Lean Focus
Business System™

An introductory course to VOC techniques to help teams learn and identify different techniques to apply in order to get the feedback needed to drive product/service quality and improvements. The different customer decision-making stage gates and using a cross-functional approach to soliciting feedback to gain valuable working insights in the discovery stages. Can include a hands-on workshop application to a real problem.

A comprehensive set of tools, processes, and templates used to effectively manage and deliver product and/or services in a business. Tools such as product roadmaps, product requirements documents, competitive comparison checklists, technology roadmaps, are used in the functional area of product management. Product management is an organizational function within a company dealing with new product development, business justification, planning, verification, forecasting, pricing, product launch, and marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. Similarly, product lifecycle management (PLM) integrates people, data, processes and business systems. It provides product information for companies and their extended supply chain enterprise.

How many products are too many products? Product Portfolio Management is a thorough assessment of your current and future pipeline Product Portfolio and aligning towards your long-term strategic objectives while gaining short-term wins for improvement. Through a process-driven review of your Portfolio, you can align you product performance goals with your overall Strategic goals within the organization for improved communication, momentum with your sales and marketing efforts, and performance.

Used in the Discover process, Customer Segmentation helps an organization identify opportunities for the highest potential impact to the business in both the short- and long-term strategy, combining analysis with forecasted revenue. You will work with a Commercial Growth Leader who has held a senior Leadership position with P&L responsibility who will understand the ins and outs of meeting revenue targets while driving tactical action plans to produce real results. Customer Segmentation is used when you are using targeted market selection and campaigns, are tackling unpenetrated market opportunities, leveraging your core strengths, a strategic reorganization of the business, or foresee market changes and need to forecast new opportunities.

The Lean R&D assessment provides an effective method of assessing and benchmarking your organization’s product development process. In addition, it establishes a measure of the effectiveness of an organization’s product development process and a measurable basis of comparison with other companies. Further, practices which are strategic levers are related to product development strategy and an implied strategy based on the use of these practices is compared to the intended strategy to assure strategic alignment of product development. Most importantly, the assessment uses “gap” analysis to identify high-payoff improvement opportunities that can lead to an action plan.

Value is determined by the alignment of performance and cost. Value is increased if the customer wants, needs, and is willing to pay for more performance. VAVE, or Value Analysis Value Engineering, is a team approach to analyze value in a product, system or service. You will apply VAVE when you are improving value for competitive purposes, improving successive products (i.e. version 1.0, 2.0, etc.), taking a price cut or increase, or trying to find cost of goods sold improvements.

A Visual Project Management module will help your team with a project that may require cross-functional participants, significant resources, and/or longer term project management with a clear timeline for delivery. An Obeya Room (meaning “big room” in Japanese) is utilized to bring together critical resources that drive the “project” forward, used to house the daily management, reviews, and problem-solving needed to drive a project forward according to expected timelines.

The conventional product design approach relies on new products being designed first, then relegated to the rest of the business to carry out. This approach has distinct disadvantages, such as a costly manufacturing process resulting, gaps in talent/skills/assets needed to produce it, launch delays, and disconnect with sales and marketing requirements. However, the 3P Product Design Approach allows a team to design concurrently with business operations in mind, aligning production, preparation and process to be the focus. This results in better product manufacturing, less capital investment upfront, on-time launches, and lower costs for long-term sustainment.

This module takes an approach to designing products that are easy to manufacturing by improving the process for simple assembly, applying poka yoke (error-proofing) concepts, and simplifying raw materials, suppliers, set-ups and assembly. One would apply this concept when trying to reduce supply chain costs, improving purchasing and forecasting accuracy, error-reduction in assembly, and streamlining and cross-training labor for productivity gains.

The Quality System Assessment process is an 8 element assessment that determines the organization’s current state effectiveness with: leadership culture of quality, customer experience – problem solving process, product management, research & development, supplier development, back-office processes, manufacturing processes, and technical support. Most importantly, the assessment uses “gap” analysis to identify high-payoff improvement opportunities that can lead to an action plan.

Quality Systems Basics is a systematic approach towards building an operation designed to provide up to the quality standards of your customer with consistency, repeatability, and sustainability. This module will help your team identify current state processes, make and try-storm improvements, and build quality into the process along the way, with a clear deliverable of a sustainable system in place, built and adopted by your associates.

Mistake proofing, also known as poka yoke, is intended to prevent or make it impossible for an error to occur or to make it evident that an error has occurred, thus creating a work environment built to perform its intended purpose. Jidoka is one of the Toyota Production System pillars that highlights work to be stopped immediately as soon as a problem occurs (to prevent defects from being passed down the line). This module will help you systematically identify and build improvements to your process to reduce or eliminate mistakes.

Variation Reduction Kaizen (VRK) is an efficient means of achieving an expected output using validated input and process standards. It allows for design of standard work to increase predictability when validated, followed, and sustained (quality, inventory, delivery, etc.). When ”noises” are turned into “constants”, it can establish best practice standards for all associates who engage in this process to follow. It allows a measurable standard to be audited against for performance. It allows you to control your controllables!

FMEA stands for Failure Modes Effect Analysis. A Failure Mode is the way a product, component, subassembly, input, or process can fail to perform its intended function, either as a result of an upstream operation or causing a downstream operation to fail. FMEA is a methodology to uncover the contributors to these concerns in the early development of a process or design and facilitate process improvement to prevent failure occurrences. In some cases, FMEA may be required by an applicable Quality Management System Standard (i.e. ISO)

The Materials System Assessment provides an effective method of assessing and benchmarking your organization’s materials management processes. In addition, it establishes a measure of the effectiveness of an organization’s materials process and a measurable basis of comparison with other companies. Further, practices which are strategic levers are related to materials strategy and an implied strategy based on the use of these practices is compared to the intended strategy to assure strategic alignment of the materials organization. Most importantly, the assessment uses “gap” analysis to identify high-payoff improvement opportunities that can lead to an action plan.

A Kanban system is meant to help maintain inventory levels using a visual “pull” system that signals production and delivery as material is consumed. A Kanban system is highly visual and tracked through a replenishment cycle, with a constant flow of production and inventory to meet demand in real time while keeping inventory levels low.

Heijunka = sequencing of production or level-loading. Focuses on the distribution between production volume and product mix evenly over time, or the level-loading of work to meet demand. Typically used in combination with other Lean principles to stabilize process flow, it converts uneven Customer “pull” into even, more predictable manufacturing process.

SIOP = Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning. A business process that provides management the ability to strategically direct its business to achieve competitive advantage on a continuous basis. It aligns the different functions involved in the forecasting of demand to delivery process: Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Operations. The process is performed at least monthly, brings together all functional plans, and reconciles, supply, demand, and new product plans. This module will help an organization implement a rigorous SIOP process.

Our MVV Process is designed to deliver an aligned Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Set of Core Values. These are the cornerstones of Transforming Company Culture.

Strategic Planning is the annual Strategic Planning Process and review that sets the short- and long-term direction for the organization. But have you covered all the bases you need to make clear decision making? Have you narrowed your Strategic Initiatives to the Critical Few? Have you a clear direction in not only “what” you are going to do, but “how” you are going to do it? The Strategic Planning process will allow an organization to go through the critical assessments in order to make fact-based, strategic planning to drive the course of the organization towards competitive breakthrough results.

When you are looking for breakthrough competitive advantage, you are looking for Strategy Deployment! Strategy Deployment builds off your Strategic Planning process in which you set and drive breakthrough results. Known as Strategy Deployment (aka hoshin kanri or Policy Deployment), our Lean Focus approach will guide you through identifying your gaps in your current state to achieve your future goals, whether that be to improve to industry standard, achieve “best in class” or “world class” status, or really change the market with breakthrough competitive advantage.Strategy Hands-on development of strategy deployment process using the client’s strategic initiatives as an input. Deliverables: Strategic plan deployed into a structured results-based execution process. Level 1, Level 2, matrices, bowlers, action plans, and A3s. Obeya room and standard work for leadership cadence of monthly review. Attendees: Senior Leaders by function, GM/Presidents, key associates tied to strategy.

Business Review Cadence is more than just a monthly meeting. If your current state operations review appears as a “Show and Tell” and less about driving results, let Lean Focus help you identify your critical core value drivers, cadence, action plan design, KPIs (key performance indicators), and review agendas to drive real results.

In a merger or acquisition, due diligence and a plan for integration from one organization into another requires a high level of expertise, insights, and planning on the front end. Lean Focus’ team and leadership are highly trained and knowledgeable in the requirements of thorough Due Diligence processes, identifying key focus areas, risk management, and post-acquisition planning.

The Lean Culture Diagnostic assesses the lean maturity of an organization looking at 5 Elements of a High Performing Culture and 14 Guiding Principles (Ways of Working). Most importantly, the assessment uses “gap” analysis to identify high-payoff improvement opportunities that can lead to an action plan.

This process is designed to define and drive employee engagement in the Transformation. Focus is on involving all levels of organization in the transformation and measuring the impact to core business KPI’s.

As a Leader in an organization, you are the most critical to drive the direction, culture, and performance by your team. Leading a full- or partial-scale Lean Transformation will take understanding, patience, and diligence. Through this 1-day course, you will be exposed to the most critical Leadership elements needed in order to adopt, implement, and sustain a thriving Lean culture.

Continuous Improvement Leaders need to practice what they preach, meaning continuous improvement and learning is a continuous process! During the CI Leader Boot Camp week, leaders will get hands-on training on how to prepare, execute, and sustain kaizen events, learn critical skills for driving involvement and engagement of participants to drive results, and ultimately, best practices for building a strong C.I. culture throughout the organization.

This Kaizen week is identified at the organization’s highest level (i.e. President’s Kaizen, Breakthrough Kaizen) which allows for senior leadership to participate in highest level and critical Value Stream kaizen events in one week. Multiple kaizens can be conducted during one week, with the aim to achieve breakthrough results while engaging the participation of Senior Leaders.