Thursday, April 11, 2019

The Advantages Of Hiring A Lean Manufacturing Consultant

By Diane Foster


Continuous improvement involves constantly poking holes in the process. Constantly analyzing to find issues. Or aspects that threaten to be issued. A lean manufacturing consultant is well placed to perform this. He or she will apply tools to the situation. The point of the exercise is to divert resources from activities that are wasteful and useless to the process to the useful ones. The more advantageous ones.

One may read a few books on this subject and already consider him or herself an expert. They may think that they do not need an outside hand to help. In this case, the employees might not take it seriously. Remember that the success of this exercise is only 20% determined by the tools applied. The other 80% is determined by the internal environment. This includes culture and employee involvement. Such seemingly mundane factors could make the difference between success and complete failure.

When one decides to outsource, they will get the benefit of experience. See, the sensei has spent extensive periods in the trade. They have been trained. They have read a host of literature on the subject. Years in the industry being faced with new and different situations. This allows for a more creative approach to things. Therefore deciding to do this all by oneself is a disservice to the organization and stakeholders.

One may have a lot of clutter in their home. They will always find a reason to keep everything during spring cleaning. However, the minute they walk into another garage, they will notice the unnecessary things immediately. This sensei is a fresh perspective on the process. He or she is better placed to recognize the clutter. He or she will not see value in every single activity like one would. They are not sentimentally attached to anything.

There are people who clean out garages by trade. Now one will not just pick anyone. They will want to see the work that the professionals have done in other homes. They will want to see how it looks without the clutter. One is advised to ask about the people responsible for other successful programs. Find a few so that one can have a pool of candidates to pick from.

One should decide the kind of specialist the company needs. Which area of the needs works? Is it a specific area of a process? Is it an entire stream of processes? Or is it the overall process? This will help narrow down the list of candidates. It will inform the decisions made from here henceforth. It will even help when the time comes to diagnose the issues.

There really is no cookie cutter approach to finding a sensei. There are no definite markers to recognize a good sensei from a bad one. Maybe use their missions to decide if he or she is fitting. The main missions are problem-solving and increase in productivity.

A very important point, good relationship with the sensei. This person will have their hands in almost everything in an organization. There is bound to be friction when one does not agree. A good relationship will ensure mutual trust and respect. All for the good of the company.




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