Lean Engineer

Lean Engineer responsibilities

The lean manager’s job is to optimize the production or service process. As such he would need to go beyond departmental borders. The tasks he needs to do start from defining the process and products, studying the current process and designing production with lean management concepts, and down the line including implementation and operations:

1. The lean manager is tasked to define the product, service or family of product and services. The product or service is defined based on the input and parts, as well as routing and processes involved.

2. Create a state value stream map which includes all the value streams in the process.

3. Study the current state map based on all available data.

4. Create a long term ideal state map. This should include the product value streams as they would appear in the long term.

5. Optimize the state map with the use of lean techniques. This will point out possible waste, eliminate the identified waste sources, and create short and middle term state maps which improve on the process value.

6. Create an implementation plan to turn the current state map to the short term, mid-term and long term state map.

7. Implement the plan. As the lean manager, he will have to lead the implementation.

8. In line with the implementation, the lean manager has to mobilize the stakeholders, including employees of the various departments, suppliers and customers. They should be appraised of the required changes as the plan is implemented.

9. Provide leadership in the day-to-day operations of the value stream. This ensures that the stakeholders meet the current production demands, at the same time the changes are improvements are also met.