How Lean manufacturing is growing more relevant

Over the course of the last century, business has changed dramatically – what may have been considered a best practice 100 years ago (or even 10 years ago) may now be outdated. For example, a company in the 1940s was likely still rooted in hierarchies, with several levels of managers and employees. Nowadays, many companies are more horizontal, encouraging leaders to work on the same level of the people they manage.

Another example is with public relations. When something went awry at a company in the 40s, the first step was to cover it up or spin the misstep to make it seem benign. Now, however, negative news spreads like wildfire across social media, which means companies have been more progressive getting out in front of these stories and taking the blame for them.

Given how much business has changed, it's a testament to Lean manufacturing that the practice not only remains useful, but has actually grown more relevant as time has gone on. It may have first been deployed by Toyota decades ago, but the number of companies using this approach to manufacturing has grown significantly over the past few years.

So why is Kaizen still so popular, years after its inception? Art Byrne, a former CEO of Connecticut-based manufacturer Wiremold, put it best when he told Manufacturing Daily that the proof is in the pudding – it provides results. His company was able to improve productivity by 20 percent in a single year, while defect rates were down 42 percent and inventories shrank by 80 percent. Time-consuming tasks, such as equipment changeovers, now take 10 minutes instead of 10 hours.

Adjusting to America

Another reason Kaizen is becoming more popular is because many U.S. companies are beginning to find ways of adjusting mindsets and practices to American culture. Lean manufacturing is a product of Japan, which can make it difficult to internalize among Americans who may have different values and overall ways of life.

Additionally, the learning tools have been improved to help Americans pick up the ins and outs of Kaizen more effectively. Books, videos, tablet software, posters – these are all audio-visual tools that can be leveraged to help companies adapt Lean manufacturing to their business.