Assessing the Organization for Lean MaturityMay 13, 2021

Northeast Indiana Lean Network

Steve Volz

BackgroundSteve Volz

Experience

• Tier 1 Automotive Heat Shields• Fiberglass and Steel Entry Doors• Aerospace/Industrial PTFE and Elastomer Seals• Tier 1 Automotive Weather Strip Supplier

Education & Certifications

• BSIE, MSIE, MBA (University of Toledo)• Six Sigma Black Belt• Lean Practitioner• TWI JI, JR, and JM

Recap of Lean Assessment Readiness

Lean Assessment

Process

Organizational Culture

Continuous Process

Improvement

Results Orientation

Enterprise Alignment

Credit: Brad Staats

How to get started on a Lean Journey?

Lean Maturity JourneySteps to Success

Awareness

Action

Standardize

SustainSuccess

Awareness

Define corporate mindset goals

Promote key principles and tools

Train and align early adopter change agents

Multiply training with current employees

Include training into new hire orientation

Action

Assess current state

Define future state

Identify actions

Pilot improvements

Try, fail, learn, try again

Standardize

Document process improvements

Benchmark and define best practices

Share lessons learned

Sustain

Define a cadence to check the process

Visualize the results

Take action to correct gaps to target

Success

Celebrate wins

Organizational goals achieved

Identify new improvement opportunities

Lean Maturity Tools

Assessments• Define level of

maturity• Offer insight to

reality

Reporting• Visual tracking • Progress to

standard

Action Plan• Actions to

improve• Time

commitment

4. CI Tools and Methods

5. Business Strategy

3. Flow and Standards

2. People and Culture

Maturity Assessment Results

1. Business Performance

What is a Lean Maturity Assessment?

An assessment is not an auditAn audit is done to check compliance to a

standard, typically a pass or fail outcome based on evidence

A maturity assessment is done to gage how much progress has been made to a standard, typically using levels and ranking scores to show progress

Benefits of a Lean Maturity Assessment

Define business culture strategy with key principles and tools

Measure current state of business units across an organization

Identify areas with opportunities to grow Define a systemic approach to continuous

improvement A measurement to see year over year improvement

Elements of a Lean Maturity Assessment

Business Performance

People and Culture

Flow and Standards

CI Tools and Methods

Business Systems

1. Business plans & objectives2. Performance measurement, KPIs3. Visual management & meeting structure4. Managing employee performance5. Achieved performance

1. Continuous improvement program (CIP)2. Implementation of methods3. Multi-skilled competences / training plans4. CI cultural development5. Leadership development

1. 8 waste awareness2. Flow orientation and levelled workload3. Planning and material control4. Standard work5. Quality systems and error proofing

1. 5S and Organization2. Kaizen events3. Changeover SMED efficiency4. Problem solving A35. Value Stream Mapping

1. Project management2. Safety culture3. Equipment maintenance system4. ERP and business data5. Technology and data management

0 1 2 3 4Key Focus Criteria for each Focus

5 maturity levels

Levels of Lean Maturity

Level 0 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Not started Initial training and awareness

Some implementation

Documented processes

CI mindset and actions

Firefighting (chaotic)

Ad-hoc approach

Making improvements

Following the standard

Sharing best practices

Reporting

Assessment Results

Date:Score:Target:

3 main focus areas:

10.01.2020

2.2

3.0

2. People and Culture: increase communication with daily shop floor meetings to review and solve local problems

4. CI Tools and Methods: rollout and train on next CI method SMED

5. Business Strategy: Develop Policy Deployment approach for next year’s budget

4. CI Tools and Methods

5. Business Strategy

3. Flow and Standards

2. People and Culture

Maturity Assessment Results

1. Business Performance

Visualize Assessment Results

Action Plan

Make a plan to get to the next level

Focus Improvement

Current Score

Target Score

Actions to take Owner Timing

5S 2 3 Improve 5S activity and refresh floor markings

Production Manager

2021 Q2

Business Strategy

1 2 Develop Policy Deployment approach for next year’s budget

Plant Manager

2021 Q4

Kaizen 1 2 Develop monthly kaizen event schedule

CI Manager

2021 Q3

SMED 0 1 Schedule training and 1st

SMED eventProcess Engineer

2021 Q4

Lessons Learned from Lean Maturity Assessments

Develop a rollout plan – growth occurs overtime Assign a resource to perform Maturity Assessments Setup assessment reviews (i.e. quarterly, annually) Talk with people to confirm what you see matches

to what they know Publish and visualize the results Develop and train people, optimize the work

space, improve equipment reliability, and develop robust systems

Audience Participation

Does your organization utilize a Lean Maturity Assessment?

How far are you in your lean journey?

Thank you, and good luck in your journey.