Lean Design -
        Powerful, team-friendly tools to slash manufacturing cost at all levels, from individual         products to entire product lines.

Lean Product Development -
        A practical approach to accelerating time-to-market through aggressive waste elimination         in planning, resource management, design control, and interdisciplinary communication.

Lean Innovation -
        An eye-opening series of techniques that can turn routine, commodity product concepts         into unique, high-margin winners.

        In Part I and Part II of this discussion, we described the three critical dimensions that must be addressed to achieve excellence in new product design (as shown at right). Whereas improving manufacturing cost and slashing time-to-market can be accomplished through the application of proven waste-slashing tools, fostering a culture of innovation and creativity can be far more challenging. Yet firms that have achieved excellence in this area will never experience eroding margins and missed high-profit opportunities.
        We are currently working with several major firms to develop a highly efficient approach to inspiring creativity and innovation in design teams. This "lean innovation" methodology represents the final piece in the puzzle, and should be available in the form of Do-it-Yourself training kits by mid-2005. The three focus areas that we have defined for achieving excellence in product design are summarized below:

Copyright 2004 -

The Lean Innovation Topic Area is Currently
Under Development

Training and Improvement Packages
Will Be Available in Mid-2005