Lean principles provide the backbone for use of the methodology in improving business operations. While Lean does not come with a set list of principles to live by, these six areas hit upon the ideas that drive success when putting the process improvement methodology into play.

The overarching goal for using Lean is to create an operation that is efficient and effective in producing quality goods and services, as well as one where risk is better managed. Keeping these Lean principles in mind can help you succeed in these areas.

Principles of Lean

The following are some of the key principles upon which experts created the tools and techniques of Lean methodology. Each is an important area of focus for those who aspire to put Lean to work for their organization.

Commitment to Data-Driven Decisions

Long before data analytics became a fixture at most businesses, Lean and Six Sigma advocated the use of data to make better decisions. Many tools and techniques in Lean require collecting and analyzing data pertaining to current operations, enabling businesses to make better decisions. This takes guesswork and emotions out of the decision-making process.

Focus on Customer

Lean requires that businesses look at their operations through the eyes of the customer. Every step in an operation should add value to the customer. To understand what customers want, Lean requires understanding the Voice of the Customer (VOC) so that customer needs and requirements are understood. Companies get VOC through surveys, interviews, focus groups, suggestions, and feedback online. This includes information on what customers want, when they want it, and what they are willing to pay for it.

Understanding What Adds Value

All operational steps should only add value to customers. But to understand what does and what does not add value, businesses need the VOC as well as a detailed understanding of every step in a process. Lean tools such as Value Stream Mapping and Fishbone diagrams help not only to understand what has value but also help project teams find the source of errors and waste.

Eliminating Waste

Identifying the causes of waste is one thing. Getting rid of them is another. It helps companies to understand the main areas where something should be counted as wasteful. Lean provides this with a list of the Eight Wastes of Lean. They are:

  • Defects: Defects in a product or service are typically caused by incorrect information at some point in the process. They lead to rework, which wastes employees’ time as they do the same work twice.
  • Overproduction: This involves paying for materials to create more products than customer demand requires or providing it sooner than required.
  • Waiting: This refers to the time spent by employees waiting for one part of a job to get completed so they can do their part.
  • Non-utilized talent: Not using employees’ knowledge, skills, and talent to the extent possible.
  • Transportation: This involves the unnecessary movement of products and materials.
  • Inventory: Having more materials and supplies than needed, leading to money wasted on excess inventory storage.
  • Motion: This refers to unnecessary movements by workers in all types of businesses, including at an Oregon plant nursery.
  • Extra processing: Doing more work or creating something of higher quality than needed by customers.

Committing to Continuous Improvement

Process improvement is a continuous process, not something done once and then forgotten. As market conditions change, businesses also must evolve. That type of flexibility is built into continuous process improvement embodied by Lean. An example of this is the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) cycle, a commonly used method that has the “continuous” part of process improvement built into it.

Management Buy-In

This has little to do with the nuts and bolts of applying Lean. But it has everything to do with whether that application is successful. Management buy-in is key to success for a Lean initiative. Employees working on their own can make headway, but without support from the top of the organization, lasting change cannot happen. Without adherence to this principle, all the others have little impact.

Lean provides a framework for making lasting, positive change to an organization. By adhering to these principles and applying Lean tools and techniques properly, companies can experience the type of change that leads to long-lasting success.