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Success equates to reducing cycle time, inventories and costs. The Lean Manufacturing Certification program helps manufacturers see how they "measure up" to industry leaders and how they can reach full potential performance levels.

Most metal manufacturers haven't reached performance levels possible with lean manufacturing. Many have applied lean principles, but most haven't made the complete lean transition.

Lean consultant R. Michael Donovan (www.rmdonovan.com) says "Lean manufacturing allows fabricators and metalworkers to quickly react to changes in customer demand - and respond with little inventory." He insists that "today, lean supply chain performance must become the goal of every manufacturer… streamlining business and production processes to significantly reduce cycle time, decrease inventories, lower costs and increase customer service has become the mandate for survival."

This theme has led to development of a lean manufacturing assessment and scoring system for lean certification (similar to the ISO certification process.) The Lean Manufacturing Performance Certification AssessmentSM assists manufacturers assess their current lean status.

The Lean Manufacturing CertificationSM (LMC) program allows manufacturers to "measure up" to world-class manufacturing principles and best practices. The end result here is an objective, comprehensive action plan that provides specific steps to achieving higher performance. Translation: manufacturers save money, increase productivity, profitability and continue an ongoing improvement process.

The LMC assessment and scoring system allows lean experts to evaluate and rate hundreds of lean manufacturing criteria inside a manufacturer's plant. Once improvement opportunities are identified and the impact defined, the presented findings translate into an action plan to accelerate performance improvement.

Donovan says, "A rigorous, comprehensive assessment and scoring methodology gives management a firm handle on how effectively a plant applies lean principles in each area. An action plan keeps a manufacturer focused on the right targets in the most effective sequence."

A metal manufacturer recently achieving breakthrough performance improvements supports this program. Decreased cycle time-from six weeks to four days, doubled sales projections and an increased gross margin of 12 points, only increases this manufacturer's desire to continue improvement efforts.

How do you measure up?

1. Have our key personnel been thoroughly trained in all aspects of lean manufacturing and lean thinking?
2. Have we mapped all supply chain processes, clearly identifying value-added and non-value-added activities, bottlenecks, queues, cycle times, etc.?
3. Has the business impact of a lean supply chain and quick response been assessed?
4. Have we organized and trained multi-functional teams with an accountable leader to streamline processes and shorten cycle times for all manufacturing, non-manufacturing and administrative processes?
5. Have we specifically defined the barriers to a lean supply chain and have an action plan in place to remove the barriers?
6. Are we actively working with key vendors to achieve mutually agreed-upon improvement objectives?
7. Have we produced substantial improvements in order-to-delivery flow and cycle time by improving information quality and flow, reducing queues in manufacturing and non-manufacturing areas?
8. Are our primary performance measurements and reward system heavily weighted towards fast, on-time customer response with minimum inventories?
9. Can we precisely predict our lead time for customer orders or to replenish inventories?
10. Do we have absolute top management commitment and active involvement to create a lean supply chain?

Thomas R. Cutler is president and CEO of TR Cutler, Inc., 3032 S. Oakland Forest Drive, Suite 2803, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309, 954-486-7562, Fax: 954-739-4602, trcutler@trcutler.com.