Lean Manufacturing Implementation: Reviewing the Whole Manufacturing Cycle

Many people believe they understand Lean thinking until they try to implement it.
That’s when the real challenge of Lean manufacturing implementation begins.

Lean is not a single tool or fixed method.

Every factory, every product line, and every supply chain has its own realities.

What works brilliantly in one place can fail in another. The key is understanding why you’re implementing Lean, not just how.

Too often, businesses run off and start using Lean tools. 5S, Kaizen, value stream mapping without first understanding their manufacturing model and how it works.

Lean isn’t about tidying up the factory, running workshops; it’s about reviewing the entire manufacturing cycle and identifying where it is not delivering, where time is lost or wasted and then sorting it out. 

That’s why, in my Factory Diagnostic, I always look beyond the shop floor. I look at order intake, design, planning, supply, maintenance, logistics, and leadership because the biggest Lean improvements come when you review the whole system, not just production and the shop floor.

Before you introduce any Lean tools, build a foundation of Lean Thinking in your organization.
Without it, any implementation will be mechanical, tool driven and short-lived.

Ask yourself and your team:

• Why are we doing this? this process, this check....

• What specific problem are we trying to solve? How do we even know it's a problem? It takes too long, we used to do it quicker, the customer complains about it?

• Do we want to improve? Make the time from the customer order to the delivery quicker? You'll be surprised. Not everyone wants to improve.

When everyone understands the purpose behind the change, they can begin to engage with it.

Successful Lean manufacturing implementation is built on a shared understanding, not on copying methods, tools and techniques from another company. 

Where should you start? Many "experts" suggest 5S. Others recommend starting with a workflow redesign workshop or visual management and /or a daily meeting.

In truth, the best place to start is where you can prove success fast.
A well-chosen project with visible, measurable results helps your team believe in Lean.

For me that means two things;

1. Produce a schedule. Not a plan, a schedule.  A schedule is simply a list of each order, what it is, who is doing it and the start and stop time. That's it. If you have a true production line that will be easy. If not, it can be difficult. That's why you don't do it now. You'll probably find that some people, some some machines are waiting for orders to come from the prior stage, some people might not a have a full day or full weeks work. Some machines, people have too much work and are holding everyone else up. Brilliant, that's why we always start with a schedule.
2. Find the bottleneck in Production. Using the schedule find the machine, people, department that are holding up the "flow" of orders. Look at why this is happening. They might be making things in batches that you haven't yet sold, you might have too few skilled staff or changeovers take too long, they spend time hunting for materials, tools. Make improving this bottleneck your priority.  

Find out what is holding your bottleneck back and sort it.

Only at this point do you decide what you should train in.

Is it 5S, Changeovers, extra jigs and fixtures, more skills training?

Quick wins at the bottleneck are gold dust. They get orders moving quicker, create energy and people can see the improved results. It reduces their resistance to change. People begin to trust lean when they see it working.

The biggest mistake companies make is treating Lean as a production-only project.
Lean manufacturing goes far beyond the factory floor.

Every decision your business makes. From order intake, design, purchasing and scheduling to supplier reliability and ERP accuracy affects how a order flows and how much time you waste.

A true Lean manufacturing implementation reviews the entire manufacturing cycle, aligning all departments around the same goal: delivering orders as quickly as possible whilst meeting the customer needs. maximum value with minimum waste.

That’s why a full diagnostic approach reveals hidden bottlenecks that isolated Lean projects often miss.

A successful Lean implementation needs structure. Clear goals and communication.

Communicate

• what problem do we have,
• what would good look like,
• what will it achieve (faster, cheaper, better quality, reduced complaints),
• how will we measure it,
• what steps will we be taking? when and who?

You'll also needs flexibility.

Not everything will go as planned. Not every improvement will work. Lean is partly about learning through doing. Try things, test them, even if several people think it will fail.
Encourage feedback, review progress frequently, and adapt based on what you discover.

Remember: Lean manufacturing success doesn’t come from copying Toyota’s or anyone else.

It comes from applying Lean Thinking to your own production system, in your own way.

Even Toyota don't call their lean stuff Lean. You can read about the Toyota Production System from their own experience in their own words. 

Lean isn’t a project you complete. It’s a mindset and sustaining it is the challenge.
You can’t be 50% Lean; either the culture embraces it or it doesn’t.

When you review your whole manufacturing cycle, engage your people, and embed continuous improvement at every level, Lean becomes part of how your business operates every day.

The results: smoother flow, lower costs, faster delivery, and a more motivated team.
That’s the real power of Lean manufacturing implementation done properly.

If you’re ready to take a full-system approach, start with a Factory Performance Diagnostic.
It identifies waste, reveals bottlenecks, and shows exactly where improvement principles will have the most impact across your entire operation.

It also assesses the capability of your leadership team to take on improvement.

We can also help companies who want to implement lean manufacturing Tools or kick start their stalled improvement effort through our Lean Manufacturing Solutions.