The Role Of The Plant Manager in Lean
Jim Huntzinger and Michel Baudin discuss the role of the plant manager in Lean implementation. They cover:
- public aspect of the role and the pressure it is subjected to,
- lean leadership,
- key areas and responsibilities of plant manager,
- identifying and selecting improvement projects,
- importance of pilot projects,
- what makes an effective plant manager,
- common career path towards plant manager role,
- what is company culture,
- importance of continuous learning,
- 3 top things a plant manager has to do to successfully implement lean in his plant: (1) study Toyota Production System, (2) do not underestimate the engineering issues of Lean implementation, and (3) accept improvement ideas from sister-plants;
- recommended reading for plant managers,
- 3 things that plant manager should never do: (1) implement tools without thinking, (2) inject his/her own ideas during technical discussions, (3) be a suit;
- how to empower staff to do improvement,
- how to deal with Lean sceptics, and
- engaging executives in the Lean transformation.
This post was originally written for The Lean Presentation.