Lean Assessments: A Crucial Tool for Lean Success
By Blake Tormey, Process Improvement Manager at KHS&S
In the building environment, a continuous commitment to learning is one of the most prominent traits of a successful team. Throughout my career, I have worked in collaboration with a number of different people, both within my own team and on other teams on projects big and small. As time passes and teams shift and evolve, knowledge is shared and processes change – or in some cases, processes remain the same in spite of the change happening around them.
For this reason, I have found Lean assessments from the Lean Construction Institute to be considerably helpful as I navigate through various projects while working alongside a diverse array of individuals.
What Are Lean Assessments?
Lean assessments are 20-question exercises that force the assessment-taker to reflect on their own knowledge of specific Lean concepts. There are three different types of Lean assessments: one for individuals, one for teams, and one for organizations. The purpose of Lean assessments is to determine the current state of Lean knowledge within your selected category.
Benefits of Lean Assessments
While all of these assessments are extremely useful for level-setting your Lean endeavors, I have particularly found the team assessments to be helpful in my projects. As mentioned before, when you’re working with a newly-formed team it’s important to analyze your collective Lean knowledge from the outset.
One of the most helpful elements of the Lean assessments are the resources that are provided after you fill out each question, which serves as a roadmap for advancing your knowledge in areas where you might be weaker. In this way, Lean assessments are great for people who are new to Lean or those with a lot of Lean experience as the resources are great starting blocks for Lean education.
Conclusion
Whether you’re new to Lean or have been using Lean methodologies for years, Lean assessments are a quick, effective way to identify areas for improvement and begin (or continue) your educational journey.
Thanks for reading. I hope you find as much value in this tool as I have!