Employees have lots of reasons to resist change, from apathy to fear. However, many employers miss the biggest reason their workforce might balk at change: Not all ideas for change are good and productive! 2020 is the year that no one saw coming, rife with business challenges from the pandemic, fires, political unrest, and more. America’s vulnerability to overseas suppliers is a strong argument for manufacturing to return to the United States. However, this will present significant challenges, as American companies try to attain the level of productivity of countries such as, for example, Japan, which has learned to streamline production into smaller footprints. Change is necessary if American manufacturing is to succeed.

Lean works, and it will impact every single fiber of your organization’s operational fabric. It will be woven into your quality, productivity, service, customer satisfaction, safety, growth, and financial processes. Lean is not people dependent, it is process dependent, built upon standards and consistency. It exposes waste and promotes value, enabling you to realize capacity…