It's not easy being lean

Automotive Industries, Nov, 2001 by Ron Harbour

How can our company get lean?

Most manufacturing companies -- and not just automotive manufacturers, either -- have spent untold dollars trying to get lean. And most of these same companies are going to cough up even greater amounts of their precious dollars because initial attempts at lean manufacturing did not produce the results they expected, or needed, to be successful in today's highly competitive business environment.

I wish I had a million dollars every time someone asked me that question. If so, I might be in Bill Gates' company by now, because every company wants to -- or at the very least, should want to -- get leaner.

For example, one business focused its lean efforts on reducing inventory at its manufacturing operations. Smaller inventories meant less cost, which translated into more savings, right? But these manufacturing operations did not know how to operate with fewer supplies on hand. In the end, costs went up, morale went down and a bad situation got even worse.

This kind of example is happening time and time again at manufacturing operations around the world. After the first attempts at getting lean fail, in most cases these businesses go back to their drawing boards, look at their operations in the same traditional ways and then try to come up with a couple of new "lean tools" they can force on their manufacturing operations. And when their efforts again prove mostly fruitless, the cycle starts anew.

The problem is that few understand the true concepts of lean manufacturing. The focus tends to be on results and not the processes to get lean. And while that focus may produce some short-term results, improvement does not continue -- and sometimes even goes backward -- because there is nothing to sustain the momentum.

Without a real understanding of lean, these companies' efforts to successfully implement lean are destined to fail -- no matter how much money and resources they invest.

When a manufacturer asks for Harbour and Associates' help in getting lean, the first thing I tell the leaders is that there is no quick fix.

Take Toyota, for example. Toyota is generally recognized as one of the worldwide leaders in lean, and the Toyota Production System continues to set the industry benchmark for automotive manufacturing. Well, Toyota has taken 25 years to develop its processes to where they are today.

I'm not saying it takes 25 years to successfully implement a lean manufacturing system. But it does take time. And how long it takes will depend on the commitment of the people--from the top down -- and the method of implementation.

To have a successful lean operation, a company must be willing to take all of the necessary steps that will bring about real change. It must create a process that will bring improvements and, at the same time, will ensure improvement can be sustained in the future.

With economic conditions as they are today, getting lean has never been more critical to a manufacturer's survival. And so, over the next few months, this column is going to be dedicated to what we at Harbour call the four phases of lean implementation:

Organizational Development, where the foundation for management, cultural and behavioral transformation is established.

Discipline Building, where the shop floor transformation begins and quality improvements start to be realized.

Tool Use, where quality improvements further accelerate while improvements are realized in inventory, productivity and cost.

Continuous Improvement, which impacts all aspects of the business.

I'll detail what manufacturers need to do to create a process for lean that will encompass entire organizations and companies. It's a journey not only worth taking, but a trip companies must take if they hope to survive and thrive in today's auto industry.

RON HARBOUR is president of Harbour and Associates, manufacturing consultants in Troy, Mich. www.harbourinc.com