You’ve heard about Lean, the business approach behind Toyota’s success. Achieving more by using fewer resources is just what you want. You love the idea of Kaizen (continuous improvement), and you’re ready to implement these philosophies into the way you work. It’s time to stock your toolkit with the lean process improvement tools that have taken many a business to the next level.
The beauty of these tools is that they have been tried and tested in practice, so although you may be embarking on something new, it’s ground that others have covered before you. All you need to do is follow the roadmap.
So, let’s just right in! In this article, we’re going to cover 7 of the most popular lean process improvement tools, and explain how to use each.
1. Value Stream Mapping
Processes consist of a series of steps, some of which add value, and some of which don’t. Of the latter, some are necessary to support the value creation process, and others – well, they might be ready for the cutting room floor!
You can create a value stream map in order to find which steps are necessary and which ones just waste your resources.
What are you looking for?
- What steps does your business follow to deliver a product or service for which people are willing to pay?
- Areas that may be subject to any of the seven wastes of lean.
How to do it:
- Assemble a team and determine what steps you currently follow to create value.
- Identify information flows as well as physical process flows.
- Look for redundancies. If an activity doesn’t add value, does it at least support part of the process?
- Identify interfaces between activities. Later, you’ll analyze these interfaces to smooth the workflow.
2. Kanban
It may originally have been developed as a way of controlling the movement of inventory, but Kanban is also a useful lean process improvement tool.
This time, instead of using Kanban to control inventory, you use it to control effort. Your aim is to achieve the best results with the smallest amount of effort needed. When applying Kanban to process improvement, you begin with the status quo. Your Kanban board is there to help you visualize your workflows.
Now, it’s time to start switching things around and making adjustments.
What are you looking for?
- Bottlenecks where work piles up and outcomes are delayed.
- Multitasking that results in waste and reduced focus.
- Waits, delays, and areas where you have excess capacity.
- Operational issues that are limiting efficiency.
- Ways to improve collaboration between employees and departments.
How to do it:
- Begin by setting up the status quo. How does your process work right now?
- Implement continuous, evolutionary change.
- Redirect time and effort so that there’s always just enough to get the task done – never too much, and never too little.
- Focus on results from a customer perspective.
Change can be scary, but Kanban helps you to approach it with confidence. Rather than undergoing revolutionary change in which you might end up trading one set of problems for another, you change things little by little, evaluate the results, and base your next steps on that.
3. A3
If you think that A3 is really a paper size, you’re quite right! When A3 was first implemented, it used large sheets of paper. Today, we can implement A3 without the paper, but it still keeps its name.
What are you looking for?
- A way to describe a problem you want to tackle.
- Clarification of the problem.
- The real cause of the problem so that you can target it.
- Ways to contain the problem.
- Causes and effects.
- Appropriate corrective action.
- Confirmation that your solution is likely to solve the problem.
- Entrenchment of successful solutions into work routines.
How to do it:
- Capture the theme you’re working on.
- Determine the background to the theme.
- Examine the current condition
- Analyze causes.
- Define the target condition.
- Implement the plan.
- Follow up
4. Plan-Do-Check-Act (PCDA) Cycle
When it comes to processing improvement tools, this one is easy to implement and quick to show results.
What are you looking for?
- A possible solution to a problem.
- See how your solution works in practice.
- An analysis of results: did the solution work?
- Action: your team adopts the new method.
How to do it:
- Plan: Spot an area that’s ripe for improvement and develop a plan to address it.
- Do: Test your new way of working, but only on a small scale.
- Check: Look at hard data to see whether you’ve achieved the panned results.
- Act: Implement the change and keep checking to be sure you’re getting the outcomes you wanted.
- Rinse and repeat: If you didn’t get the results you wanted, begin the PCDA cycle again. Keep trying till you get the desired results.
5. Gemba Walks
Let’s face it, most of the problems we try to solve in the boardroom don’t originate in the boardroom. This process improvement tool takes you to the coalface. A Gemba Walk is not just a casual stroll through, but a carefully planned and systematically executed process.
What are you looking for?
- Opportunities to improve processes from an on-the-ground perspective.
- Input and information from the people who do the real work.
- Any of the seven wastes of Lean.
How to do it:
- Assemble a team so that you can get several perspectives.
- Physically follow processes through from start to finish.
- Ask open-ended questions and gather information.
- Identify possible changes to improve process flows.
- Talk to your team about your findings.
- Implement change.
- Follow it up with another Gemba walk to see whether there’s further room for improvement.
6. The 5 Whys
When you’re looking to spot problems, root cause analysis might seem like a lengthy process – but the Five Whys give you a shortcut method to dig down to the real reasons why things aren’t going as planned.
What are you looking for?
- The real reasons why a problem occurred.
How to do it:
- Ask why something went wrong.
- Now take the answer and ask why that factor wasn’t as it should be.
- Take your second answer and find the reason why it happened.
- Keep going till you’ve repeated the “why” question five times.
- Now that you have five reasons that led up to things not going as well as they should, you can start addressing them starting with the fifth why and working back.
Make the necessary process changes to ensure that the problem you encountered doesn’t happen again and monitor the situation to see if you’ve nailed it.
7. The 5 Ws and 2Hs (5W2H)
Asking questions is the beginning of knowledge – but it’s also a great way to formulate an effective plan of action.
The 5W2H method poses questions, and the answers become the plan to be followed. The 5 Ws stand for what, why, where, when, and who. The two Hs are how (method) and how much (budget).
What are you looking for?
- Avoid inertia when launching your process improvement plan.
- Make sure there are no dropped balls or skipped steps.
- Allocate tasks and assign accountability.
- Set up a schedule that everyone understands.
- Be sure everyone understands the parameters within which they will work.
How to do it:
- Determine what needs to be done
- Ensure everyone knows why it must be done.
- Specify where the scene of the action is.
- Decide when actions will occur.
- Indicate who is responsible.
- Specify how it will be done.
- Indicate how much it should cost.
Bonus: Super-Charge Your Lean Process Improvement Tools with Workflow Software
Most lean process improvement tools work best if you use them in sync with workflow management software.
While you use lean process improvement tools to spot potential improvements, you can use workflow software to implement these changes and ensure that all your employees are sticking to the new processes. Tools like Tallyfy allow you to…
- Map and tweak your processes on-the-go through the software.
- Spot bottlenecks and hiccups in processes in real time.
- Add, adjust, or remove process steps at will.
- Enforce process execution. The software automatically allocates tasks to relevant employees whenever needed.
- Spot wasted time and effort easily using process analytics.
Combine Tallyfy with other lean process improvement tools and methods to fast-track improvement and ensure that processes are carried out uniformly. Are you up to the challenge of adopting continuous improvement as part of your business philosophy? It’s significantly easier than you’d think!
Related Questions
What are the 5 Lean principles of process improvement?
The 5 Lean principles form the backbone of process improvement: identify value (what customers truly want), map the value stream (track how work flows), create flow (make work move smoothly), establish pull (only make what’s needed), and seek perfection (keep improving). Think of it like cleaning a messy room – you decide what’s important, figure out where things should go, remove obstacles, keep only what you need, and maintain the tidiness daily.
How can I improve my Lean process?
Start by watching how work actually happens – not how you think it happens. Look for bottlenecks where work piles up, like water backing up behind a dam. Get ideas from the people doing the work – they often know exactly what’s slowing them down. Use simple visual tools like sticky notes on a wall to track progress. Remember, small daily improvements beat big, dramatic changes that don’t stick.
What are the five fundamental tools of Lean?
The essential Lean tools are 5S (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain), visual management (making work visible), standardized work (consistent best practices), mistake-proofing (preventing errors), and continuous flow (smooth movement of work). These tools are like a carpenter’s basic toolkit – each has a specific purpose but works best when used together.
What are the benefits of lean process improvement?
Lean improvements lead to happier customers, less stressed employees, and better financial results. Work gets done faster with fewer mistakes, costs drop as waste disappears, and people spend more time on valuable work instead of fighting fires. It’s like upgrading from a clunky old computer to a new one – everything just works better.
How do you identify waste in a process?
Look for the eight types of waste: waiting, overproduction, rework, movement, processing, inventory, transport, and unused talent. Watch for people waiting for approvals, extra copies being made, work being redone, unnecessary meetings, or supplies sitting unused. These wastes are like holes in a bucket – they slowly drain away time and money.
What’s the difference between Lean and Six Sigma?
Lean focuses on eliminating waste and making work flow smoothly, while Six Sigma zeroes in on reducing variation and defects. Think of Lean as cleaning up a messy garage, while Six Sigma is like fine-tuning a precision instrument. They work great together – Lean makes processes simpler, and Six Sigma makes them more reliable.
How do you measure the success of Lean improvements?
Track simple metrics that matter to customers and workers: how long things take, how many mistakes happen, how much things cost, and how satisfied people are. Avoid complex measurements that nobody understands. It’s like tracking your fitness – focus on basic measures like weight and energy level rather than complicated body composition analyses.
What role do employees play in Lean process improvement?
Employees are the heart of Lean improvement – they know the work best and often have the best ideas for making it better. They should feel safe pointing out problems and suggesting solutions. Think of it like a neighborhood watch – the people who live there know best what needs fixing and how to fix it.
How do you sustain Lean improvements over time?
Build habits and systems that make it easier to do things the new way than the old way. Create visual reminders, regular check-ins, and clear standards. Make sure leaders support the changes and recognize good efforts. It’s like maintaining a healthy diet – you need to make it your normal routine, not just a temporary fix.
What are common mistakes in implementing Lean tools?
Common pitfalls include trying to do too much at once, focusing on tools instead of people, not involving everyone affected by changes, and expecting instant results. Avoid copying solutions from other companies without understanding your own needs. Remember, Lean is more like gardening than construction – it needs constant attention and takes time to grow.
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