ABSTRACT

Measurements or metrics are critical to a lean implementation. Without a starting point, it is impossible to know your progress. Lean is all about change and change can be …no, it is … difficult for everyone. Differing views will often be presented during an attempted lean implementation by two factions: (1) those trying to hang onto the old way of doing things and (2) the change agents who are trying to turn their world upside down. If someone has spent a career relying on inventory to protect him/her against all the uncertainties of manufacturing, he/she is not going to be very open to the suggestion to do without safety stock. These factional debates can lead to friction, confrontation, subversion, and a good bit of stubbornness. Yet, protest for protest’s sake often gets one nowhere. Think of the environmental movement from decades past. Protesters would chain themselves to trees or equipment to prevent the cutting of timber or engage in some other acts to make their point. On a grand scale, I do not think they accomplished what they hoped via their emotional and confrontational style of protesting. Yet, some of these protesters, or at least environmentalists, finally figured out that facts, and some high profile marketing, are the key to driving environmental change. Today new terms, such as sustainability, carbon footprint, and global warming have almost everyone’s attention. The “green” protest movement is becoming mainstream thanks to former vice president Al Gore and others who have taken it to center stage. My point is that they used facts, not protest, to get the public’s

attention. Lean leaders, change agents all, must also use facts if they are to convince others to join in the change. Not just facts on paper, but factual evidence observed on the shop floor that can convince others a one-piece pull cell will efficiently serve the customer base without excess inventory. Facts are the heart of continuous improvement or lean. Using facts, rather than emotion, will always help to bridge a gap between people. How can facts, in the form of metrics, help you attain world-class safety?