Leading and Managing the Lean Management Process

CHAPTER 5

Lean Practices and Tools

Reducing variation in any system or process is a fundamental principle that precludes waste elimination. When followed and used, Lean practices and tools can help to reduce variation and waste as well as serve as a microscope for identifying improvement opportunities. Lean practices are planning approaches used throughout the transformation process. Lean tools are specific analytical methods and problem-solving approaches. It is not the intention to differentiate between practices and tools here, because there is often a subtle difference between the two. Rather, both focus on helping to identify causes of variation and waste that can eventually lead to variance reductions and improvement.

Typically, a keen ...