ABSTRACT
Many times, audits and assessments are created or scored to make the company, area, or department look or feel good or they become all about seeking a good score. This should not be the purpose of a Lean assessment. Lean assessments should be all about surfacing problems, eliminating waste, and driving continuous improvement. The next challenge with every Lean assessment is terminology. A Lean maturity path provides the steps toward a Lean mature organization from realization to Lean adoption. The assessment needs to cover all aspects of the enterprise. There are various methods to conduct the assessment. Typical assessment criteria include the following for Manufacturing or Office: management effectiveness, people and organizational culture, sustainability components, equipment, value-stream flow, organizational results. Management should use the assessment result as a tool to help drive the Lean journey. Lean must become embedded as a key component of the long-range strategic plan, and used to drive value into the company's business delivery system.
