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Lean Training OptionsHere are some lean training options. It is very important to get trained. It will give you the know-how of how to implement lean successfully.
I placed the pages on the navigation bar (to the left) in the logical order so it makes it easier for you to follow, if you’d like to use that order. Surely you can visit any page you’d like if you are comfortable with the terminology. 2. Attending a lean manufacturing overview seminar or workshop. From a personal perspective, I enjoyed tremendously the workshops where we learned about lean by performing some simulations. It is called “Learn by Doing” and it’s much more effective in demonstrating the usefulness of lean philosophy and tools. I encourage you to find such a lean training workshop and send your top people there so they will learn about and believe in lean. As a mater of fact I’ve been designing a construction game to simulate the lean methodology. It is great fun to play it with a small group, and very meaningful. 3. Visiting non-competitive businesses that are more advanced in implementing lean and have a lean training program available. If you don’t know of any already, you can surely find some companies just by attending some meetings at the local Chamber of Commerce or some industry events. Professional associations can help with information too. 4. Inviting a lean consultant to train your people at your workplace. A good lean consultant is expensive but worth the money. Whoever you decide to employ, please make sure you check their credentials by talking to some previous customers of theirs. Understand exactly what it the scope of work as they cannot be and do all. They come and go and you are left with continuing the work, so establish an action plan with the consultant, to be able to continue on your own. A consulting company can become your partner for the whole lean journey, if this is what you choose. It depends on your strategy. 5. Finding and joining a lean consortium in your area, where you can share in the expenses for lean training and have the advantage of plant tours and common resources. This is a great way to share knowledge and learn from other companies on the lean journey. It’s worth looking into what associations or consortiums are in your area and investigating what benefits you would have by joining. In general, they share in the expenses of training their people, they visit each other’s plants, they meet regularly and work on a topic of interest, and they can even audit each other’s processes. The lean consortium is typically led by a consulting group specialized in lean manufacturing and they provide the framework for the development of the whole group, the knowledge and the resources. There is a membership fee attached to the whole thing, less than what you’d have to pay if you were on your own. 6. Hiring a lean manufacturing manager/champion who already possesses the lean knowledge and have him/her do the training. Not necessarily because I am one of those, but I think it’s worth having in house your full-time lean expert (cost effective too). Either way, you need a lean champion so why not hire somebody who knows lean? An important thing to look for is leadership qualities. The lean manager must lead by example, walk the talk and vice versa. He/she should be able to motivate people, to mobilize them, to help them release their potential and to guide their energies. There is so much positive energy in this world……. Yet people live in their inner space, with feelings of not being worth anything, afraid of change or of expanding their comfort zone. Or they keep complaining and criticizing everything. They all need to be renewed with a feeling that they are precious to us, that we value them, that we empower them to be part of our team and make a difference. Remember Toyota pillar: Respect for People? Very important….. So, a good lean manufacturing manager is a rare gem you should look for. You can think, probably, of other ways too. Depending on your circumstances, please follow any combination of the above.
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