I would like to answer this question. There are a variety of misconceptions about Lean manufacturing. Basically, people get to know about it through a story or reports showing the details of Lean implementation in some Industry. It’s here where all the problems start. Without getting into the depths of the approach, they conclude that this strategy is not going to work in their industry or that the way we operate and kind of work we do can’t really go without inventory or the kind of orders we handle, it is impossible to reduce the lead time and blabla…. This way they finalize that the investment is not worth it. What they basically don’t understand is that Lean is not a strategy, it is not some step-by-step guide to increase productivity. Basically, Lean is a way of thinking. It’s important to understand that it can be implemented anywhere and there is no limit to it. Comparing it with the Indian concept of “Jugaad”, if somebody not belonging to India hears a story of implementation of “jugaad” in some industry, he might think that this can’t be done anywhere else or not at least in his industry. But then an Indian knows that “jugaad” can be applied anywhere whatever the process or the industry may be. Some say that the whole country is running on “jugaad”. The same with Lean, it can be implemented anywhere in some way or other.To implement Lean manufacturing, the only thing you have to do is understand the philosophy in it – “continuous improvement through removal of wastes”. As far as an SME is concerned Lean can be implemented, but it needs proper shift of mindset of everybody involved, from the worker and the foreman to the senior management level. It is not as simple as enforcing some rules or training the workers. It is something like the shift of the mindset.To implement it, a SME has to first do the value stream mapping. It is basically a simple thing where somebody maps the current state of the manufacturing process. In simple words, one has to measure the distribution of timing and value addition at each stage of processing thus generate an overview as to what amount of time is value adding and for how much time it is remaining idle as an in process inventory. Then a future state (ideal) map is generated by removing all the time wasted in waiting and all non-value added activities from it. After that you have to work for realizing the changes through using the methods used in lean manufacturing or devising new ways for your purpose. Measuring the improvement and repeating the cycle is the way to continuous improvement.Now finally, all these things and improvements don’t mean nothing if you don’t train your workforce and involve them. If all the changes in methodologies are passed to the workers as orders, you are not going to see any long lasting effect. The improvements must be devised in collaboration of the workers who are actually getting their hands dirty in the manufacturing. Also, you need to understand that Lean is not about following some rules and methods having those Japanese names. Rather it is a simple concept that anybody can work in his own way. It’s just that the Japanese have worked too much on it and have matured it to the level that would take you decades to reach near them. That’s why it’s better to follow them when it comes to lean manufacturing.
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