At the end of the 19th century, the world of work was revolutionized by a new mode of organization: Taylorism, which radically changed working practices, and in particular relations between individuals. Since then, other types of organization have developed along the same lines, such as Fordism and Toyotism. While Lean Management used to focus mainly on the industrial sector, it now applies to all types of business.

Lean Management is a method of work organization and management aimed at continuous improvement. The ultimate goal is customer satisfaction and shorter lead times. It meets the need for quality and profitability.

Lean Management is based on 5 main principles:

• Identify the company’s value: sales of products or services? Who are the project’s internal and external stakeholders?
• Map the value chain to identify the people involved and the actions to be taken, in the form of a diagram. The aim of this phase is to eliminate the waste that occurs at every stage of the process;
• Create a continuous process or workflow: once the value chain has been established, won plan needs to be re-evaluated according to the risks that may arise in the production chain. The aim is to eradicate the problem;
• Create a pull system: once the process has stabilized, the aim is to complete tasks more quickly and smoothly;
• Implement continuous improvement: even if your process system is stable, problems can still arise. As a manager, you need to anticipate constraints.

Lean Management aims to :

• Increase customer satisfaction;
• Improve the performance and quality produced by the company;
• Develop employee involvement and better meet their needs;
• Avoiding waste, i.e. the loss of resources.

Before looking at the tools of Lean Management, it’s important to consider the notion of waste. There are several:

• Overproduction inevitably leads to losses and waste;
• Overstocking alone takes up space, financial assets and waste;
• Unnecessary transport should be kept to a minimum;
• Unnecessary movements;
• Manufacturing defects ;
• Waiting times ;
• Failure to optimize resources, both human and financial.

In Lean Management, tools are used to improve performance and reduce waste. There are a number of different types to meet different business needs:

• 5S: this method aims to improve quality and productivity in the workplace, and comprises 5 stages: sorting (eliminating what is superfluous or unnecessary in the work environment), tidying (files, documents), cleaning (overall environment), simplifying (tools, processes) and sustaining (continuous progress);
• PDCA (Plan, Develop, Control, Adjust) is organized around 4 stages: planning, analysis of process problems, development of solutions, control of methods used and adjustment. This method, also known as the “Deming wheel”, is applied in the areas of management and strategic divisions;
• SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die), which makes it possible to organize the distribution of work by modifying the distribution of tasks;
• The flow map, also known as VSM cartography, is an analysis and representation tool that enables you to map challenges and possible changes in order to improve performance. Used in the logistics sector and by all types of companies faced with a demand, this map includes 3 types of flows: material flows, information flows and time flows;
• Kanban: created in 1940 by Toyota’s founder, Taiichi OHNO, this method aims to move from a system where products are on the market to the creation of products according to market demand. In practical terms, Kanban boards enable you to visualize all your work in order to limit the number of tasks in progress and thus improve and better manage workflows. Industrial production companies often use this kind of tool to avoid mass inventory.