Lean skills have been claimed to be a “meta skill” that are general and can be transferred into any new environment and situation. Lean skills you learn for life and many employers appreciate them highly. Lean skills can also be used in private life.
Lean is…
- a philosophy and a way of thinking, a philosophy that improves work from the customers point of view
- respectful attitude and the way to live in the work environment = culture
- action strategy. This is how we achieve our goals.
- effective, practical and place- independent way of working. The best known methods in the world assembled and implemented.
The goal is to improve the quality and value of products or services to the customer using Lean methods, by reducing unnecessary work and thereby waste.
“ We do not try to run faster, but we decided to walk a shorter distance”
Taiichi Ohno- Toyota Inverntor of JIT system
Lean skills are applicable to all kinds of organizations, profit or non-profit, industry or service, private or public, big or small as well as to any type of function within an organization.
Lean is a life long journey –
constantly improving towards better
Well known companies using Lean
Lean is mostly famous from Toyota (Toyota Production System= TPS), from where a significant part of Lean thinking and methods are derived and compiled.
Sample of other organizations working according to Lean philosophy:
- Ford
- John Deere
- Intel
- Caterpillar
- Coca-Cola
- Nike
- FedEX
- Wärtsilä
- Danfoss
- ABB
- Panasonic
- IKEA
- Bosch
- McDonalds
- Scania
- KONE
- Mastercard
- Many municipalities
- Many hospitals worldwide