Lean as a project management tool

Almost, every production- and service companies are being face with projects in their daily routine. This could be a new product being introduced or maybe a team leader has to optimize a production line in order to meet the new forecasts. Many different types of tools, methods and systems can be use, In order to manage such projects. Some of the best project management tools can be found in the Lean toolbox. The Lean concept contains several tools that can be applied in different ways and –situations. It would often be a good idea for a company to use Lean as project management tool, in order to maintain their competitiveness.

Many experts have been writing about Lean but only a few of these experts have emphasized what Lean as a project management tool actually is, how it’s applied and why many companies see more improvement when using Lean instead of other project management tools. This article will therefor focus on these three important questions. The article will also be about the fundamental principles in the philosophy of Lean, and which Lean tools would be sound to use in a given situation. However, Lean do also have some disadvantages as a project management tool. Lean can even be ineffective and destructive compared to other project management tools, in some cases. The theory will be supported by several sources throughout the article. Finally, the discussion will take a look at pros and cons when using Lean as a project management tool.

History

The following section is going to explain the history behind Lean as a project management tool.

In the 1930’ies, a man called Taiichi Ohno invented a series of management tools. One of these tools was Toyota Production System (TPS). TPS is a management philosophy, which consisted of several tools, which have been added and developed continuing to the toolbox. In short, TPS is focusing on optimizing the flow throughout the whole production process and meet the costumers needs. However, it was only in the 1990’ies that this philosophy were given the name Lean. John Kraficit, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos were the first ones who used the term, when they described the Japanese production theories in the book “The Machine, That Changed The World” . An example of one of these theories, presented in the book, was Just In Time (JIT), which almost every production- and service companies are using nowadays. Other famous Lean tools are SMED, 5S, GEMBA, Kaizen and Kanban.

So far, Toyota holds the title of being the world leading company when it comes to Lean, with the TPS. There has been a massive request on the Lean project management tools, since the 1990’ies and this is why countless of books and video guides have been made about the Lean philosophy and the Lean tools.

Nowadays, the Lean tools aren’t just used by production companies. Managers and leaders in the service sector, the pharmaceutical industry, the construction industry and many more, are also using the Lean tools, even for administrational purposes.

The Lean structure

The five Lean principles are the core structure in the Lean philosophy and they are an essential part of every Lean system. This is why the project manager has to focus on implementing the five Lean principles in every Lean project and – improvement.

When using Lean as a project management tool, the culture is in the focus and not the “just” the implementation of a random group of Lean tools.

The companies, which are using Lean in their projects, will try to meet the five Lean principles, listed below .

1. This step is about identifying who the costumer is and which activities are adding value to the final product from his point of view. It is therefore an essential part of this step, to sort-out the customers wishes and needs. This is why it’s important to ask the customer about his expectations to the final product. You can also say that the product, which the customer receives, has to fulfill the 7 r’s of logistics: right product, right place, right price, right customer, right condition, right time and right quality . The reason why the customer has to be involved in the process is because, only the customer know what value actually is to the customer. All activities within the production have to be reviewed in order to detect what the customer would see as waste. This is called “Muda” in the Lean philosophy. This will also make the production more flexible and create a much better flow in the production process. It is important to notice that this customer can also be an internal customer within the same company, if the product has to go through department/production to another.
2. When identifying the value stream, it’s important see on the whole picture. This will give you a better overview when going through all the steps and make it easier to tell value from waste. The whole value stream should be taken into an account when doing optimizations.
3. Flow is when the product and the information only go through value adding activities in a continuously movement. The flow is being applied by removing all waste within the value stream.
4. The process should only start when the customer gives you the demand for the product. It would therefore be a sound idea to implement a pull-system, where the activities only start when the successor activity gives a signal. This way, no products are being brought or produced, just to fill up the inventory.
5. The main goal in the Lean-system is to remove waste. However, there will always be waste in a production and it is therefore important to keep improving and look for waste. This culture of continuously improvement is called Kaizen. In Japanese, Kai means change and Zen means for the better. To be able to keep improving is the key factor in maintaining competitiveness.

What is Lean as a project management tool?

Lean as a project management tool, is a toolbox with several tools that can be applied and be combined in many different ways. This is why you do not have a fixed template for every single task or problem, when using Lean as a project management tool.

The Lean tools are now a common part of the project management toolbox. The idea is to streamline the production and projects, as well as improve the quality on the output. In modern companies, both large and small improvements are being implemented on a frequent basis through Lean. This is why the project manager has to be ready to constantly react and adapt to the changes. Michael and Freddy Ballé explains this in the book “The Lean Manager” . Michael and Freddy Ballé focus on how Lean tools and the Lean philosophy can improve the leaders and especially the result of the project leaders. Michael and Freddy Ballé splits project management into the following parts:

• Customers First
• Everybody, Every Day
• Go and See
• Managing Means Improving
• Clear Direction
• Teamwork
• Mutual Trust
• Creating Value