Shop-floor workers\u00a0sometimes grasp Lean principles and agree to apply them in their everyday activities quicker than the administrative staff of enterprises. The role of company\u2019s leader to unite specialists of all chains is particularly important at each stage of implementation of Lean system. The same thoughts were shared by the entrepreneurs at the Baltic Lean Forum 2017 organized by Verslo \u017dinios in cooperation with Lean.lt.<\/p>\n
Darius Kriukas, the Organization Development Director at Girteka UAB, which has been implementing Lean methods for three years, distinguishes several stages of Lean system implementation in an organization, and in his opinion, the role of company\u2019s head is especially important both when taking the first steps of implementation and at the subsequent stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything begins at the top: from the shareholders and top management. The first wave of Lean experience was exciting. We had great expectations because the idea of Lean seemed perfect and nobody could argue or oppose to having efficiency in the organization\u201d, noted the speaker.<\/p>\n
However, as time goes by, the enthusiasm begins to fade away, because people understand that no consultant is about to implement the Lean system for them. Realization comes that consultants are there only to assist and support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe spark dies down as soon as you realize that everything that happens will have to come from you and you only\u201d, said Mr. Kriukas.<\/p>\n
Key role<\/strong><\/p>\n At this critical moment, the role of the leader is paramount, as the temptation to give up and lose a pound to find a penny is very strong.<\/p>\n According to Mr. Kriukas, the main task of a leader at this time is to convince the managers of the lower chain to take over and carry the flag, otherwise, employees will never believe in the benefits of this system. It is very important to explain to the managers at all levels why these changes are being implemented and what benefits they can offer.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started implementing Lean in 2006, the company staff was very much involved, trusted this system and did their best to apply it. Now, however, we are facing a problem where with the increased staff rotation, it is becoming rather challenging to pass on the system principles to newcomers. The available materials and instruments are no longer helpful, because many managers are exhausted and do not succeed in conveying the main message. The new employees simply do not understand this system, its origin, and its purpose,\u201d shared the problems Daiva Pivori\u016bnien\u0117, Director Retail Sales & Operations at Circle K Lietuva UAB.<\/p>\n Here is how Irmantas Rajun\u010dius, CEO of Boen Lithuania, describes his first Lean experience: \u2013 In the very beginning exited managers went to the production divisions to speak about the need in this system. The division managers then started to wonder \u2013 \u2018If you are already here, why would you need us?\u2019<\/p>\n Unexpected turn of events<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Rajun\u010dius shared his peculiar Lean experience where it was expected that the method will catch on easier in administration than it would in production. Everything went on differently.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started with production. It was not an easy task to train our staff. Then we decided to involve the administration into the processes and sincerely hoped to see an opposite result, but we had a different thing coming. This is a situation where the role of the leader is emphasized yet again: his motivation and his involvement\u201d, said Mr. Rajun\u010dius.<\/p>\n According to Mr. Kriukas, there is not a single area in Girteka that has not been affected by Lean.<\/p>\n Implementation in this company has also been started from the warehouses and service units, not the administration. Turned out that here too, a wider acceptance of the Lean principles has been demonstrated in the manufacturing units, not in administration.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil you have a deeper understanding of Lean system, it seems that it is designed for production. We did start from the warehouses and services, where the benefits and processes were more obvious, later followed by the administrative units. I was hoping for an easy transition, unfortunately, the resistance was equally vigorous\u201d, added Mr. Kriukas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shop-floor workers\u00a0sometimes grasp Lean principles and agree to apply them in their everyday activities quicker than the administrative staff of enterprises. The role of company\u2019s leader to unite specialists of all chains is particularly important at each stage of implementation of Lean system. The same thoughts were shared by the entrepreneurs at the Baltic Lean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n