Lean Principles The top three reasons for failure in quality improvement efforts are: • Lack of executive leadership and sponsorship for quality • The "middle management black hole" • The failure to manage the "people side of improvement" The TWELVE lean principles of successful improvement efforts: • Establish customer-defined value (i.e., identify the “value stream”) • Process = “Value Added” • Continuously eliminate non-value added activities (e.g., waste, rework, defects) • Reduce and manage complexity • Use leadership and standardization to create a lean culture • Align your organization through visual communication • Use lean metrics to manage value • Create an optimized process flow (e.g., “pull”, JIT, “leveled”) • Adapt technology to fit your people and processes • Front-Load the process for maximum design space • Establish a learning organization to build a lean culture • Strive for perfection through continuous improvement