{"id":11807,"date":"2016-03-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/news-insights\/articles\/lean-operations-making-the-leap-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga\/"},"modified":"2020-12-17T19:23:11","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T19:23:11","slug":"lean-operations-making-the-leap-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/us\/news-insights\/articles\/lean-operations-making-the-leap-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga\/","title":{"rendered":"Lean operations: making the leap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/crimsonandco.info\/blog\/featured\/lean-operations-a-primer-logistics\/\">Previous posts covered <\/a>the basics of lean methodology as well as TPG\u2019s view on the correct mindset for approaching reducing waste and non-value activities within your enterprise. What\u2019s next? Ready\u2026 set\u2026 lean!<\/p>\n<p>Successful lean operations can\u2019t happen in a vacuum. Discovering, developing and implementing lean operational opportunities is a collaborative effort, involving not only the people who do the work, but others within the organization with institutional and history, knowledge, and experience. Outsiders (customers, vendors, consultants, etc.) can also contribute fresh perspectives.<\/p>\n<p>Ready\u2026<br \/>\nStart with the end in mind, keeping these five principals at the forefront as you step through mapping business processes and seeing things through the eyes of your end customer:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 Identify value<\/strong>\u2026 What does your end customer (both downstream internal and externals ones) really want? What is he prepared to pay for? Go beyond just pricing. Think service requirements, product-specific items, ideal lead times, delivery methods, etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 Determine value streams<\/strong>\u2026 What are the specific steps needed to create the recognized value? Get serious and dig deep. Think reality SOP not how it reads in the ISO manual. (Here\u2019s where having every team member on board and involved pays off.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2022 Streamline workflow<\/strong>\u2026 How can you ensure a continuous stream of product, service, and\/or information through your supply chain? Think proactive steps to reduce backlogs, delays, rework, stock, and write-offs.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 <strong>Pace work as per your customer<\/strong>\u2026 How can you do only what your customer wants when he needs you to? Think a simple, transparent, continuous process (\u00e0 la just-in-time techniques).<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 <strong>Pursue perfection<\/strong>\u2026 What kinds of systems can you put in place to continuously improve every aspect of your lean operations implementation? Think individual process steps as well as department, division, and corporate ones.<\/p>\n<p>Set\u2026<br \/>\nMost governance on lean operations is formal and intimidating. \u201cBlack Belts\u201d and \u201cYellow Belts\u201d are \u201cawarded\u201d to reflect the level of lean knowledge or experience one has. In fact, there\u2019s a whole industry set up around the process improvement \u201cfad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get caught up in all the hoopla. The simplicity of lean methodology can be deceiving. But don\u2019t make a big deal about it. Start with something simple like documenting a single process. Ask a few people to sit in a room and look it, make some changes, and evaluate if those changes are realistically possible and would add value to the end customer. Use what you learn to tackle another process. Then another. Then another.<\/p>\n<p>Leap\u2026<br \/>\nTPG suggests that when it comes to lean operations, you not wait to \u201cmake the leap\u201d as much as simply \u201ctake a step\u201d and try it out. Numerous benefits materialize simply by exploring the process, having suppliers and customers of each step present and comment on why things are currently done a certain way, and then just employing common sense.<\/p>\n<p>Tell the Black Belts to come back down to earth and approach the journey slowly, cautiously, and realistically. Certification doesn\u2019t get the job done. Hard work does.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/crimsonandco.info\/blog\/featured\/lean-operations-a-primer-logistics\/\"><strong>Our first post in this series<\/strong>&#8230; LEAN OPERATIONS: A PRIMER<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/crimsonandco.info\/blog\/lean-operations-taking-it-further\/\"><strong>Our second post in this series<\/strong>&#8230; LEAN OPERATIONS: TAKING IT FURTHER<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"intro--medium\"><strong>As of September 8, 2020, Crimson &amp; Co (formerly The Progress Group\/TPG) has rebranded as Argon &amp; Co following the successful merger with Argon Consulting in April 2018.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":11808,"template":"","categories":[142],"class_list":["post-11807","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-operations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lean operations: making the leap - Argon &amp; Co<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/us\/news-insights\/articles\/lean-operations-making-the-leap-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lean operations: making the leap - Argon &amp; Co\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Previous posts covered the basics of lean methodology as well as TPG\u2019s view on the correct mindset for approaching reducing waste and non-value activities within your enterprise. 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