The Fundamentals of Lean Tools and Concepts

“Together everyone achieves more.”

-- Who knows, but it makes sense!

“Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results.”

-- Successories poster

“Effective teams are a necessary part of any high performance organization.”

-- Kevin McManus, the Systems Guy

"The Fundamentals of Lean Tools and Concepts"

How to Make Lean Thinking a Daily Habit

Workbook Table of Contents

Workbook Sections	Page #
The Fundamentals of Lean Tools and Concepts	1
Identifying the Need for Daily Lean Tool Use	8
Basic Lean Tools and Concepts	16
Does Our Culture Support the Use of Lean Tools?	24
The Importance of Top to Bottom Lean Leadership	32
Value Stream Mapping and Process Definition	40
Using Scorecards and Dashboards to Improve Performance	48
The Role of 5S in the Visual Workplace	56
Designing Our Plant Layout to Support Lean Success	64
How to Create and Benefit from a Pit Crew Mentality	72
Identifying and Removing Lean Conversion Barriers	80
Creating High Performance Supervisors	88

Workbook Exercises
Defining Workshop Expectations	7
Defining the Need for Lean Thinking and Tool Use	15
Defining Possible Tool Applications	23
Defining Our Work Culture	31
Defining Leadership Expectations and Changes	39
Defining Key Work Processes and Value Streams	47
Using Scorecards and Dashboards to Improve Performance	55
5S Benefits, Barriers, and Next Steps	63
Creating Lean Layouts	71
Defining Quick Changeover Options and Priorities	79
Identifying Lean Conversion Barriers	87
Creating a Personal Task Tradeoff Plan	95
Defining Personal Next Steps	97

In this workbook, the basics of five key lean tools are provided. In addition to covering the basics of each lean tool and how to make a lean transition, this workbook contains 13 different exercises that are designed to help you identify lean transition barriers, reinforce the need for daily tool use, and redesign the jobs of your leaders to make them more customer value and waste reduction focused.

Would you like to learn more about lean tools and concepts?

Click on one of the following links to learn even more about how this workbook or about other ways you can implement lean improvement approaches in your organization:

	Workbook overview
	Top 10 Tips for 5S Success
	"Lean vs. Six Sigma - A Senseless Battle" article
	"Lean This Way" article
	Great Systems! home page

“The only thing I know is that I do not know it all.” -- Socrates

For more information, pricing, or to place an order, please contact me at: kevin@greatsystems.com