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A powerful tool in supporting companies on their lean journey
Published: 07/17/2009
(Lean Learning Center: NOVI, MI) -- The Lean Learning Center, a provider of lean consulting and transformation services in the world, recently announced its first expansion of lean topics in its Single Point Lesson package.
Single Point Lessons are one-page structured teaching tools that deliver a consistent, jargon-free, actionable message using the Lean Learning Center's unique four-question structure:
This new expansion represents a collection of 77 lean lessons, each addressing a lean principle, tool or concept, clearly and succinctly.
"Single Point Lessons are a powerful tool in any company's lean education efforts," says Jamie Flinchbaugh, Lean Learning Center co-founder and partner. "We successfully designed a product that is effective and user friendly, but most importantly, requires less than ten minutes to introduce a concept or tool for right-sized, just-in-time education."
Each lesson is organized into one of four categories: (1) Lean Rules and Principles, addressing the bedrock beliefs and behaviors pivotal to lean; (2) Process Tools, looks at a variety of specific tools to improve process design and results; (3) Concepts, addressing a variety of lean ideas and strategies; and (4) Change Management and Improvement Tools, providing strategies for changing the cultural mindset and moving the lean transformation journey forward.
This first expansion represents one new topic addition to the Change Management category and five new topic additions to the Process Tools category:
High Performance Work Teams—This change management strategy maximizes the performance of a team by using five criteria to align individual efforts, build a cohesive group working toward a common goal, and produce results greater than those that could be accomplished individually.
Fishbone Diagram—This process tool presents how to use a single problem-solving tool to differentiate between symptoms of problems that often consume attention but add no value, and the root causes of problems that produce the symptoms that we see.
Team Huddle—This process tool presents how to improve operational performance using a simple, structured methodology that focuses on improving communication flow and soliciting improvement ideas through brainstorming.
Lot Forming Kanban—This process tool balances and improves flow by visually communicating production needs and improving responsiveness to those needs.
Operations Performance Report—This process tool tracks key performance indicators for a process or area, enabling consistent communication of operational performance and identification of improvement opportunities.
Changeover Wheel—This process tool visually communicates the prioritization schedule for product changeovers; thus, aligning individual efforts, minimizing changeover time and maximizing value-added activities.
Single Point Lessons aren't designed to replace existing training or act as stand-alone training tools. Rather, they are designed to supplement and enhance existing training initiatives by providing a basic foundational overview of lean processes and tools. There are a number of uses for Single Point Lessons, the most common of which are:
Coaching—simplifying the concept or tool and explaining it using every day, common language that the learner will identify with and understand
Learning briefs—short discussions on lean topics that can empower the organizational culture to act on their new lean knowledge
Groups—brief and convenient lessons make them a quick agenda addition to staff or production meetings
Kaizen workshops—concepts or tools used as a reference while directly observing processes to inspire solutions
Individuals—experimentation is pivotal to the lean journey and Single Point Lessons kept in a common area can be used as reference material to assist in projects and improvement
Event-driven education—used as support for concepts or tools being implemented for participants at an event or initiative meeting
The initial Single Point Lessons package includes a complete collection of printed lessons as well as an USB drive with electronic versions of the lessons for immediate distribution throughout an organization. Single Point Lesson license holders will receive electronic versions of new topics when released for immediate integration into their existing collection.
Single Point Lessons are available in English and Spanish and can be customized to include company logos or contain specific vocabulary and examples pertinent to an organization.
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