There’s a lot of talk about “lean” these days, and you may be wondering why.
In a nutshell, if you were an auto manufacturer right now, would you rather be GM or Toyota?
Toyota gave birth to the concept of lean through its Toyota Production System, an enterprise-wide mind-set aimed at reducing wasted time, money and effort while improving the quality of its products and the value it delivers to its customers. Toyota uses specific concepts, tools and techniques to drive continual improvement throughout all its processes. Today, Toyota is recognized as the world’s top automobile brand—and one of the most valuable brands in any industry. GM has… well, you’ve read the headlines. Applied to a capital project, rather than a car, thinking lean still results in better long-term value than traditional approaches. It may not always look like the lowest-cost approach in the short run, but it delivers the best value. Toyota is not the price leader in the market, but consumers choose the brand for quality, reliability, overall lower cost of ownership… it meets their needs at a fair price. A successful capital project should do the same: it should meet the owners’ needs and support the organization’s goals. A lean service provider may not come in with the lowest hourly rate, but an organization with a lean focus works more efficiently, resulting in lower total cost overall. A lean approach—to planning, design, project management, construction, commissioning and close-out—helps ensure that the project represents the best value for the money. And in today’s economy, that’s the ultimate success.