WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2004 – Widespread interest in converting businesses to "Lean" started with a book that generated significant interest in the automotive industry.

“The Machine That Changes the Work” (Womack, Jones, Roos-1986) caused many people in that industry to realize that the Japanese had developed a production system that created better performance in terms of quality, cost and delivery.

In a follow-up book “Lean Thinking” (Womack and Jones- 1996) the authors created a great deal more interest in "Lean."

According to Womack and Jones there are five key principles of "Lean" thinking:

• Value: Exactly what are customers willing to pay for?
• Value Stream: Everything that goes into creating and delivering the value to the end-customer.
• Flow: Challenges an organization to reorganize the Value Stream so that it is continuous.
• Pull: Challenges an organization to only respond “on demand” to the downstream customer.
• Perfection: Perfection challenges an organization to create compelling quality (“defect free”), while also reducing cost (“lowest cost”).

To understand the "Lean" process, you must be able to recognize a value stream, define "Six Sigma" and "Theory of Constraint."

To define a value stream you must know that it includes all the steps (both value added and non-value added) in a process that the customer is willing to pay for in order to bring a product, or service through the main flow essential to producing that product or service.

In other words, it is an end-to-end collection of activities that create or achieve improved results for a customer.

The value stream is made up of everything that supports the value stream tasks and activities, including:

• The people who perform the tasks and their knowledge and skills
• The tools and technology that are used to perform and support the value stream tasks
• The physical facilities and environment in which the value stream resides
• The organization and culture of the enterprise which owns the value stream
• The values and beliefs that dictate the corporate culture and behaviors that affect the way in which work is accomplished
• The communication channels and the way in which information is disseminated through the enterprise
• The policies, procedures, and processes which govern the activities of the value stream
• The social systems that support the value stream

The goal of "Six Sigma" is to increase profits by eliminating variability, defects and waste that undermine customer loyalty.

"Six Sigma" is a concept that gives businesses the tools to improve their business processes through training. The primary focus for the deployment will have a great deal of impact on expected accomplishments.

There are many reasons an organization chooses to deploy "Six Sigma," including quality to economics and customer service.

For instance, if the purpose behind the deployment is primarily financial, employees should be told about the financial situation of the company and the need for improving the value proposition.

If the focus is on improving quality, communications should contain an explanation of customer quality expectations and current level of performance with respect to these expectations.

Additionally, employees should understand their own roles in the deployment. Employees should also know the expected outcome of the "Lean" projects. "Six Sigma" is primarily about changing the culture of an organization's problem-solving strategy. Culture change will succeed or fail in direct proportion to the quality of communication that leads the process.

"Theory of Constraints" is an overall management philosophy that has its basis in the manufacturing environment. It was developed by Dr. E. M. Goldratt and recognizes that organizations exist to achieve a goal. Using this philosophy enables the managers of a system to achieve the maximum amount that the system is designed to produce.

If, for example, the goal of a business is to improve business processes now and in the future, it is suggested that "Theory of Constraints" will enable the managers of the company to do so.

A factor that limits a company’s ability to achieve more of its goal is referred to as a constraint. Businesses need to identify and manage constraints.

Naval Sea Systems Command recognizes "Lean" as a tool that will positively impact its entire enterprise.

It is a fundamentally different and often counter-intuitive process of running business based on the "Lean" principles of (1) build to order, (2) continuous improvement, and (3) the elimination of waste.

Using "Lean" techniques, command employees have an opportunity to hone their creative skills for work productivity methods and policies into powerfully efficient operations.