Much like continuous improvement, Lean transformation is a methodology that can and should be applied to all areas of a manufacturing business, not just the shop floor. It is a common misconception that the purpose of Lean transformation is to eliminate waste. The real purpose of Lean transformation is to increase efficiency, agility and transparency across the organization. Eliminating waste is really just a natural outcome of properly implementing lean.
Lean organizations strive to align their skills, resources, processes and strategy with the wants of their customer. Organizations who implement this correctly can rapidly respond to change in order to ensure success for today and tomorrow.
According to the Lean Business Report in a survey of over 3,000 respondents, the benefits of Lean are:
- Manage complexity
- More efficiency
- Better change management
- Increased visibility at the team level
- Increased productivity
- Reduced lead time
- Increased team morale
- Improved visibility for stakeholders
- Reduced costs
- Predictable delivery of customer value
If we align these benefits to the current and growing workforce shortage problem, we can see how Lean can help manufacturers sustain success. More than ever before employers need to do everything they can to keep their best talent, attract great new hires, do more with less and free up capital for skilled worker salaries and benefits. Various surveys related to hiring and retention point to the same reasons that people love their jobs and stay – great pay, great coworkers, understand that they’re human, opportunities to learn, management support and great training.
Questions? Contact VMEC Business Growth Advisors Carla Wuthrich or Louis Prue regarding the training and its content. If you encounter issues registering for this training, contact Chris Gray, Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Instructor, River Valley Technical Center at [email protected] or (802) 885-8321.
NOTE: In order to ensure VMEC is offering the best business improvement programs to Vermont manufacturers and justify continued U.S. Dept. of Commerce funding for these services, participants may be asked to provide impact data and assessment through an impartial 3rd party survey firm 6 – 12 months after a VMEC-hosted public workshop.