
  

Read more about using SOPs to implement Kaizen in your organization.