LEAN NEEDS BOTH PICTURES

The lean production methodology has been used to great effect across a wide range of manufacturing enterprises. With it, manufacturing engineers and supervisors have simplified their processes and eliminated costly and burdensome waste throughout their production systems. The clear and straightforward approach lean methodology uses makes it possible for everyone to participate in these process improvements in a meaningful way. This article discusses two types of lean and their relationship with each other. The first type, "detail focused lean" also called "small picture lean", is what most lean work does now. The second type "big picture lean" focuses on the system level changes and effects they have. Hopefully, the reader sees the value and need for both levels of tools and analysis. Economics has macroeconomics and microeconomics. Physics has classical (Newtonian) mechanics and quantum mechanics. Lean needs to have big picture lean and detail focused lean.