Lean Enterprise: How Shifting Your Perspective Can Impact the Bottom Line
When you think about lean methodologies or Six Sigma practices, it often sounds like a massive undertaking to implement. And it can be. But it can also be done in the smallest of ways, reducing waste in processes as an individual or amongst your team or department. Lean methodologies can be applied to any industry or business function, as well as in your personal life. Villanova’s Lean Enterprise 5-day bootcamp will be held on campus from March 4-8, and will provide learners with a focused, condensed training that will enable them to go back to their organizations and immediately make positive change.
Six Sigma expert and lean practitioner with over 30 years experience as a quality and training executive, Marv Meissner, who is also the Villanova faculty member who designed and teaches the course says this,
“The one thing that anyone can gain from this course is a change in thinking and perspective. Instead of accepting the fact that there are inefficiencies, we can address and remove them. We’re not stuck, so long as we become aware of the process, identify the waste, and eliminate it.”
This 5-day Lean Enterprise bootcamp serves as a strong foundation for continuous improvement tools and techniques; some of the techniques taught and discussed include:
5S – Japanese organization technique. Steps include sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain. This can be applied to something as simple as your personal workspace or something as complex as the medicinal supply room/cabinet on a hospital floor.
Poka-yoke – Japanese technique of error or mistake-proofing. Humans are the most common cause of mistakes. Poka-yoke is a way to keep the human mistakes from happening by putting safeguards in place. An example of this is in automobile manufacturing. Driver error is the number one cause of accidents, so auto manufacturers have added technology to help reduce these human errors. Autonomous braking and blind spot detection systems are prime examples.
Value Stream Mapping – Identifying and mapping out every step in a process from start to finish. Once the mapping is complete, it is easier to identify areas where process improvement is necessary. An example of this might be an HR department mapping out the hiring process from the creation of the job description all the way through to a new hire’s first day of employment. Mapping every step can show where the process is losing or not creating value. Eliminating those wasteful steps could ultimately decrease the amount of time it takes to hire a new employee or it could eliminate unnecessary back and forth that takes up the HR department’s time.
At the end of the bootcamp, you will realize that the key to making impactful change must first involve the shift in perspective from acceptance of how things are in the current state, to thoughtful and strategic action using the techniques and methodologies learned in the course. To learn more about the course or register, visit the Lean Enterprise course webpage or call 610-519-4300 to speak with an admissions team member who can answer any questions you may have.