Enterprise Ireland supports companies on their lean journey. “LeanStart is for companies just starting out on the path,” says Hernan. “It provides an introduction to lean thinking and allows businesses to gain an understanding of what the lean approach, tools and techniques can do for it in a short, focused engagement involving seven days’ support from an external consultant.”LeanPlus is for businesses further along the path to adopting lean principles.
“The result should be a companywide transformation in culture and productivity performance, including digitalisation,” says Hernan. “There are lots of tools and techniques but it’s really about people problem solving and delivering better value for customers,” he adds. “It’s not a one-off project. It’s about continuously improving across everything you do.”The results of the application of lean principles are impressive. Hernan points to Arderin Distillery in Tullamore as one example.
People come in to do a good day’s work. It’s up to management to get rid of the roadblocks and allow people to be the best they can beGrowth media producer Klasmann Dielmann in Westmeath identified more than 300 improvement projects in a year, Hernan adds. “Phonovation also loves lean,” he adds. “The team at the telecommunications service provider came up with over 2,000 improvement ideas last year. Dairygold got a 10 per cent increase in productivity from LeanTransform.