Developing a Lean Workforce: A Guide for Human Resources, Plant Managers, and Lean Coordinators

Changing an organization from a mass manufacturing environment to a lean environment is significant and affects all levels of the company if the implementation is done correctly. Many times, however, lean implementers become so involved with the nuts and bolts of lean implementation that the "people" side of the business is neglected. Transform your HR Department into an Agent of Change during Lean Implementation.

With an HR perspective, veteran consultants Chris Harris and Rick Harris walk readers through a simple, step-by-step proven method for transforming a mass production workforce into a lean thinking one that possesses the necessary skills, training, and attitude to march in a new direction. They explain the role of human resources in a lean-oriented facility, emphasizing systematic training that continues for all employees. They also discuss the value of promoting employees from within a facility to team leader and group leader positions, and the importance of flexibility. This critically acclaimed book includes sample training sessions with explanations.

Most of us are now far enough down the path in lean production to realize that the results lie in the details. This short volume presents all of the details you will need to create a frontline workforce and system of direct supervision that can effectively plan, do, reflect, and adjust, as you move your own operations steadily ahead.--James Womack, Chairman, Lean Enterprise Institute

Chris Harris, coauthor of the 2005 Shingo Award winning book Making Materials Flow, is Vice President of Operations at Harris Lean Systems (www.harrisleansystems.com). Chris earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Falls School of Business at Anderson University and currently serves on the faculty of the Lean Enterprise Institute. Since 2001, he has worked with Harris Lean Systems to help numerous U.S. organizations implement lean manufacturing systems. Chris also teaches workshops on various lean manufacturing topics at various events and facilities throughout the United States. Rick Harris has coauthored two Shingo Prize Award winning books: Creating Continuous Flow and Making Materials Flow, published by James P. Womack and the Lean Enterprise Institute. One of the principal speakers at The Lean Enterprise Institute’s monthly lean confer[1]nce, Rick has also been a featured presenter at the University of Michigan Lean Manufacturing Conference, the European Lean Enterprise Institute Summit, the Maynard Forum, the PERA Conference, the Mississippi State Annual Lean Conference, the European AME Conference, the AME Conference in Chicago, the University of Kentucky Lean Leadership Forum, and the Lean Summit Brazil.