Isn’t there a popular Lean motto that goes “without standardisation there can be no continuous improvement”? If there is variation in the process that people follow for the same task, then there will be variation in the quality of their output.

Lean demands the elimination of this type of variation – quality, time to complete, etc. Without standardisation, defects clog the process and workflow is lumpy and unpredictable.

This is why Lean implementations prioritise standardisation early on – even though that means standardising initially to a non-Lean process.

In fact, just about the only thing that comes before that is buy-in. Any Lean implementation that doesn’t have the genuine buy-in of senior management is doomed. For the rest of the organisation, the task is one of leadership, advocacy, successful model lines and change management – easy!

Some of those comments apply to the Agile model too – especially when that means tight integration across the supply chain. Often this means creating operating procedures that work between rather than just within organisations.

Hope that helps. Please keep contributing to the debate – Martin.

Veryinteresting web site & links.

Does becoming a Lean & Agile Company need tight operating procedures before implementation?

What buy-ins are needed by a company in order to move forward.

Cheers

Julie