Lean's ‘ticket to play’ concept
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Question 1 (b)
Lean, as a minimum, is a ‘ticket to play.’ Many different views have been aired as to the exact interpretation of this phrase. Nevertheless, it appears more plausible that lean is about standards and waste minimization. The ‘ticket to play’ concept is all about translating a company’s improvements into standards. Standards should capture the best practices being used currently, the ‘right way of doing work’, as well as the establishment of a baseline for improving further. With high standards, systems can never be possible unless the references those standards provide are followed. Lean’s ‘ticket to play’ also means analyzing a company’s degree of standardization, entire workflow, accessibility of its standards, controls and content, how well plant and office processes are covered with the procedures, as well as the techniques applied to keep such standards up-to-date and relevant.
In the concept of ‘ticket to play’, rationalization is an important factor. In this viewpoint, all leveraging existing possibilities are meant to improve productivity. Continual rise of productivity is essential in the maintenance of a healthy margin throughout the lifecycle of an economy. The audit and review of the lean’s ‘ticket to play’ is about the application of knowledge practically to improve on the efficiency, operating controls, and coordination of resources. The potential to rationalize properly is determined by the degree of automation, selected approach to increase productivity, degree of supplier integration, quality of improvement ideas, application of information technology, as well as the capability of the technology.
Even mere survival in a particular industry requires application of lean principles. In the modern competitive world, wastage has to be minimized and customer satisfaction met. These two aspects now are the fundamental factors for continued running of any enterprise. ‘A ticket to play’ may also refer to unmatched potential to adapt to any changes in the preferences of customers, technological advances, as well as the competitive landscape changes. Lean, as ‘a ticket to play’ takes the management of change seriously, as the latter is critical to organizational success. Because lean can drive a continual improvement that demands change, it is important to associate it with the concept of ‘ticket to play’ at all times.