Content area

Full text

 
Headnote

Assessments, rather than scores and metrics, can be a better tool to gauge an organization's lean maturity.

This article focuses on how to assess the lean maturity of an organization. By utilizing the 14 lean pr inciples f rom the Toyota Product ion Sys tem (TPS), we can avoid an audit approach and use the strengths of lean to accomplish our goals. After establishing the lean maturity process, the second part of this article provides a real example of how to apply the process to a social issue that has experienced a heightened level of attention and research: the gender pay gap.

If anyone is in an organizat ion that has implemented a lean assessment, or what I call the "lean audit," beware of how the information is repor ted, especially if it results in a metric or performance score. This is not a lean approach. As we travel through our lean journey, we realize that lean is about the customer and how we respec t people, as wel l as cont inuous improvement . Any thing that dev iates from this path is not lean, produces waste (muda), and disappoints our customer. A great example of lean is described in the book Lean Thinking by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones: "In shor t, lean thinking is lean because it provides a way to do more and more with less and less - less human effort, less equipment, less t ime, and les s space - whi le coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they want."1

As a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, I have taught, attended seminars, mentored, and read educat ional mater ial in order to keep my skills up to date. In my experience, I have found lean assessment workshops to be detailed and informative, and the flow of the material in assessments provides informat ion on the lean status of the organizat ion. However, the underlying quest ion is: Why is this necessar y? What is the marginal benefit of the cost of implement ing a lean assessment? Doesn't the organizat ion already per form these tasks within its rout ine ope r at ions? What i s the di f fe...

Show less