Lean Thinking - or the Paradigm Shift

In order to be able to explain better the lean thinking process, I'd like to start with a twist.

Please read below:

NUMMI- 1984:

“I discovered them in a roundabout way in the process of “adapting some” of Toyota training materials to make them appropriate for NUMMI.

When I found myself struggling with some of the concepts of a certain training program, my Japanese colleague fetched from a back-room file a yellowed, dog-eared, coffee-stained copy of the English-language original training manual, just as they had received it (minus the coffee stains I trust) some 30 years before.

To my amazement, the program Toyota was going to great expense to “transfer” to NUMMI was exactly that which the Americans had taught the Japanese decades before”.

John Shook, “Bringing the Toyota Production System to the United States: A Personal Perspective”, 1997

You see, what goes around comes around.

The lean manufacturing concepts and tools, even if named differently, are not different from what we've learned decades ago.

What is different is the way people feel about their work.

We keep talking about culture change when we refer to lean. In fact it's an attitude change.

Here are some differences in attitude between the mass production style and the lean production style.

Lean thinking is very optimistic. It engages people fully.

They feel appreciated and trusted. Inner resources surface and motivation is strong.

They keep looking even more fervently how to get rid of waste that eats away at their wealth.

We’ve never done it before____________We’ll be the pioneers

It’s too complicated___________Let’s look at it from a different angle

We don’t have the resources____Necessity is the Mother of Invention

It will never work_______________Let’s give it a try

There-s not enough time_______________We’ll reevaluate our priorities

We already tried it___________________We learned from the experience

There’s no way it will work_____________We will make it work

It’s a waste of time_______________Think of the possibilities

It’s of waste of money______________The investment will be worth it

We don’t have the expertise_____________We’ll benchmark those that do

We can’t compete_____________We’ll get a jump on the competition

Our vendors won’t go for it______Let’s show them the opportunities

It’s good enough______________There’s always room for improvement

We don’t have the money________________Can we afford not to?

We’re understaffed_________________We are a lean machine

We don’t have the room________________We better organize our space

It will never fly___________________We’ll never know until we try

We don’t have the equipment____________Can the equipment be rented?

It’s not going to be any better___________We’ll try it one more time

No one communicates_______________Let’s open the channels

Isn’t it time to go home?___________Days go so quickly around here!

I don’t have any idea_______________I’ll come up with some alternatives

Let someone else deal with it________I’m ready to learn something new

It’s too radical a change____________Let’s take a chance

It takes too long to approve_______________We’ll walk it through the system

Our customers won’t buy it______________We’ll explain the benefits

It’s not my job__________I’ll be glad to take the responsibility

I CAN’T_________________________________________I CAN

Remember the cartoon with Bob the Builder?

The question is: Can we do it? The answer: Yes, we can!

And that is lean thinking.

(You must think I'm going out of my mind but, hey, I have a little one at home so it's understandable, I hope).

Please read What is Lean Manufacturing to understand the basics of this extraordinarily powerful system.

Please check Lean Manufacturing Definitions and Lean Implementation sections anytime you wish.

Put your lean thinking hat on and you will succeed.

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