Why Lean Manufacturing Fails ?

Normally Lean Fails because of two reasons :-
1) The Consultant appointed for Lean , implements by Bullying his  set ideas without taking cognizance of the existing systems (e.g.ERP) in to consideration and since ERP and Lean are Two opposite extremes , the conflict ultimately , if not resolved , results in to failure .
2) Goals not clearly defined : before setting out to implement lean , the Organization should very clearly definr wht it wants to achieve -- whether its reduction in throughput or reduction of Inventory or Space savings .of course all three get achieved as they are linked .However the main aim drives the direction and stretegies .
3) Third and most important factor is -- Visible top management commitments and involvement .. absence of this is usually a very widely seen reason for failure .

I guess most of the lean manufacturing fails because of inappropriate training. This can be caused by not having the management trained right, or not having the right training tools.

So training the employees well after manufacturing change can do wonders with profits. It might take long but later on it can be very useful.

1. The expert isn’t really an expert -

2. Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma tools are used to solve every problem -

3. The company does not devote enough resources

4. The timeline expectation is too short

5. Using the name Lean but not the principles

6. The business is beyond repair.

Lean Manufacturing is an ageold concept forgotten by the industry people. let us look back at our own household which is being managed by our own mother/wife/grandmother etc. We had always been looked after by the ladies of the house in every aspect .

We had always been getting the tastiest food(Quality),at the most appropriate time(Timely delivery),the right quantity and even some extra spoons ( meaning no shortage), surprise dishes(customer delight),getting adequate notice to procure any item well with enough lead time (lean inventory).

The ladies of the house at any time had been handling 150-200 items without any computer.

What do you think? Was it not the Lean Manufacturing?

Where is it lost? Should we call a consultant or the ladies of our own household.

Many companies decide to implement the lean manufacturing techniques because it is the in-thing. On the other hand the directors do not participate and do not encourage employees to pursue the process.In most of the cases the inventory level increases at first but later on eases out over a period of time when the rhythm sets in.In addition sales team feels it is burden on them as they had not been updated on its benefits.In most of the companies the Directors get guided by the sales personnel

normally for any change in the way of regular work will definetly face initial problems due to rhythm.any person who is accusted to certain pattern of working style it becomes impossible to change overnight! at this point,friction between employees and management starts and intended system gets derailed.on an average human being is not too flexible in most situations of daily life.lean management systems should be of geometrical progression type and not that of arithmetic type.i mean management should give enough time to employees to accept / adopt changes in system for its success.

Today why the system fail due to the basic not done or want to overstep and do the Lean concepts to be the first to implement.The Lean catagorally states that basic like 5S, Work study, TQM, has to implement before you put the Lean in place. 

Hi All

Today most of us are talking in the manufacturing circles, why Six Sigma is failing and why Lean Mfg is failing?

Although there are a few main reasons lean manufacturing and six sigma fails, there are many more pointing to success. Thousands of companies are employing lean and six sigma today. Many of these companies have cut cycle times, reduced waste, increased productivity, improved quality, and enjoyed huge growth. If and when a lean or six sigma initiative fails, look at the reasons and change direction.

The failure reason isn’t the tools or the initiative, but the application of them, business environment and circumstances surrounding it.

Regards

Mihir Kumar Jhaveri, PMP, CSCM

I think Lean Manufacturing fails because company is not prepared fully how to go about for a change. It takes lot of time to figure out what what things cost and how you can save buying by cutting out the middle man. Finding out what areas can afford cost cut and what can't afford. Finding out this will make you fully prepared for the change.

The senior manegment does not understand lean as way of doing business and lacks in integrating lean as competitive tool. Most of the organisation drives lean only in the back end and fails to integrate with front end.

Any initiative requires some minimum amount of resources. If the proper amount of resources cannot be devoted to the initiative, it is best to wait until the necessary resources are available. Without necessary people and time, any lean, six sigma, or other initiative will fail. Those doing the implementation will become frustrated, and employee morale will suffer. So its very important to provide enough resources for its implementation.