98% lean failures?
There are some staggering numbers published in various blogs and websites about lean failures. One of such numbers indicates a 95% failure rate, and some are as high as 98%. Recently a Reuters reported “Analysts at New York-based consulting firm AlixPartners LLP found that about 30 percent of companies surveyed achieved a 2010 goal of cutting at least 5 percent of manufacturing costs by employing lean practices such as those championed by Six Sigma, Kaizen or Value Stream Mapping..” Although this article has many points which are arguable, this post indirectly says 70% of the people implemented lean could not achieve even a mere 5% improvement in cost saving areas. But what is the truth? Can lean fail? Or can the lean failure figure be this high?
For me, I am absolutely sure lean can and will fail, in some cases. But my main concern is not that. My main concern is how people measure whether their lean implementation is a success or not? In most of the cases lean is used as a cover-up for a cost cutting process and only measure available to evaluate results was the cost cutting they managed to achieve, just like the article above does. While driving wrong KPIs, and not understanding lean correct can greatly contribute to the failure of lean, it must be noted many organizations do not have a proper way of evaluating their lean success or failure.
Ask ten executives of the same organization about their lean success or failure rate you will get ten different answers. Answers are based on emotions and “feel”, not on the fact and figures. Yes, I agree the “feel” factor is very important when implementing lean. But it alone will not make good choices or good evaluations.
Have you ever made a process lean? In that case did you measure the effectiveness of your lean implementation against the traditional way of doing things? What are the KPIs you checked? Did you check the throughput time, WIP, machine maintenance and the customer experience for their changes after your implementation?
Although, all the benefits and losses cannot be quantified, most of them can be quantified in relation to the traditional method (or the before change status). Among few which cannot be directly quantified are the things involve emotions like worker satisfaction levels and customer satisfaction level. But you can quantify your WIP changes, Throughput time changes, changes in rejections and so on.
Without a proper mechanism of checking the real outcome, you may say 100% lean implementation do fail, while some one else say only 0% do fail. But no one will know the truth for sure.
I want you to tell me something? Does your organization have a clear way of quantifying and analyzing benefits of its lean implementation? If so what are the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) analyzed? Please leave your answers as a comment to this post in the box below. We will discuss your answers in coming weeks. Do not forget to hit the “LIKE” button too.
11 comments:
Nice observation. I do not think many have a way to track their success which is a failure in itself.
If 90+% fail in lean, I do not think it deserves the fame it has now.
I do not believe that it is lean that fails rather the people who are implementing lean, lets face it this is not an easy program to get rolling and while I have found that not all of lean applies to my industry I have taken and used many of the practices and found they do work if your employees are willing to go along with it and trust me this possess another challenge. Lean follows an old saying work smarter not harder this is so ture and worth the effort one has to put in and stick to.It is a mind set and the last thing anyone should tell me is it wont work this only drives me more to prove that it can and will work.
Dennis
Dear
Lean is a proven methodology we all knows but what forced lean initiatives to fail :
1 . Unclear understanding of lean concepts/principles
2. Unsystematic approach/steps - hurry in jumping the steps in want of quick results
3 . Give up attitude - the results are not coming let us try something else
4. Blaming attitude - cover up the personal mistakes by lean
5. Lack of continious involvement of top management and continious monitoring
Lean is meant to be susseful it is we who forced it to fail...and blames lean
Kuldeep Tyagi
In theory, there isn't a reason for lean to fail, since it is nothing other than mere common sense. I assume failure stems from failure to get buy-in from the stakeholders.. There could be several reasons for this.. poor communication, poor rapport between the initiator and the team, a "taken-for-granted" kind of attitude from the senior management, failure to effectively challenge the existing comfort zones..... the list goes on... :-)
Hallo Aza, I agree with your point.
After joining the LEAN-thinking more then 17 years.
First, to meassure the success of a LEAN programm I think is not very easy. There are different ways to do , but these ways are different then what people, companies and CEO's normaly aspect.
Secondly I do believe that many companies want to become lean, but already fail in understanding the idea of LEAN. It is no not about tools etc. You know what I mean. It's about the momentum within the people to improve...let's call it mindset which leads to classical LEAN-Tools. Mindset- is this difficult to meassure? Yes, but this makes that point so intesesting. Vey fast you get into the point of 'people-engeneering'- how to work with people.
I see that many times companies fail to maintain 'hardware', standards etc....
Overall. Yes-we all need to improve, we all need to become more or less more efficient- some call it lean.
~98% fail, because we missunderstand the importance of mindset, coaching, 'standards', how to maintain and how to improve them with all employees.
In my free e-book I talk about these points. And I believe- not to fail is more easy then we think.
The german e-Book you will find at.
www-LEAN-Online.de
All the best
Arnd D. Kaiser
Hello Aza sir,
I also agree to the points of failures in lean.
The main observation during my experience of implementation is : the approach to implement it . Since we all know, it is a tool to get desired business results, but somehow, during the stage of implementation, mindsets donot change.
I tell you the experience I have :
Top management : We are Lean organization but most of the times we try to corelate the actual results obtained with the process of Lean...evenif the process is not implemented fully ( In a hurry to show we are committed to implement and really fast to get results !)
Middle management : Start working in parallel modes....continue with the existing practice and try to work in parallel without getting the insight and importance of this changed practice (as if they need to fulfil the commitment of top management). What happens after some time ....dangerous situations arise and they all lose the sight of real goals. Infact implementation of Lean becomes their major KPI without really knowing that it is only a tool for improvement.
Junior management : Nothing much to comment (we all know....BOSS is always right !).
Hence i do agree that not only the commitment is important but the real reasons of this as a better tool should be matched with the results.
But where are the results without real implementation ?
The best solution is to try and implement holisticly in pilot line/machine and match the results with existing practices lines/machines. This will really help in decision-making whether to go ahead in its full fledged implementation or may be dropped to avoid confusions and failures in future !
Thanks,
rahul
Am of opinion that LEAN never fails, we fail to achieve. Islike a bible and nothing to prove with it..??? all need conceptual clarity of tools - practice - have patience - and Teach,coach,do with PDCA cycle is the success. Off course management and consultant have good rappo and same speed...still many can be shared for success and failures no need to discuss as already...failed
It is very nice that you have brought out this important aspect.success or failure of Lean is not amenable for measurement only on KPIs/emotional aspects.It is deemed successful if every one in the organisation has internalised the LEAN THINKING on every aspects of their acticvities. e.g.1.have they eliminated/reduced wasteful activities/expenditures 2.are they able to preempt/prevent wasteful activities while undertaking new tasks.3.Are they become experts in identifying what is waste and what is not a waste.4.Lastly whether their homes/families have also imbibed lean thinking in their activities. A survey on the above aspects undertaken in the organisation and validated statistically only will confirm the success/failure extent of Lean Practices.
v dwarakanath
Am of the opinion the concept ‘Lean’ is to be précis ice
What we want, what we do, what we require and how to acquire.
This is where we fail most of the time as majority of the times the above parameters doesn’t match
Lean is not a short cut, a pre defined methodology of handling tasks in a sequence of timely discipline.
How Lean???…. This is the fist thing we need to understand as when we explain lean on paper it’s unconditional, but when it comes to implementation, we are using the real changing people and changing environment, which comes along prefix and suffix of lot of ifs and buts.
It is more important how well the concept (relevant to the nature/merit industry segment where it being implemented – examples of a different industry/merit will not be an effective example) is made to reach a chain of people involved in the process. i.e. beyond just lectures, manuals, formats , charts and presentations
What kind of industry /nature of industry we are in to as the education level / understanding level varies accordingly.
To achieve higher percentage of success it needs to be a process of no end, never give up, a routine and not a part of job
Mahesh
Lean Implementation it itself do not fail. It is the organisation, people or leader who fail in implemneting lean in their work place.
Lean implementation in itself do not fail. It is the organization, leaders or the people who implement lean in a wrong way fails.
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