Lean is at its heart a form of Industrial Engineering. What we are referring to here are boots-on-the-ground skills in documenting Standard Work, balancing workflow in a Mixed Model Line, developing sequencing rules, and setting optimum buffer sizes. In a recent survey less than 20% of Lean specialists were highly confident of their Lean Industrial Engineering skills.

A majority of your product cost and a majority of your workflow problems are related to materials. The challenge is doubly hard since you are dealing both with internal delivery system and with outside suppliers not under your direct control. There is a way to shortage-proof your line and operate with low inventory levels, and your team needs to learn it.

We say that Lean is a democratic approach to process improvement, but the fact remains that it needs to be led from the top. While many executives and managers are able to give lip-service to Lean, few can actually teach it or have deep understanding of what is involved.

You’re in the 21st century now, and you have 21st century tools at your disposal. Every significant process change should to be tested before implementation, especially if the change involves a big budget and Mixed Model production. Some companies have embraced simulation modeling strongly, but most have not.

The unavoidable fact is that your internal process improvement team has not been exposed to many different industries and processes, and their vision of what is possible or desirable is most likely limited. A Roadmap is is step-by-step guide to accomplishing a process improvement goal.