Impediments to Lean

Abstract

To better understand why Lean succeeds in some instances and not in others, it is necessary to study and determine factors of organisational change influencing successful outcomes, which ultimately result in improved performance for the organisation. Lean has been evident for several decades, and a number of implementation and barriers have been identified which have been evident in the author’s own experience. Extensive up-to-date research emphases the prominent obstacles inhibiting organisations to either embrace Lean or frustrate its wider application. Whilst some of the aforementioned analysis has revealed definite blockades indirectly, this section will explore in greater depth the issues which organisations, Lean practitioners, and executives need to consider in their efforts to implement Lean within their organisations. Whilst the barriers to Lean need to be explored, it is their origins, interrelations, and relative importance that need to be understood. The ultimate aim for any organisation should be to link its Lean initiative to financial improvements. A perfect example is being a lack of senior management support which is often cited as a barrier; however, it is important to try and determine why some managers are more supportive than others and it is unclear regarding how this is measured. In respect to the numbers of successful Lean initiatives, we do need to ask the question, why have so many companies not been able to achieve the benefits they had hoped for through their Lean strategies, or in some cases abandoned their efforts altogether.