5PrinciplesofLean

LEAN thinking is the belief

that there is a simpler,
better, easier way to
complete our work.

1)VoiceoftheCustomer
Identifywhoyourcustomerisandidentifyvaluefromtheirperspective.Typically,avalueadded
activitymustmeetthreecriteria:
itissomethingthecustomerwouldbewillingtopayfor,iftheyhadto
itissomethingphysicaldonetochangetheproductorservice
itissomethingdonecorrectlythefirsttime,withoutneedforrework

2)UnderstandyourProcess
Process mapping allows you to have a picture of your process so you can begin making
improvements.Withoutit,itisdifficulttohavetransparencyandseewheretheproblemsare.It
also helps the team gain an understanding of everyones role in the process. There are five
differenttypesofprocessmapsyoudonotneedtodoallofthem,justtheonesthathelpyou
understandtheprocess.

3)CreateFlow
Aprocessflowsfrompersontoperson,departmenttodepartment,orfacilitytofacility.
Flow is about moving people or product through a service processone at a time, without
stoppingorwaiting.

4)EstablishPull
Manyofourprocessesarepushedorgiventothenextuser.Thiscreatesmanyformsofwaste
inmanycasesthenextareaorpersonmaynotbereadycausinginventoryandbacklogs.Thisis
theveryreasonwehavesomanywaitingroomsorholdingareas.Havingasystemofpullmeans
youonlysupplywhatthecustomerwants,whentheywantit.

5)PursueExcellence
Leanthinkingisrootedinthecontinuousqualityimprovementphilosophy.Leanisnotaonetime
eventbutratherajourneytocontinuallyimproveourprocessesandalwaysstrivetosupplythe
customerwithvalue,fromtheirperspective.

EverythingwedoundertheLeanumbrellashouldalwaysanswer
anyoralloftheseprinciples