Agile is the new frontier of Lean – how to combine the Formula 1 pit crew efficiency with the Rugby team agility

Lean deployment & continuous improvement has been on top of COO agendas over the last decade. It was articulated through large programs aiming to standardize, streamline and simplify processes and ways of working and to enable shop floor empowerment.

Lean drove shop floor towards a Formula1 pit crew efficiency model. This generated a gap between blue collars, focused on standard & repetitive tasks, and industrial support functions, managing tasks seen as less repetitive. Any fast change or adaptation on the go has become more and more difficult. As demand is atomizing, how to combine Lean with Agile to be more reactive?

In contrast with F1, the epitome of agile ways of working is a Rugby team. Indeed, the similarities between rugby teaming and agile ways of working and culture are striking. Rugby is not about “me”, but about “we” – no single player name is displayed next to an essay, such as is the case in football. Also, there is no forward passing – winning by leaving your team behind is not winning at all. No player could score without the support and collective work of the entire team. The ball is passed multiple times to make the slightest progress, and every player will have played at every position by the final whistle. Roles exist but the team is autonomous on the field so long as they keep carrying the ball forward.

To move faster to resolution, an Agile team must constantly reorganize, pursue multiple roles throughout one sprint, while rigorous standards would block the team’s versatility. A scrum team works on a project goal, an objective and a project charter, with constant priorities and backlog adjustment. Like a rugby team, where frequent synchronization doesn't prevent to leave room for manoeuvre to each player, to adapt constantly to the competitors’ game.

If we combine the Formula 1 pit crew with the Rugby team spirit, would they be just as efficient facing a different car model pulling in to the stand every minute? 

Please find here the full article on the Agile Factory, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/lean-manufacturing-demands-agile-production-and-support , written with @Benjamin Rehberg and @Ileana Nicorici

#AgileFactory #agile #lean