Why stand up meetings belong in Lean business culture
I came across stand-up meetings many years ago. I had a very forward-thinking project manager and I was a team leader mechanic. He had set up a daily stand-up meeting with a visual management and KPI board. The meetings were held in the workshop on a mine site. In other words, in the Gemba.
Accountability
The board helped the project manager to drive accountability through the business and through the workshop. The meeting would start with the question, what was our plan yesterday? How did we go executing on that plan? What new issues do we have? It was a short, sharp, 10-minute meeting where he, as the leader of this department, had the opportunity to drive some serious accountability.
The Importance of Preparation
Held To Account
Stand-up Meetings Are Effective
Combination of Lean and Kaizen
The stand-up meeting combines a few important elements of Lean. Sometimes it is called the process improvement discussion. It is a fundamental part of the Lean culture of information flow and communication. It’s a fundamental part of visual management as well. The other part of the stand up meeting and the board that contains the KPI’s is to facilitate Kaizen. Poor results can be funneled into more Kaizen activities to improve the results.
Powerful & Direct Tool
Culturally, within Lean and Kaizen it’s a part of how we behave. We stand up around that board on a regular basis and have a meeting to discuss all the issues and all the successes within an area. It’s very powerful and very direct.
Valuable For Management
Consistent With Lean Principles
If management takes the opportunity to stand with the team around that board on a regular basis and discuss the performance and results and the challenges and the successes, management is, in effect, towing the line and walking the talk of Lean and Kaizen.
One Important Step
Stand-up Meetings In A Big Department or Company
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Respect,
Daniel.
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