Chapter 10

Customer and Value-Stream Tools

In This Chapter

arrow Looking at customer focused tools

arrow Using value-stream tools

arrow Working with basic process tools

No matter where you work or play, having the right tools for the job is important. Imagine trying to play a round of golf with a hockey stick, or scaling a mountain in flip-flops. You wouldn’t. To maximize your performance and results, you would get the right “tools” for the job, whether that job is a round of golf, a mountain trek, or a Lean transformation.

In this chapter, we introduce you to the Lean tools used to understand the customer and the value stream. With these tools, you can capture the customer’s wants and needs, evaluate the value stream, and work with basic data. Along with the flow and pull tools described in Chapter 11, the perfection tools in Chapter 12, and the management tools in Chapter 13, these tools are part of the overall Lean toolbox. You need all these tools to support Lean practices.

Communing with the Customer

In any business, really understanding who your customer is and what your customer is all about is vital — but this is particularly true for anyone embarking on a Lean journey because Lean is all ...

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