Chris Turner developed his LEAN Training Model to allow clients and students to clearly understand the stages of change during a Lean Manufacturing Implementation. He used the word "LEAN" as an acronym to define the four stages of change during a Lean Enterprise Implementation process. Each stage of change has supporting activities which are requirements to successfully guide an organization towards becoming a fully functional Lean Enterprise.

Lean Enterprise Implementation - 4 Stages of Change

Stage 1: Learn - Observe and Record

The first stage of change for any organization is to Learn about a process. In the Toyota Production System the saying "Genchi Gembutsu" is often used, this means "Go see for yourself". To fully understand any process, it is necessary to go and observe the process in action and record (in real-time) what is happening.

Learn 1.1 Observe

Many organization try to improve things from a boardroom or conference room and this is impossible. There is always a difference between "what you think is happening" compared to "what is actually happening. The first level of change must be to go to the place to see for yourself, to connect and understand with the process you are trying to change. Go to "Gemba" as many times as you need to observe the process before you start to change anything. It will pay huge dividends in the end.

Learn 1.2 Record

During your time observing the process it is important to record what you actually see happening. When people work with a process day in, day out, they think they know everything about it. I can assure you that this is simple not true! Human beings by nature are an adaptable species and they are very creative when it comes to documenting reality. I have learned over the years to "believe nothing I hear and only half of what I see." Go see for yourself and record the events in real time. There are two categories of information you will need to record during the Learn stage;

1. Process methodology and all the associated activities.
2. Process Timeline for each activity, i.e. Cycle times, Travel distances, etc.

Once you have completed observing and recording the current state, you can move onto the next stage Evaluate.

Tools used in the Learn stage of change:

Stage 2: Evaluate - Measure and Analyze

The second stage of change for any organization is to Evaluate a process. After observing and recording the current state in real-time, you will have a better understanding of the process. You will now be able to determine which data is readily available and if any other important data needs to be collected. Once all the relevant data has been collected its time to start analyzing the data to make sense of it.  The main purpose of measure is to collect current state process data and then analysis it to:

Measure 2.1 Develop a Baseline for Key Performance Metrics.

Measure 2.2 Identify Value Added and Non-Value Added Activities (Muda).

Analyze 2.3 Determine the Cause of Waste and Eliminate it.

Measure 2.1 Develop a Baseline for Key Performance Metrics

It is really important to have good baseline performance metrics before you start to implement any changes. A simple rule to remember here is: "If you don't measure the process before changing it, how will you know if you've improved it?" Taiichi Ono said "Without a standard there is no kaizen." Be sure to take the time to measure the process before and after changing it.

The level of success (or failure) of any Lean Enterprise Implementation is defined by how much you can improve the overall performance of a process. The units or measure of success is a series of data driven indicators called a "Key Performance Metrics (KPM's)". These KPM's are directly tied to key financial indicators, therefore they impact the bottom line. A popular group of Lean Enterprise Key Performance Metrics used by many companies is Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD).

Remember: This is not about collecting data for the sake of collecting data. The purpose of collecting data is to define and understand operational behavior and how a process has been working to date. The right metrics drive the right behavior. The wrong metrics drive the wrong behavior. The question to ask next is: "What behavior must we instill to make this process more effective to successfully improve customer satisfaction?"

Measure 2.2 Identify Value Added and Non-Value Added Activities

The second element of the Evaluate stage is to identify and define value added and non-value added activities (muda). We can specifically identify muda as any of the 8 wastes:

1. Over Production
2. Waiting
3. Transportation
4. Excessive Processing
5. Excessive Inventory
6. Defective Work
7. Excessive Motion
8. Underutilized People

 The Lean Enterprise Toolbox has several tools and techniques that will help identify waste.

Analyze 2.3 Determine the Cause of Waste and Eliminate it

The third element of the Evaluate stage is to analyze the data to determine the root cause of the waste (muda) and then try to eliminate it. Waste falls into two categories; Type 1 or Type 2. it is important to understand the difference between these two types of waste.

A Type 1 waste is not usually easy to eliminate immediately, it is an  inherent part of a process and removing it will cause a system breakdown or failure. An example of Type 1 waste is an end of line inspection process, it is not intercepting 100% of defects getting to the customer but to eliminate it without replacing it with a more effective Quality at Source process has the potential to open the flood gates and allow more defects to reach the customer.  This is not a good alternative in the short term. Type 1 waste usually needs a long term plan to develop an improved process to replace it.

A Type 2 waste is easy to eliminate from a process and will not cause a system failure.

Tools used in the Evaluate stage of change:

Stage 3: Amend - Change and Improve

The third stage of change for any organization is to Amend a process. During the Evaluate stage of the process you will have discovered the root cause of the waste, now it is time to change and improve it.

3.1 Change

Change is not an easy process, it can be hard to accept for many company employees. Take this into account and keep communicating with your employees to ensure they are informed and have their questions answered. The Amend stage is about starting to create cultural change and shift the paradigm throughout the organization. This process can emotionally trying for many employees and the success of your Lean Implementation will be totally dependant upon your approach during this crucial stage. Change Management is really important because it creates a structure that allows all parties to actively participate in the process of change. Change can be perceived as a negative or a positive, it all depends on how you handle the PR side of it. Change must be data driven and solution oriented. Without both of these factors in place you are just going through a process of moving the furniture and changing for the sake of changing.

3.2 Improve

We have the root causes of the waste in our process and now we need to develop solutions to eliminate them. What are we going to do to change the process and eliminate the waste?.  There are several really good techniques to help find a solution such as Brainstorming, 5 Why's, etc. its important to take a team through this process and see what they come up with.

Once you have a solution, it is important to document it before implementing it. The purpose of this is to make sure everyone is on the same page and in agreement with the methodology to improve the process.  Get consensus before you move or change anything!

Tools used in the Amend stage of change:

Stage 4: Normalize - Standardize and Control

The fourth stage of change for any organization is to Normalize a process. During the Amend stage, you changed and improved the process.  In the Normalize stage we need to create a process to sustain the improvement over the long term.

4.1Standardize

Standardization is a method of creating an approved standard or measure. In a Lean Enterprise it is important to standardize the methods and processes. In doing this we are defining our best practices and documenting them. Standard Work documents are used to ensure that everyone working in a particular process is following the same procedure and achieving the same level of quality.

4.2 Control

Standardization in itself cannot sustain process improvements, its needs another procedure to support it. It is supported by a control procedure and it gives feedback on process outputs to determine the status of a process. It is very important to determine if the improved process is working to achieve the goal it was originally designed for.

Tools used in the Normalize stage of change: