The creation of the lean production line by efficiency wizards Toyota has spawned numerous approaches to improving operations and has been the forefront of their strategy ever since the company’s beginnings, when they assessed fords production and said “we can do it better.”
In regards to all things “lean” these improvements range from “relentless attention to detail, commitment to data-driven experimentation, and charging workers with the ongoing tasks of increasing efficiency and eliminating waste.”
Since Henry Ford’s Model T, the lean way of thinking and producing goods has continuously driven the latest innovation processes and waste elimination initiatives by some of the biggest and brightest brands out there.
What this article suggests, and what makes it so interesting, is the theory and practice of applying the lean concept to knowledge work. It challenges that knowledge work “which unlike car assembly-is not repetitive or easily defined” can be made lean if organizations draw on certain principles. Immediately I was sceptical. My understanding has been that the underlying principle and effective nature of lean thinking is that it has always applied to manufacturing and production lines.
It suggests that not only can lean principles be applied to knowledge work but they can also improve it through; “faster response time, higher quality and creativity, lower costs and reduced drudgery and frustration.” Reading on I was amazed to find how applicable lean was to knowledge work.
The article draws on 6 principles for knowledge workers to follow to apply lean strategy processes.
- Continually Root out all waste
- Strive to make tacit knowledge explicit
- Specify how workers should communicate
- Use scientific method to solve problems quickly
- Recognize that a lean system is a work in progress
- Have leaders blaze the trail
From a college students perspective it’s fascinating to apply these principles to the knowledge work of, for example, a College group assignment or project. Doing this has really shown me that lean principles do indeed extend further than to just repetitive assembly lines and can be stretched to exectuing a lean strategy for college work.
Continually root out all waste- Apply the 5 why’s to make “waste” obvious. Why am I attending this group meeting? Why am I doing this part of this assignment? Why is this relevant? Using this methodology can get to the root cause of everything and can filter out unnecessary parts of project work that are really just there to fill the page but bear no real significance to the assignment objective.
Specify how workers should communicate- when multiple people are involved in a project just as in college group work, effective communication becomes imperative. A lean system can set down how communication should be articulated so as to avoid the bombardment of emails to other group members allowing the message of the communication to get lost. Define who in the group project should be communicating, how often and what, to avoid confusion.
Have leaders blaze the trail- As with all group efforts, the real involvement to the project success usually falls on one or two key participants. This person who in college terms is usually coined "group leader" is necessary and plays an important role in motivating and monitoring the overall performance of the group. It falls on the group leader to ensure that project deliverables are put in on time so to allow the overall report to be put together, ensuring it flows, is relevant and is presentable.
The best way to approach the article was to look at it from the college group work perspective and doing so has already given me some tips of how I can apply a lean strategy; ask the 5 whys, establish how communication is taking place and establish who is going to spearhead the effort and take the role of team leader.
Author: Declan Egan
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