How is transformation different from tool implementation?

Tool implementation usually begins with the question, "What will we implement?" This year, 5S, next year, SMED, then maybe TPM. Each of these tools is good, but choosing one that doesn't address the company's biggest problem yields only marginal results.

Imagine a facility that has been organizing all its workstations using the 5S method for a year. The facility looks much better, but orders are still delayed because everything is waiting for a single painting machine. From the customer's perspective, nothing has changed.

The second difference is less visible and concerns managers. David Mann, author of "Creating a Lean Culture," estimates that tools account for roughly 20% of the effort in a successful transformation. The remaining 80% comes from changing how managers work and think every day. This is a practical estimate, not a research result, but it captures the balance well. You can paint new lines on the floor in a single weekend. It's much harder to get a shift manager to check daily to make sure everyone is following them.

Five questions that start the transformation

There's no single, official recipe for Lean transformation. Various consulting firms have their own models. However, a good point of reference is the model from the American Lean Enterprise Institute, which boils down transformation to five questions:

1. What problem do we want to solve? Or, to put it another way: what value do we want to provide to the customer, and what's getting in the way?
2. How do you need to change the job itself to solve this problem?
3. What skills do people need to do this work and continue to improve?
4. How do managers have to work? How often do they visit the shop floor, how do they respond to problems, and what are performance reviews like?
5. What beliefs underlie how we operate today, and which of them need to be changed?

The order matters. It starts with the problem, and tools only emerge in the second question, as a way to change the work. The final three questions concern people and management. They determine whether the change will survive.

What does this look like in practice? The Leantrix Model

Leantrix leads transformations using a proprietary model it calls the LeanTrix Transformation Loop. It has seven steps, but it's easier to understand by dividing it into three parts.

First, diagnosis and decision.

The team looks for the limiting factor in the overall company's performance. Leantrix utilizes the Theory of Constraints (TOC), which assumes that the performance of an entire system is determined by its weakest link. Management then appoints a person responsible for the change, with decision-making authority, and a team from various departments. A one- to three-year goal is created, described as the outcome the company wants to achieve.

Then work in short cycles.

A large goal is divided into stages, each lasting a maximum of three months. This approach comes from Toyota Kata, a method described by Mike Rother: the team identifies where they are today and where they want to be at the end of the stage, and then tests subsequent ideas in practice. Only then are tools such as Lean, TWI, Six Sigma, problem-solving methods , or digitalization selected. The choice is determined by what is currently blocking progress.

Finally, people and consolidation.

The company is growing a group of people who can lead change themselves. What works becomes the standard. The team sets the next goal and begins the next cycle.

According to Leantrix, an entire program typically lasts one to three years, with individual waves of change lasting three to six months. They cite their collaboration with Cooper Standard as an example: eight years, 70 plants on four continents. The solutions weren't replicated one-by-one; they were tailored to each plant. Details can be found in the project description.

What is changing in the work of managers?

Since most of the effort involves management, it's worth showing what it looks like on a day-to-day basis. Companies that have undergone transformation typically repeat the same elements.

A fixed daily schedule for the supervisor. The shift manager has a record of what to check and when. For example, a line round at a specific time, a board review with the team, or a discussion about issues from the previous shift. This means the supervisor isn't dependent on whether they have time.

Short meetings at the whiteboard. The team meets for a few minutes every day, standing up, at the whiteboard with the plan and execution. They discuss what went wrong yesterday and who will address it. Problems surface before they escalate.

Presence on the floor. Senior executives regularly attend where value is created. Read more about this in our article about the Gemba Walk.

The board is a common work tool here. Our experience designing boards follows a few rules: It should hang where the team gathers anyway. It should be legible from two or three meters away, because during a meeting, no one is standing with their nose to the board. And it should allow for quick changes to the content, because the plan, results, and list of issues change daily. If an update requires printing and laminating, no one does it after a week. We show examples of such boards in the article on using boards in team management.

The hall changes with each cycle

The transformation takes years, so the warehouse doesn't change once. After the first cycle, the buffer before the bottleneck is moved. After the second, the line layout changes. After the third, the warehouse receives new storage bays.

If everything is painted permanently after the first cycle, the floor will need to be sanded during the second. It's worse if the old markings are left next to the new ones. The employee then sees two lines and has to guess which one is valid.

Therefore, it is worth dividing the markings into two groups.

Signage that changes less frequently:

Transport routes, pedestrian crossings, health and safety signs, and evacuation routes. Some of these are required by regulations and must be legible at all times. In this case, it's worth investing in the strongest possible paint or stickers. However, it's fair to say that if the transformation changes the flow of material, transport routes may also shift. Our article on minimum transport route widths.

Signage that should be easy to change:

Storage areas, buffers, scoreboards, and instructions at stations. Floor tapes, floor windows with replaceable inserts, and opening document frames work best here. When the layout changes, you simply replace the insert or re-adhere the tape instead of starting over.

Another thing only emerges after several cycles. Each team introduces its own markings. The first buys yellow tape, the second a slightly different shade, and the third uses blue for something that means something different in the adjacent hall. Therefore, it's worth establishing a common standard for colors, symbols, and materials from the outset, along with a person to enforce it. We described how to develop such a standard in the article " How to Design a Coherent Signage System in a Plant?"

Why do transformations stop?

Lean articles often cite the figure that 70% of transformations end in failure. This figure deserves to be treated with caution. Mark Graban, author of books on Lean, traced its origins and found no reliable research. The outcome depends largely on what someone considers a failure.

What's more interesting is how transformations end. Rarely does anyone declare a project a failure. Rather, change fades away quietly: board meetings become less frequent, results cease to be updated, and people stop reporting problems.

The reasons most often cited by practitioners and researchers are similar:

• the company implements tools but does not change the management method, so after the project is completed everything returns to the old habits,
• managers return to their old work style because it has brought them success over the years, and no one reinforces new behaviors,
• change depends on one person, an internal leader or an external consultant, and disappears with him,
• projects are not related to the company's results, so when problems first arise, the management considers them unnecessary.

From our perspective, the first sign can be very simple. It's a board with the same plan posted for two weeks. If you see such a board in your facility, you don't need an audit to know that something is broken.

Where to start with Lean transformation?

Leantrix begins with a conversation with management and a one-day audit. The outcome is a pinpointed focus area that most likely limits the company's performance and a recommendation for next steps. Only then is a decision made on whether and how to implement the transformation.

For our part, it's worth doing one more thing right from the start: documenting what the facility looks like today. Photos and descriptions of the current signage will be useful in a year's time when you want to show what's changed. They will also help you decide which signs to keep for years to come and which to treat as temporary. We prepare such documentation during a visual management audit.

Who can help with what?

Lean Transformation FAQs

How is Lean transformation different from Lean implementation?

Implementation typically involves selected tools or a single area. Transformation encompasses the entire company: it begins with a problem that limits its performance, changes management methods, and continues in subsequent cycles.

How long does a Lean transformation take?

According to Leantrix, the entire program typically lasts one to three years and consists of three- to six-month waves of change. In practice, the transformation has no end date, as a new goal is set after each cycle.

Is Lean transformation for every company?

Leantrix targets this program at medium-sized and large organizations where strategic and financial decisions are made in Poland. Smaller companies will often benefit from Lean Management training focused on their processes or a project focused on a single area. We've covered how to choose such training in our article, " How to Choose Lean Training."

Is it true that most Lean transformations fail? Popular figures like 70% failure don't have a solid foundation. However, it's well known that changes most often fizzle out when a company implements tools without changing its management approach.

Are you planning a company-wide change?

Start by speaking with Leantrix and conducting an audit to identify what's most limiting your company's performance. As changes begin to roll out, we'll help you plan your signage and displays to keep pace with the changes.