Lean was originally developed within the Automotive Industry and is a set of principles, practices and tools aimed at creating precise customer value.

Lean can be applied to all aspects of an organisation, from product development and provision through administration and finance to customer services and support. The goal of ‘Lean Thinking’ is to create high quality, defect free products and services at all stages of the customer experience, whilst using less capital, space and effort to produce this.

‘Lean’ classifies every activity that we do into 3 types:

• Value Add - activities that help create the final form or function of the finished article - those activities that a customer would be willing to pay for
• Non Value-Add, but essential - things that need to be done, but that don’t actually bring any value to the finished article (e.g. waiting for a document to print, the time it takes for paint to dry etc.)
• Waste - actions that bring no value whatsoever to the final form or function of the article involved, and are therefore unnecessary

Lean Examples

By applying ‘Lean Thinking’, benefits are seen in cost reduction, shorter cycle times, improved customer service, greater employee productivity and increased profit margins. In fact, often it is not untypical for waste to account for up to 75% of a non-leaned process! By applying ‘Lean Thinking’, therefore, massive results can be achieved, such as those below:

For further details about the Lean Unit please register your interest online.