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Vol 28 - No 05 - June 2002 Event Report on Lean vs Agile 24th April 2002, Warwick Lean - Thin, having no superfluous fat... or skinny, gaunt, undernourished.... Agile - Quick moving, nimble, active in body or mind This is the second Lean vs Agile seminar run by the IOM and the level of interest shows that Lean and Agile are amongst the current hot topics of interest to the Senior Managers of major companies. The speakers provided a good balance between the three communities serving operations management- the Practitioners, the Consultants and the Academics. Between them they represented over 150 years of experience and, as many had moved between the three communities, they were able to speak with a good understanding of the differing perspectives. Whilst the event was entitled Lean vs Agile, the indication was that 'vs' was not the issue, as Lean and Agile both belong to the basket of methodologies that are available to help companies meet the expectations of their customers and remain profitable. In the same way as it was a fallacy to think that JIT would replace MRP, so Agile is not a substitute for Lean. Günther Kruse used Puttick's 4 box in an attempt to segment Lean and Agile, but not without some debate. In essence, Günther's four categories were: These categories broadly corresponded to the case studies presented by the remaining speakers, although the discussion inevitably rested on the exceptions to the rule. Alan McElroy of EMI described the harsh realities of CD Manufacture and Supply and restated the essence of manufacturing in his objective "to deliver 100% of customer demand at the agreed service level, quality and cost... and stay in business". He saw Agile as part of his tool kit to meet this objective. What all the presentations made clear is the continuous nature of improvement and the power of applying both Lean and Agile thinking. Andrew Hibbert of Pressweld made it plain that winning the prestigious MX200 award was simply another milestone on the continuous path of improvement that can be traced back as early as 1986. He left us to ponder on the advice that "He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else". If I try to summarize Lean and Agile in a few words, it would be with a simple list for each: Lean Agile Since Lean has been around for more than a decade it is well understood, whereas Agile is the new kid on the block. Richard Lynch provided us with a simple visual image showing Agile as kayaking in white water. He suggested that being Agile meant, "Changing faster than your customer and thriving on chaos". The focus of Lean and Agile cannot be contained in single enterprises and in particular the effects of technology (both Infrastructure and Business Systems) are as radical to the inter-enterprise relationships as they are to the enterprise itself. Günther Kruse, Rod Edwards and Alan Harrison all addressed facets of this issue. APS (Advanced Planning Systems) based Business Systems are being heralded as the next MRP/ERP wave. Günther Kruse, quoting from Manufacturing Computer Solutions Benchmark Research, observed that "90% of UK manufacturing businesses either already have or are planning investment in e-Business". So in some sense the train has left the station! This investment is in a wide range of areas and with the automotive industries dominance in Lean and Agile thinking it is no surprise to see them at the vanguard of change. Rod Edwards overview of the e-Marketplace supports the 90% assertion. There are marketplaces for the raw materials like steel/aluminium, marketplaces for commodities like the tyres (RubberNetwork.com) and manufacturing and aftermarket marketplaces (COVISINT and TecCom) . The Internet is a veritable kazbar! This has inevitably put pressure on organizations to think out of the box and address the three challenges posed by Alan Harrison: 1. Virtual organizations 2. Extended enterprises 3. Postponement (late personalisation of product) In conclusion, the day provided both a wide and a deep view of Lean and Agile issues, both inside the enterprise and inter-enterprise. One of the delegates suggested that there maybe a need to create a Agile Special Interest Group and, based on the response to the event, I would think this was a serious proposition. If you are interested in an Agile SIG, then please contact the Institute on iom@iomnet.org.uk Lastly, and more formally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the speakers for taking the time to prepare and present their papers and their companies for allowing them the time to support the Institute. Thank you to: Gunther Kruse of Scope Management, Alan McElroy of EMI, Richard Lynch of EEF South, Andrew Hibbert of Pressweld Ltd, Andrew Smith of Numatic International, Dr Rod Edwards of Logica, and Prof Alan Harrison of Cranfield School of Management. Geoff Relph, MIOM Related Topics:
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