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Growth through mutual trust

Lean thinking is not a BPR exercise. It is not an event with the employees being the actors. It is not a waste elimination exercise. It is not a resource cutting exercise whereby resources are cut indiscriminately to create successful growth companies.

Lean thinking is a management philosophy based on long term thinking, but with short term action and continuous improvements in its implementation. A key factor is the importance paid to the employee as being the key source for organizational learning and development. Growth through mutual trust.

In a Lean organization, the employee does not worry that continuous improvements will lead to loss of the job. The improved competitiveness of the organization means that new opportunities, previously not envisaged will appear. Resources freed up in one part of the organization will be used in other parts, as e.g.:

• Promotion to be part of an improvement team,
• Areas where workload balancing is needed,
• Reduction or elimination of overtime,
• Easing of workload variance due to seasonality in demand,
• Handling of tasks previously being out-sourced,
• Handling of tasks previously handled by supplier or customer,
• Coverage of increased demand due to increased competitiveness which earlier would have included additional hiring,
• Handling of totally new tasks which increases value for the customer, and which creates additional revenues,
• Etc.

It is a matter of a long term effort whereby freed up resources are reinvested.
The policy is that notice to employees only are being implemented in the most extreme circumstances and as a last resort, and then with total openness.

It is therefore important that before the implementation of Lean a thorough gap-analysis is carried out, which includes the analysis and identification of any surplus resources. The communication of the existence, and handling of any surplus resources and the handling of these resources must not be mixed up with the plan to introduce Lean thinking in the organization.

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