The Lean Manufacturing Process and China

Recently I read a blog post by a Chinese immigran and immediately I knew he was right: when it comes to the lean manufacturing process, many Western companies are just as slow as mud.

Why companies refuse the lean manufacturing process

• Management typically focuses on numbers. If you can present your case in a numbers formula, they might listen.
• The old guard is just the "old guard" and change comes with difficulty. Only as a last resort will some companies change. The lean manufacturing process is one of those changes.

Click here make more money...

• Top management is usually more interested in top-line growth (sales). Only when they "hit the wall" will they begin to reconsider.
• Management focuses on new products, new equipment, and anything that will increase production. Eliminating waste is such a reverse idea to many people.

  How to "sell" the lean manufacturing process

• Find out what makes them react. If you can present your case as a matter of increased profits, for example, they will certainly perk up.
• Develop a presentation that focuses on numbers. Quantify your reasons for the lean manufacturing process. This will take it out of the abstract and make it more tangible.
• Give concrete examples of other similar companies success stories.
• Present your plan in non lean terminology. For example: instead of calling it 5S, say you want to "tidy up." This will not trigger the automatic negative response you might often receive.
• Be persistant and keep trying. Eventually you will succeed.

China and the lean manufacturing process

Chinese companies are very often many years ahead of Western companies in the lean manufacturing process. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that many of these companies are, from the outset, globally minded.

According to the blog post I read, and other sources, Chinese companies are very quick to adapt policies of reducing waste. This makes sense, because the West is so full of waste as a culture!

If your culture has existed for 5,000 years in the same place, you surely have learned a few things about reducing waste and making use of what you have.

Compare this to North America, where abundance has been the norm for hundreds of years. Waste is almost built into the system!

Conclusion

Maybe China is not entirely to blame for the decline in Western manufacturing after all. Could it be partly our own doing? perhaps our reluctance to change and adapt new ideas has made us slow and inefficient.

If top-management could re-focus on the reduction of wasted time, effort, skill, and personel, the profits would increase, as well as morale! The lean manufacturing process can and should play a key role in helping.

If you want to learn how to use the lean process, I highly recommend the Lean Manufacturing web-based training course. You will get a thorough understanding of all the components of lean manufacturing, including Value Stream Mapping, six sigma, 5S and much more.

Click here to get started with Lean Manufacturing...