A Lean Lesson: Is The Process Of “Lean” A Downsizing Tool?

Whatever you have heard about the word “Lean”, it is not downsizing.  Some people tend to associate the term, “Lean” with “downsizing” or “restructuring”.  Some people think that through the implementation of “Lean”, that out of ten people, two people’s jobs could be eliminated, so that a company has to let two people go. If you have this kind of intimidating image about “Lean”, this is not the original understanding.  Let’s examine Lean more closely.

A significant idea of Lean is to eliminate waste, which is called “Muda” in Japanese. Waste or Muda is non-value added activities. You cannot charge those activities to the customers.  But it may be a necessary or even an unnecessary activity in the process. First, you need to identify the non-value activities in the process and research if they can be eliminated or not. Through these diligent efforts, you can see where improvements need to be made to lead to the leaner operation process. For example,  find a way for 8 people instead of 10 people to complete the process and meet the same volume, cycle time and with the same or even better quality product.

So if only 8 out of 10 people are needed, what about the other two? That is a very good and valid question. Those two people have to be reassigned to a different or new job function in the workplace. However, in the U.S. workplace, there is always some fear of letting two people go. But based on the Lean concept or continuous improvement (Kaizen), it is very possible to create new job functions focused on value-added activities.

For example, many companies are struggling to effectively process multiple product lines with small lots. Customers demand more customized specifications and parts. In order to meet those requirements, a company’s efficiency tends to go down and process costs go up.  Machine setups needed be changed more frequently to meet small lot operations with different specifications. One company assigned two employees as dedicated machine changeover operators, as well as tooling maintenance functions. In the U.S., usually operators and maintenance are totally different job functions, but experienced operators should receive an opportunity to cross-train and to become more multi-task oriented operators. And thus become more valuable to the company in a value-added activity.

Lean practice will teach the necessity of change and the importance of flexibility. Lean is not a tool for eliminating people from workplace. Lean makes the workplace utilize people more effectively even after improvements. The workplace always needs people who cannot be replaced by robots or conveyor systems. Also implementing Lean is a very critical stage for U.S. manufacturing operations to survive on theUSsoil. To capitalize on the U.S. manufacturing capability, Lean is a very important and indispensable methodology to implement.  It is definitely not a downsizing tool.

I am very excited about this opportunity to share my experiences and research about the Lean practice with members of Cascade Employers Association. This workshop is scheduled on Thursday, November 10, 2011; 8:30am to 10:30am at Cascade Employers Association in Salem.  I hope this piques your interest in this topic and you will plan to come to the workshop on November 10. I am looking forward to seeing you soon.

Ken Sakai

President & CEO

Pacific Dreams, Inc.