A Management System for Sustainable Lean Implementation

Lean has become the leading method to pursue productivity improvement in Western companies. However, the rate of success of implementation in industry is overwhelmingly disappointing and not in line with the level of available documentation and support. This chapter describes a back to basics approach to Lean implementation, developed specifically for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). This approach was developed out of many years of research, which is described succinctly. The chapter then delineates the framework of a management system, which uses standard Lean tools embedded in an IT data gathering system. This framework consists of 3 loops that provide the kind of information needed for a sustainable Lean implementation trajectory. Finally, the authors show how the system provides an answer to current gaps in Lean Management.