Bites-sized Lean

Abstract

SMEs find it difficult to implement and sustain Lean tools. Larger companies have more resources that make it easier to provide employees with time to engage in Lean training and improvement activities. The European Regions for Innovative Productivity Project (ERIP) was established to develop a Lean change and implementation methodology that is suitable for SMEs. The project included collaborators from six countries from the North Sea Region of Europe. Two of the regions (Norway and the UK) modified this methodology to make the use of staff time more manageable. This paper describes this ‘BiteSize’ approach through two case studies.