Lean Manufacturing Training Competencies

By Ben Roush and Sean Bates

Introduction: 

When was the last time you trained your operations group on Lean basics - not just HR onboarding, but ongoing coaching? 

Ask yourself: 

• Has your operations group been fully trained on Lean Standard Work, covering the entire process?
  

• Do your modified Operator Work Instructions include all necessary requirements, including cycle times?
  

• Do your Standard Work layouts show how the material flows into and out of the production cell? 

• Do you have defined Standard Work for your material handling group or your tugger driver? 

• Do you implement Operator Basic 5S and Autonomous Maintenance activities to ensure visual management, cleanliness, and strong process adherence?
  

Without sustained Lean training and reinforcement, team members - especially supervisors - often lack the tools and support they need to succeed.

The Role of Supervisors: 

Being an effective supervisor requires a broader skill set than that of a team leader – one focused on coaching to and sustaining standards.

It is our job to teach the supervisors what our standards are and how they can use Lean Principles to meet these goals. They can’t meet expectations without clear communication and the right tools. 

The supervisors may not have the same degree of Lean training or experience as you, so providing structured development is key. 

Just as you can’t expect anyone else in your company to give you exactly what you need, you must take it upon yourself to lead your group well and do right by them.

It is your job to ensure that your supervisors and operators are proficient in the following Lean Manufacturing Training Competencies.

Lean Manufacturing Training Competencies

1. Standard Work Principles:

These principles can be applied through a few, well-planned kaizen workshops.

• Standard Work for Operators: Includes shift start up, poka-yoke checks, work sequences, visual inspections, and targeted cycle times
  

• Standard Manpower Calculations (OCT/TT”): These calculations help design tighter cells and integrate processes. Non-value-added activities are not included in this formula.
  

• Standard Work layouts: The second page/tab of the Standard Work Instruction provides a visual overview of the cell. It shows the material flow into and out of the cell, operator positions, tool locations, and the quality system flow for inspections. This layout will drive Standard Work for material handlers and quality support personnel.
  

• Standard Combination worksheet or MA: Shows the relationship between machine cycle times, operator cycle times, and work elements
  

• 5S to AM Work Instructions: Includes a calendar, tool lists, work sequences, and pictures of critical steps. Consider adding these as dedicated tabs within the work instructions.

2. Basic Lean Quality Systems:

These systems can be applied by pulling key supervisors out of production and assigning them to the launch team several months before launch.

• FMEA (Product and Process): Let supervisors see how the cut-and-paste approach has watered down the planning side
  

• Control Plans: Define both cyclical and non-cyclical elements of the daily quality system   

• Critical Checks: Integrate critical checks into inspection and test documents on both an hourly and shift basis; implement quality gates in the build sequence
  

• Error-Proofing: Create training schedules to move colleagues across more cells during launch to glean operator insights and strengthen mistake-proofing

 

3. 5S to Autonomous Maintenance Methods and Structure: 

Start this progression with simple plant manager guidance and a one-hour 5S training focused on an applied environment, rather than abstract theories.

• Ensure all team members have received 5S training. One hour is sufficient to instruct them on practical applications. Theoretical concepts are unlikely to truly motivate your colleagues.
  

• The activity calendar should be defined and published at the work cell.
  

• Work instructions should be simple and clearly separate easy tasks from technical AM items.  

• Cleaning tools should be in place and be effectively replenished. Ensure that operators know how to use them correctly.
  

• Run live audits and prioritize active recognition.

  
  

  

4. Practical Problem-Solving:

Use examples of quality and downtime issues to teach Practical Problem-Solving. Keep pushing the language and giving assignments where the problem-solving format must be used. “If you don’t direct it, don’t expect it.”

• Avoid the old, customer-driven 8D process. Instead of chasing 24-hour root cause solutions and rapid containment, focus on practical problem-solving for long-term results.

  
  

• Use a good Practical Problem-Solving format suitable for solving both quality and downtime issues. There is nothing wrong with investing the time to teach teams how to properly describe a problem. 

  
  

• Properly describing and defining the problem is half the battle. Afterwards, you can 5Why, fishbone, and 5W1H forever!

5. Shopfloor Board Meetings:

   Hold a concise, daily board meeting with a clear agenda and cross-functional participation.

• Meet daily at 10am. Don’t hold this meeting at the start of the shift.
  

• Align board content to the plant goals. When a manager requests excessive metrics, it reveals a lack of production experience. Safety, Quality, and Throughput should be prioritized to prevent metric overload.
  

• Track performance to targets. Raise targets after sustained "green" performance.   

• Ensure cross-functional representation with the operations, maintenance, materials, and quality departments all reporting out as needed. Assign tasks to resolve any identified issues. However, note that this is NOT intended to be a scheduling meeting. Schedules should be handed out at 6am, at or before the start of shift.

  
  

• At minimum, review Safety, Quality and Throughput performance.
  

6. Train the Trainer Process:

Use an evidence-based adult learning model and a standard training method to ensure reliable skill transfer.

• Adult Learning Design: Research-based methods are applied to train new manufacturing talent effectively.
  

• Beyond Shadowing: “Hanging out with Hank” is not an effective way to ensure training! Informal shadowing is not a substitute for structured programs.  

• Align with Standard Work: Use Train the Trainer to reinforce Standard Work principles and utilize participant feedback to drive trainee improvement.
  

• Teaching How to Teach: Instruction on how to teach Standard Work sequences and critical steps is needed, even for experienced Trainers.
  

• Listed Learning Outcomes: The defined learning outcomes must be task-centered and measurable.
  

• Challenges and Practice: Incorporate operator challenges to reinforce the training process.
  

• Stakeholder Involvement: Involve operators, supervisors, engineers, and quality personnel when developing training and driving change.

Summary: 

Reflect on your career journey - how did you reach this point? You likely received excellent instruction in Lean application and production.

The “launch period” is usually a good time to pull this off.  

As the manufacturing sector continues to lose its base of talent and plant-level production support, having structured training processes becomes a strategic advantage. The state-level funding and corporate training budgets are usually the last items spent in the bigger manufacturing companies, but it is time for this to change.

Many HR departments are spending more time onboarding new employees than executing the old HR development strategies, such as planning and scheduling effective, ongoing training plans.

What kind of training does your environment need right now?

If your operations group hasn't received Lean training recently, now is the time to act. Integrate the Lean Manufacturing Training Competencies into a cohesive training plan, then provide ongoing support to sustain results.

“If you don’t direct it, don’t expect it”.