TABLE OF CONTENTS A Lean manufacturing implementation should be like a good novel long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting. A project with a manageable scope of work for the initial Lean implementation must be defined. There are several reasons for this:
Team members assigned to participate in the implementation project are rarely individual contributors who have no other responsibilities. Team members are typically drafted from the existing staff pool and are also responsible for routine day-to-day responsibilities. If project responsibilities become too demanding, daily priority decisions will always default to primary activities (where job performance is measured). As a team leader, it is difficult to argue with team members who can stall project activities by claiming dedication to their primary job responsibilities.
The project must be large enough to generate a sufficient return on the investment of time, funds, and the human resources required to make the transformation. Much of this decision depends on the size of the facility. A smaller facility may be able to absorb a "wall-to-wall" implementation without overwhelming the staff assigned to perform the implementation. Conversely, larger facilities may require multiple implementations.
Determining the ideal project size must be based on a consideration of the benefits identified during the strategic benefits assessment. The size of an implementation necessary to yield sufficient benefits to justify the implementation project may require an increase in its scope. The scoping of a project is a subjective...
