《Lean Thinking Introduction TPC》.pdfVIP

Touchpoint Change Ltd 0845 1301 357 www.TouchpointChange.co.uk An Introduction to Lean Thinking What is Lean Thinking? The term ‘lean’ is becoming more prevalent in many industries but it is used in several senses. The word is sometimes used to describe an organisation that has been cut to the bone and is surviving with the minimum possible staff or resources, or less than the minimum - ‘lean and mean’. However, that is not the sentiment or meaning behind Lean as used in ‘Lean Thinking’, the term coined by Dan Jones and James Womack to describe an exceptionally focused, efficient, agile and successful organisation. The term Lean here is more akin to the athletic meaning. Consider two top athletes – a sprinter and a marathon runner. They are both well-developed, muscular and with little fat. Both push themselves and have a disciplined training regime so as to continuously improve at their sport, but neither could excel at each others’. Both are lean in their own way – fit for purpose and trained to deliver a peak performance in their own event. This analogy applies to organisations. Each has its own purpose, its own strategy and priorities, its own customers, employees, suppliers, regulators, stakeholders, heritage and opportunities. Each must therefore strive to be the best that it can possibly be – whether determined by the level of efficiency, satisfaction, profit or the outcomes it creates in the communities it serves. Lean Thinking embodies