Business Success Thursday Volume 267! What is the lean cave?
Hello <<First Name>>?? welcome to Business Success Thursday #267!
I hope you enjoy this resource and receive some value for you and your business! (I always love hearing your feedback so please don’t hesitate to reply!)
Here is another page for our upcoming book: The Premier Way!
What is the lean cave?
This is the lean way of doing lean!
It is a designated space in each main work area where you can go to get all the tools and resources required, to make your daily improvements.
Think of it like a small workshop with all the tools and accessories you need when making an improvement.
It is a very simple but very powerful resource for your business.
Before we set up lean caves in each area, we always struggled to find the right bits and pieces needed for each small improvement.
For example, we would store hooks in one place and then Velcro dots in another. That’s struggle! And that’s not good.
So by setting up a lean cave, you remove the barrier and struggle for your team to make daily improvements.
A lean cave makes lean easy! Remove the struggle! Make work flow!
As with all improvements at PGNZ, we started our caves off with a simple brainstorm in the morning meeting and made a list of all the likely things we would need to stock in them.
Of course we already had a lot of the tools and consumables in stock in various locations already so we ticked these off then purchased the extras.
Then each team decided on a good location for their lean cave.
Then each team worked together during improvement time to start creating the lean caves using mostly recycled timber, shelving etc.
Production then perfection!
Like everything at PGNZ, the lean caves are always a work in progress. They are always getting better! Always improving!
And for people who struggle to think of improvement ideas the lean caves are a perfect place to make an improvement! Improve the cave!
It is a great idea to have a perpetual wish list in each lean cave so when someone thinks of another tool or product to add to the cave they can write it up immediately.
Each day or week this list can be reviewed by the team, signed off by the team leader and the new products or tools ordered so there is no delay! One piece flow!
So from day one at PGNZ you are trained on how to use the lean cave and also given the freedom to improve the lean cave (in collaboration with your team).
In our factories we already had workshops set up but these are the domain of our engineers and hold a lot more gear than just the tools you need for day to day small improvements.
领英推荐
Also a problem we kept having was that someone would take a drill (for example) off to make an improvement and then an engineer would need it, creating frustration and struggle.
So with this in mind we actually doubled up on a few of the key tools like drills, angle grinders, skill saws etc. but we started off with cheap and cheerful brands to save money.
This allows us to monitor what tools are being used the most and we can upgrade to better quality power tools for the cave accordingly.
Always do more with less!! Use your head not your wallet!
And in our offices we have just set up the basics as there is seldom the need for an angle grinder for example.
A word of warning: Don’t try to set up a gold plated lean cave to start with. Just start simple and improve it from there! Production then perfection. Just get it launched quickly so you can enjoy the benefits fast, and improve it over time.
Imperfect action is always better than perfect inaction. Talk is cheap. Implementation is everything!
1. Share the idea in your next morning meeting.
2. Explain why it’s beneficial and provide examples.
3. Brainstorm on a whiteboard with your team. Consider tools, accessories, consumables, and location.
4. Choose a "lean cave" champion to lead the project.
5. Design the lean cave as a team at the location. Work in small time chunks, such as 15 minutes per day, until satisfied.
6. Start building the cave! Involve the whole team for 15–30 minutes daily, aiming for completion within a week.
7. Begin using the lean cave!
8. Now, use it!
Improve it daily! Make it part of your daily improvement program. The better your lean cave is, the better your overall improvements will be!
Now, please do me a favour and let me know how your lean cave is going and the benefits it is providing!
P.S. At Premier Business Academy we have tonnes of great resources to help you on this journey and support you along the way! Please feel free to email me back or go to: www.premierbusinessacademy.co.nz
Cheers to your success!
Bernard and the team at Premier Group NZ!
P.S. Don't miss out on our highly popular PBA diary / High Performance Planner! This is an absolute game changer for anyone who is committed to continuous improvement! And for anyone who wants to live their best life! It helps you to gain absolute clarity and purpose and ensures that you spend your precious time on the things that really matter!