By Andrew Nicholson, Managing Director of Nicholson Consultancy Ltd

With British politics moving away from three main parties and fragmenting into much wider choice, the prediction is that this week’s election will end up with another coalition Government.

However, politics and governing a country are not the only arenas where a coalition framework can be adopted – Lean Manufacturing needs a ‘Guiding Coalition’ to succeed.

This is because the hardest aspect of creating a truly Lean organisation is creating the right culture – a positive “can do” approach that challenges accepted norms and continuously seeks a better way.

And the hardest step is always the first.

That’s why it’s essential to start working with the right people.

At the most senior level, top management must be committed to making Lean happen – there needs to be a critical mass; what Dr John Kotter calls the “Guiding Coalition”.

Once we have that commitment, we need to understand how people will react to change, and we need to know how we should manage them.

In any group of people faced with significant change, we can expect a whole range of responses. If we drew these on a graph, they’d often follow what statisticians call a “normal distribution”; more commonly described as a “bell curve” or 2:6:2 curve, as shown in the diagram.

At the negative end of the curve we have a small number of people – typically 20% of the total – who actively oppose change. They’re sometimes referred to as the CAVE-dwellers: Completely Against Virtually Everything.

And keeping to the election analogy, in the middle we have the bulk of people, perhaps 60% – the “floating voters” who can be swayed in either a positive or a negative direction.

And over at the positive end of the spectrum we have another small group – typically 20% of the total – who are positive about change and at least prepared to give it a go.

Here’s the key point that many managers don’t understand: if you want to make change happen, work with the willing – the positive 10%.

These people are the Change Agents – at The Lean Consortium we call them the Lean Leaders – and they’re absolutely crucial to the success of Lean in any organisation.

These are the people that we work with to start the ball rolling, and get some “quick wins”. And this is what they look like:

• Keen to make a difference
• Accepts the need for change
• Eager to learn / seeks development opportunities
• Respected by peers and management
• Influential, with good people skills
• Able to overcome resistance and get things done

At the same time, it’s vital that you avoid getting bogged down with the CAVE-dwellers at the other end of the spectrum – these “energy vampires” can suck out every last ounce of positivity if you let them.

By all means listen to what they say – they just might have some good ideas – but don’t spend too much time with them, and don’t waste time trying to convert them to the cause. Your time is much better spent with the other folk.

By working with the willing you’ll find that life is a lot easier: you’ll get some “Quick Wins”, the “floating voters” will begin to get on board and you’ll build up the momentum that you need to sustain continuous improvement across the organisation.

Stephen Beard, from Gazprom Energy UK, explores how UK manufacturers can gain a competitive edge through effective energy management.

With energy prices on the increase, effective energy management plays an important role in almost all UK businesses – and this is the case in manufacturing businesses outfits more than most. A recent report by Siemens uncovered that 90% of UK manufacturers discuss energy management at board level, with almost 80% agreeing that managing energy is now a business-critical function.

While business continuity is considered key for this recent surge in interest, for many, the ability to gain a competitive advantage is the main driver in their energy efficiency efforts.

In this post, I’m going to run through a few of the ways that UK manufacturers can take control of the energy usage for a greater competitive edge and a higher profit margin.

Effective energy procurement
As many manufacturing professionals will well know, understanding the volatile wholesale energy market, negotiating with suppliers and choosing the best contract type can present big challenges and can be a significant drain on resources. Yet cost reduction in the purchasing process is vital to ensure competitiveness.

Depending on consumption levels, some businesses choose to appoint a dedicated member of staff to energy procurement. However, the use of energy partners or ‘brokers’ is considered a more cost-effective way of staying on top of the energy spend. A broker can talk to you about the range of contracts available from various suppliers and, more importantly, the value of each against the short and long-term forecasts for the market.

Appointing ‘energy champions’
Harnessing the energy spend by choosing the right contract is an essential starting point in making progress in energy management – but for serious energy savings, the work doesn’t stop there. The cost-saving benefit of internal monitoring and management on an on-going basis shouldn’t be underestimated. For those serious about gaining a competitive edge through reduced production costs, a company-wide behavioural shift is crucial.

It’s for this reason that some firms are starting to appoint ‘Energy Champions’, i.e. members of staff that are given roles and responsibilities designed to ‘champion’ energy-efficient behaviours amongst their colleagues. Depending on how much resource can be allocated to this, ‘Energy Champions’ might be responsible for anything from developing ideas for day-to-day awareness and improvement, to implementation of energy-saving strategy and feedback and reporting.

Providing the roles are taken seriously, ‘Energy Champions’ can be really effective for embedding the importance of energy efficient practices through the company.

Energy auditing
Likewise, to stay effective your energy-saving programme should be subject to continuous review. A good evaluation process should include regular energy audits, during which you look at:
• Assessment of bills and meter readings: To establish peaks and troughs in consumption over several months
• Compiling a checklist: Of energy-using equipment and machinery to be inspected for efficiency. Include even the most everyday expenses like office lighting and heating, as well as cooling and ventilation, equipment, machinery and processes.

An audit should highlight any inefficient or energy-sapping activities. This could be something as simple as the office lights not being turned off out of hours, or as critical as energy draining machinery being turned off and on again rather than using energy efficient standby options, in between production runs.

As well as allowing you to identify where savings can be made, regular audits also allow recognition of successes, which can often be passed through the business as morale-boosters.

Parting shot
There is no quick fix when it comes to energy efficiency improvements in manufacturing and it takes time before you can see a tangible return on your efforts. However, in an energy-intensive industry, the benefits of harnessing usage and spend can be extraordinary.

Though, according to Siemens, it seems most manufacturers have really started to take hold of energy management, I’d urge production managers and procurement specialists to take an even closer look at the energy spend and consider the options. With foresight and planning, taking control of energy usage can make way for a greater competitive edge and a higher profit margin.

About Gazprom Energy
Gazprom Energy is one of the UK’s leading business energy suppliers, offering a range of competitive business gas and electricity contracts for manufacturers.
http://www.gazprom-energy.com/uk

By Andrew Nicholson, Managing Director of Nicholson Consultancy Ltd

After more than three decades of applying Lean in the West, perhaps the most important thing – and one that we’re still learning – is that Lean is a philosophy and a way of life, not just a set of tools and techniques.

I strongly believe that Lean has a bright future as it is more relevant now than it’s ever been in today’s fast-changing, quality-driven business environment.

We seem to live in a society where many citizens have a deep distrust of politicians, government and business.

In response, many of us actively seek out people and organisations we feel we can trust, whose values and objectives we share or at least feel we have some common cause with.

This is one reason why I believe that genuinely Lean organisations will survive and prosper.

In my opinion, organisations that value an open, learning culture and have respect for people – one of the key tenets of Lean – will almost naturally adopt Lean as part of their way of doing business.

Because they learn, Lean organisations will adapt and improve, and most will ultimately succeed.

Their employees become genuinely engaged, they “buy in” to the values of their organisation and they continually ask “What’s the Lean way to do this?”

Customers receive real value from a Lean organisation and are actively consulted – even directly involved – in future developments. They also “buy in”, becoming loyal followers, advocates or even zealots.

We’ve also learnt that Lean means much more than just Lean Manufacturing.

Although many manufacturers first use Lean tools and techniques in their production facilities, those who “get it” soon realise that there’s a lot more to manufacturing than production or assembly.

They go on to apply Lean across every area of their business, and then on through their Supply Chains, forming long-term partnerships with others who share their values and who also “think Lean”.

And Lean is spreading far beyond manufacturing. Healthcare, law enforcement, government and the military, software development and education are just some of the many areas where Lean principles are transforming traditional ways of working.

I see this as a continuing trend: applying the Lean philosophy to more and more organisations and sectors, and ultimately to more and more aspects of our daily lives – another reason why I believe that Lean has a bright future.

Finally, and particularly important in an economic downturn, we’re understanding that Lean is not about cost-cutting, outsourcing, off-shoring, down-sizing and lay-offs.

On the contrary, most of our clients are using Lean to grow, to in-source and to re-shore.

They understand that the true meaning of Lean is about delivering Value: truly understanding their customers’ needs, providing them with more and more genuine value, and exceeding their expectations.

Pulling all of this together then, into what you might call a Lean Mission Statement, I’d say that today’s Lean pioneers understand that their future success requires the marshalling of Purpose, People and Processes, to deliver value to customers, to employees and to stakeholders.

That’s why I see a bright future for those who truly embrace Lean. And in my next blog I’ll explain how this combination of Purpose, People and Processes is driving the future success of Lean organisations.

By Andrew Nicholson, Managing Director of Nicholson Consultancy Ltd

A fundamental shift is taking place within a range of industries, not least, the manufacturing sector.

The traditional way of working has been in a linear fashion where resources are obtained, shaped into products, used and disposed of.

However, as raw materials diminish and become more scarce or expensive, businesses are turning their attention to making the most use of what is available.

As a result, a new model is emerging that has been dubbed the ‘Circular Economy’ where products are remade, resold or recycled in some cases many times over.

The circular economy is all about doing more with less and minimising waste with new products assembled from materials obtained from old ones through reclamation, remanufacture and recycling or the operational life of a component is extended through refurbishment.

So does this offer any opportunities for the ‘Lean Manufacturer’?

In my opinion, the answer is most definitely yes.

From an efficiency point of view, it does not matter whether what is being used as the basis for a product is from an original source or is reusing or recycling materials.

Any type of manufacturing can be scrutinised and fine-tuned so that wastes of time and effort are eliminated from the entire process – which means from the minute a customer’s order is received to the delivery of the finished product.

The scope for employing lean principles will widen as they easily and effectively can be applied to industries that decide to embrace the Circular Economy as part of their operations.

Indeed, the values and ideology behind Lean Manufacturing and the Circular Economy are comparable. The Circular Economy is about minimising waste through reusing components rather than disposing of them while Lean is about making sure that time and effort is not wasted during the manufacturing processes.

These demonstrate the compatibility of Lean and the Circular Economy. And as the Circular Economy grows, which I believe it will, the use of Lean has the potential to expand proportionately.

By Andrew Nicholson, Managing Director of Nicholson Consultancy Ltd

Lean works best when everyone in the company – from the chief executive to the most junior member of staff – buys in to the strategy, and benefits from it.

This is easier said than done as it is human nature to resist change and to want to hang on to the status quo.

For lean to succeed the entire workforce has to be involved from the very start.

People need to feel that they are central to the introduction and implementation of lean and that it is not merely a ‘pie in the sky’ diktat from above; another management initiative imposed without any employee involvement.

Many people’s first reaction is to ask – ‘what’s in it for me’. I have learnt that this sort of question should not be dismissed as a selfish response and should not be sidestepped with a ‘for the greater good of the company’ reply.

Tackling this question head-on is the best tactic. Show people how embracing the principles of lean will make their job easier; that it will be a case of working smarter, not harder in the future.

Employees should be encouraged to contribute and it must be shown that their ideas and suggestions will be listened, taken seriously and acted upon. Think about starting with some short, sharp ideas workshops. Use “Ease and Effect” to prioritise employee ideas and make sure you get some “quick wins” to show the benefits.
Another lesson is that one size does not fit all. Every firm has elements of individuality which have evolved due to its history and how its products have been refined and developed. This is often what helps it stand out in the market-place.

Just as a doctor would not give the same pill to different patients with different symptoms, the same applies to lean manufacturing.
An off-the-shelf lean package will not do – what works for Toyota might not work for you! Solutions have to be tailored to an individual company’s operation and relevant goals need to be drawn up.

Partnering with the right outside help is essential in the early days. Managers and employees have experience and knowledge about the way their company works and lean practitioners are experts in the principles of lean. Embracing a partnership approach ensures that a company uses the right lean tools and techniques that exactly meet its individual requirements, and that skills and knowledge are transferred into the business.

And last, but not least, it has become apparent during the last three decades that lean does not just apply to industrial giants, but can be relevant to and employed by small and medium enterprises in pretty much any sector who want to improve their processes and operations.

Recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics have revealed that the UK manufacturing industry has experienced slower than expected growth.

Although the 0.3% increase in manufacturing between November and December 2013 was welcomed it had been expected to be much higher, after a poll carried out by Reuters had predicted growth of 0.6%.

The main contributors to the growth in the sector came from pharmaceutical products and preparations, the manufacture of refined petroleum products, food, beverages and tobacco.

Even with the Bank of England keeping rates at a record low and the economy expanding at the fastest rate since 2007 the manufacturing sector is set for steady rather than rapid growth.

This combined with output for the overall industrial sector underperforming means that the industry is unlikely to be the driving force of the UK’s economic recovery.

Key economists have raised concerns over a unsustainable recovery led by household spending and government schemes such as Help to Buy, more so at a time when is has been suggested that it will take six years before real wages return to their 2009 peak.

It is vital to the economy’s recovery that the manufacturing sector performs and using methods such as lean manufacturing to make efficiency gains could go a long way to help stifle the slowdown.

However key figures in the manufacturing sector have expressed their optimism despite the slowing growth. Lee Hopley, Chief Economist at the EEF Manufacturers’ Organisation has said that growth will continue and expects an expansion of 0.6% in the first quarter of 2014. He also  added that as the year progresses demand for exports will increase and in time the data will represent this.