Le a n M a na ge m e nt vs Tr a dit iona l M a na ge m e nt
Are t he funct ions of a m anager different in a lean m anufact uring
environm ent versus a t radit ional m anagem ent st ruct ure t ruly different ? Of
course it will differ in som e ways and in ot her ways it won’t at all. I t is
im port ant t hough t o underst and what t he differences in a lean
m anufact uring envir onm ent for m anaging people and processes are
com pared t o in a t r adit ional m anufact uring environm ent .
So what are t he differences? I n a lean m anufact uring envir onm ent
product ion is based on real cust om er dem and. I n a t radit ional
m anufact uring envir onm ent product ion is based on what you hope t o sell.
I nst ead of pushing product int o t he m arket , lean product ion pulls t he
product t hrough a syst em t hat is set up t o quickly respond t o a
cust om er’s needs and dem ands.
Below are som e of t he differences, t hat are out lined and side- by- side, so
you can see how t he different m anagem ent pract ices are t ruly different .
For t his dem onst rat ion t hough we are j ust going t o focus on t he
m anufact uring side of t he organizat ion.
Le a n M a na ge m e n t Tr a dit iona l M a na ge m e nt
Product ion is m ade t o order Product ion is based on a forecast
Product s are m ade t o fill cust om er Product s are m ade t o replenish t he
orders invent ory
Cycle t im es are in hours and days Cycle t im es are in weeks and m ont hs
I nvent ory levels are based on one- I nvent ory levels are based on large
piece flow bat ches
St at ions are set up by product flow St at ions are set up by depart m ent
funct ion
Qualit y is t est ed at each st at ion Qualit y is done t hrough random
sam pling
Workers are em powered for ident ifying Workers have lit t le or no input
im provem ent s
Manufact uring schedule flexibilit y is Manufact uring schedule is r igid and
high and easy t o adj ust hard t o adj ust
Manufact uring cost s are cont rolled and Manufact uring cost s are rising and very
decreasing difficult t o cont rol
As you can see, by ut ilizing lean m anufact uring pract ices, organizat ions
are m ore likely t o produce high qualit y product s and services and at a
lower cost , since t he product s are m ade- t o- order.
Tradit ional m anagem ent is old school and is very cost ly t o an
organizat ion. Not only is it seen in t he m anufact uring processes, but
t hroughout t he organizat ion, such as t hrough leadership, cust om er
sat isfact ion, cult ural, operat ional capabilit y, m aint enance and
engineering, t o nam e a few.
You need t o st art wit h a sound business st rat egy—using t radit ional
m anagem ent pract ices focuses on exploit ing econom ies of scale for
product designs and t echnology t hat is not unique. When you im plem ent
lean m anagem ent pract ices t he shift is cust om er- focused t hat is geared
t owards at t aining a com pet it ive advant age.
Lean m anagem ent principles is t ruly about operat ing your organizat ion in
t he m ost efficient and effect ive way possible, t hrough reducing cost and
elim inat ing wast e.
