Lean Thinking

Lean is the elimination of waste in processes or patterns of life. For many of us, it is a way of life even as we live it knowingly or unknowingly. It is in our daily choices because we spend time on valuable activities. After all, time wasted is not recoverable. 

The customer journey is mapped around value because customers buy what gives them the most value; purchase decisions are based on their experience with different touch points in the business. This experience also affects whether they will refer other potential customers or not. Business owners must focus on building processes and cultures that enable a lean practice.

Business Processes

In business, lean is the act of waste elimination in business processes to meet and exceed customer expectations and create maximum value for their money. Lean businesses reduce wastage of time, inventory, and movement of materials and information and eliminate defects, overproduction or processing. A successful lean transformation creates streamlined processes, ensures tasks are completed correctly, timelines met, inventory well used, customer orders filled, and supply meets demand at a fair price. It must be grounded in effective communication with internal teams, customers and other stakeholders.

The Value of People

People and processes go hand in hand, so we must not focus on the processes and forget people. Informed and empowered team members understand the processes and importance of each step and then make better decisions that help manage costs. Since people learn through instruction and mistakes, team training and building give them a chance to understand the need and improve on what they do. 

On May 5th 2022, the Circular Economy Alliance hosted a webinar on the importance of education and skills before a systematic change toward a Circular Economy. The circular economy is a production and consumption model focused on waste reduction by repairing, reusing, refurbishing and recycling products; it fits the bill for lean thinking. 

Businesses seeking to adopt a lean mode of operations need to skill and reskill their teams once they do an audit to identify skill gaps around waste elimination. It is clear that identifying skill gaps and empowering team members on the importance of eliminating waste is critical to implementing a lean strategy.

Building a Lean Culture

Shigeo Shingo captured the value of a lean culture when he said, ‘Keep in mind that the most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognise’. Businesses looking to grow sustainably must focus on building a lean mindset into the fabric of their businesses. 

Going lean starts with asking questions about our businesses:

1. What is the company culture?
2. What does being lean mean to the organisation?
3. What waste exists in the current operations?
4. How will being lean help the business grow?
5. Do the team members understand what it means to be a lean business? 
6. How can lean thinking be included in and entrenched into our model?

Every team member must understand that a lean culture is a principal part of a sustainable business. This understanding helps each person see the entire business focus and how their role fits in, then focus on their specific roles. It ensures that team members are keen on their daily assignments, eliminate waste and grow the business’s profitability. Bottom-line, a lean business always maximises profit; that is the goal of business.

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Lucy Moragwa is a Business Process Analyst with dynamic experience spanning several industries including construction, technology, retail, media, advertising, and branding. She is specialised in helping organisations develop operational efficiency and increase revenue, business process improvement and using root cause analysis to identify issues and develop process improvements. The heart of her work is to help organisations achieve cost savings through exceptional planning and implementation of business processes.