What changes can employees expect as a result of a Lean transformation?
One of the goals of Lean is to move decision making closest to the customer, or in other words, as close as possible to the physical product or service, since this is what the customer receives. Since the individual operator is the closest human to the product, the goal becomes to move decision making to this level. Consequently, the first and immediate change that employees notice is that they have more significant input in the production methods of their work area. This empowerment often motivates team members to accomplish unexpected level of performance both for their own development as well as the company’s productivity gains. Naturally, employee empowerment is much more comprehensive than management simply stating that moving forward employees will be empowered. It involves setting guidelines and boundaries, rolling out the process in a deliberate and well communicated manner, and making adjustments when appropriate. Gembutsu works with upper management to ensure that this cultur
