Starting With A Lean Process Will Keep Your Business Operating Effectively

One of the greatest wastes of times is running around looking for the correct parts to use. Searching for the right tool and searching for that box of bolts and the packaging tape and the tape measure and the right paperwork to get the parts shipped all lead to the same thing-wasted time. And wasted time contributes to wasted productivity and wasted money.

And nobody can afford to waste money in these tough economic times. Everybody has to be on their A game in order to keep things moving along and to compete these days. When there is a weak link in the chain, every other link and department suffers for it. That is why it is important to get all of the departments and all of the divisions thinking about the same thing-efficiency. It's one of those things that come around every few years, when the economy isn't great and when people are really concerned about every dollar they are spending.

It is the same phenomenon when gas prices get higher and higher, alternative fuel ideas start getting more popular such as solar and electric powered cars. Once gas prices begin to get back to normal, or what people have come to expect as normal, those alternative fuel choices start getting pushed aside and everybody starts to buy big gas guzzling SUV's again.

The same is true for efficiency at work. When the economy is down, companies start talking about lean manufacturing and lean practices again. Not that they are a bad idea during any economy and in actual fact, if you can implement these practices and make them work in a good economy, you are going to be in a good position to succeed and actually grow in a bad economy. In a good economy, men and women begin to forget about the things that work in leaner times and begin to revert back to the old ways of doing things.

Such as hiring more men and women than necessary and not expecting as much productivity out of each individual employee. But when the money is flowing, it is much easier to overlook these types of wastes. But keeping these things in check will allow you to maintain your workforce and perhaps even prosper during a downturn in the economy. Some companies that were not over staffed before the downturn a couple of years ago didn't have to lay off any of its employees to stay make it through.