In the simplest terms productivity is the amount of output per unit of input - a ratio measurement of how well an organisation, industry or even a country converts input resources of materials, labour and machines into an output.
Output is usually described as goods or services. Productivity in itself it is not a measure of efficiency or value but is generally an overall relevant description of comparative or like business sectors across geographic locations (a Benchmark).
When productivity is growing, our living standards tend to rise and when productivity stagnates so does our well being. It is said that the measurement of productivity ratios is the most important with respect to economic well-being.
The changing needs and competitive pressures of customers, technology and the global economy are affecting most if not all organisations and most business sectors in some form, making productivity improvement a continuous challenge.
What is Lean Thinking?
In this context Lean is described as meaning without waste and when combined as Lean Thinking has the intended definition that from a customer perspective every aspect of our business process, systems and activities provide never ending continuos improvement of customer value.
This Customer Value is optimised by the continuous improvement of processes, systems and activities by the elimination of waste in the delivery of goods and services.
Lean Thinking helps us to become far more competitive and improves operating efficiency, overall productivity and lowers costs considerably. It is based on the Toyota Production System (TPS) which continues to make that company the leader in operations, design and productivity globally.
Productivity Australia approach is that Lean Thinking is the Common Mind Model required at the onset of change and provides a powerful, improvement philosophy, cultural base and common language before embarking on the Lean Management application of Lean Business Solutions and Six Sigma Tools.
Lean Thinking can be applied to any organisation and in any sector; even though its origins were from the Automotive Sector the principles and techniques are absolutely transferable. Productivity Australia has trained and provided consultancy, mentoring resources applying these Lean Principles and techniques within the Finance, Health, Automotive, Plastics, Metals, Furniture, Electronics, Hardware, Whitegoods, Food, Utilities and education sectors with equal success and significant improvement outcomes.
Why
become a Lean Thinking Organisation?
We continue to face fierce competition from a global market that has a huge under utilised capacity and economies of scale by comparison to Australian organisations. To combat this, we have to manage and lead our businesses (Large or Small) in cost reduction initiatives driven by true productivity improvement (not cost cutting), customer retention by providing best value from operations and product design whilst spending the least amount possible.
Lean Thinking and Lean Management combination is a well established and proven way to deliver sustainable improvement throughout any organisation, bringing about quantifiable increases in productivity, efficiency and quality that make your organisation truly globally competitive or world class. Readmore
