Here is the second part of my exchange with Slava Boltrukevich. He is the head of the Production Management Department at the Institute for Complex Strategic Studies, the leading publisher of Lean books in Russian (and the website is in Russian). Slava is also an assistant professor, teaching Lean in the Graduate School of Business Administration of Moscow State University
Metallurgy companies have come to understanding that lean can help to improve productivity, which is very difficult in process industries. All of them, RUSAL, Nornikel, Severstal and others are working with major consultant companies to implement lean techniques in their work
My personal perspective on this is controversial. From one side , it seems that owners have no doubts that lean is the tool they have to practice. The evidence is the millions of dollars for consultants, continuous push of their managers, personal attention and gemba visits. From the other side, it seems that top-management don't “buy it” fully just because they “do not go for a long journey”. It is a hard work with relatively no fast outcomes. So the success of lean implementation will depend on how top-managers will be committed to their business, and to lean approach.
BTW, a few days ago we have opened the first blog on production management in Russian www.leaninfo.ru. You may gave a link to it to your readers. It can be read with a Google Translator (link here).
Stay tuned for the 3rd and final part of our discussion.
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Seems like lack of long-term focus isn’t a uniquely American problem!!
that is for sure! But good news is that small and medium-size companies are different. Those which has the owner and CEO in one person are ok with long-term focus. Thus when they have bought kaizen ideas, there is no problems with following these ideas any longer.