More Notes from the Lean Symposium

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail by Dewey Warden, Toyota-trained Lean Manager at Senco Products:

..I thought the symposium went very well. Many of the comments, discussions and questions I heard demonstrated a great amount of interest in moving forward with lean in the industry. I am sure that there are going to be some that may study it and do nothing. I also suspect that there are some who are going to try it but lose interest within a year or two. I predict however, that a good number of the companies that participated in the symposium and visited it are going to use lean for the long-term. I believe that these organizations will engrain lean into their culture. It will become the way that they “do things”. Those are the companies that are going to surpass their competitors, improve their safety, quality, productivity and their capabilities. I further predict that a few organizations will take up the greater challenge to set a goal that will focus their effort to match their information flow and their material flow to a make-to-order process from order to ship. They will excel. I know that it is hard to let go of the past. Many may wish for the old days of three to four week backlogs being necessary to run efficiently and effectively. Trust me. There is a great amount of waste that is available to be eliminated. It will stagger the mind as the true believers “learn to see” over the next two to three years of their implementing lean into their culture...

As always, Dewey provides words of knowledge, reality, and encouragement. I agree 100% with his assessment. What are your thoughts?