Ryan Tierney has been an enthusiastic advocate of Lean thinking for almost a decade and has inspired organizations all over the world to embrace Lean principles.
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What is Lean?
Simply put, lean manufacturing is a method to reduce non value added activities from a process so that we can add more value to our customer. But lean is not limited to manufacturing, in fact lean is a mindset, a way of thinking. 90% of everything we do is waste or non value added activity, therefore the task of reducing waste is a never ending project! The key to getting Lean to take roots in your organisation is to create a culture of continuous improvement were every single person in the organisation is committed to small daily incremental improvements. Lean thinking has transformed the performance of organisations all over the world and it can do the same for you!
My Story
Almost a decade ago I went home from work really frustrated, the business wasn’t running the way I wanted it to run, we had lots of production issues, lots of defects and it was a very stressful environment to work in. I said to myself “there has to be a better way” I started researching and came across Lean on You Tube. I sat up all night and watched videos repeatedly. Being exposed to this new way of thinking was a light bulb moment for me. I went into work the next day after discovering Lean and announced to our entire team that we were going to start practicing this transformative business philosophy.
Today our company is unrecognisable from where it was a decade ago, and it is all down to the power of Lean thinking
Since discovering Lean, several members of our team have travelled to Japan, Canada, USA and Germany to further our understanding of Lean and we have brought this knowledge back to our company. Today our organization stands as an example of world class Lean Manufacturing. Lean principles can be implemented into any organisation or industry.
I hope Lean has the same impact for you as it has had for me over the past decade.
Ryan Tierney
