By Keith Ingels, Raymond Lean Management manager of solutions and support centers, The Raymond Corporation
With another record year of e-commerce on the horizon, now is the time for organizations to optimize their people, processes and supply chains for unprecedented demand. Operations can mitigate some of these factors by adopting lean management principles and instilling a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization. Managers should consider implementing the following steps to prepare for the future:
Visualize improvements. Lean management methods are based on the philosophies of achieving the elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods. This process begins with visualization. Visualization aims to make a situation easily understood merely by looking at it and can be accomplished throughout a facility with data displays, label and location markings and tool displays. Through visualization, an operation can share information, communicate standards and identify defects quickly.
Empower your employees. Lean management teaches workers to spot inefficiencies, errors, or potential defects by providing them with practical tools to share their ideas and develop impactful, long-term solutions. By giving employees the opportunity to implement change throughout the organization, employees are more engaged, which results in higher morale and workforce retention.
Establish standardized work processes. Standardized work creates clearly defined employee expectations and ensures consistency of labor and materials. By establishing standardized work processes, organizations can help eliminate or reduce non-value-added steps, resulting in higher operational efficiency and productivity.
Gather and analyze data. Through a proven process of gathering data via visualization, organization and standardization, lean management can help operations gain visibility into the current state of an operation. Managers should regularly evaluate the data collected from their operation to evaluate and adapt warehouse operations accordingly.
To learn more about how lean management can help improve employee morale, standardize processes, eliminate waste and ultimately improve productivity, watch our most recent Raymond LinkedIn Live broadcast.