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TSD presents the first in a series of articles exploring real-life issues as they arise in an international multi-stage large-scale lean implementation effort. In this first installment, we examine the requisites to a successful transformation, and how they show themselves at the start of a relationship. |
For over 2,000 years, the island nation of Sri Lanka, at the base of the Indian subcontinent, has been world renowned for natural resources like gemstones, tea and cinnamon. But when Mahesh Amalean, president of MAS Holdings Ltd., sought a place to build an apparel manufacturing dynasty, he turned to the most valuable Sri Lankan resources – the skills, intellect and industriousness of its people. In two short decades, Mr. Amalean, his partners and a committed group of workers, grew
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MAS from a single factory to a 29-plant 40,000 person plus organization serving the manufacturing needs of major international brands like Victoria’s Secret, Nike, Champion and GAP.
Throughout this period of expansion, MAS developed an international reputation for exacting quality, with an operational philosophy that emphasized sustainable development, responsible consumption, ethical sourcing and workforce empowerment. So when the pressures of global competition prompted MAS leadership to raise its ethical performance-driven culture to the next level, lean manufacturing was the logical choice. Lean is a system of continuous improvement in a blame-free environment, where performance and quality are balanced with the welfare of an engaged and valued workforce. MAS past practices had clearly prepared the ground for the growth of such a system.
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And when MAS sought out an experienced guide to lead it through the complexities of a lean transformation, Total Systems Development (TSD) was an equally logical choice. Over the last decade, TSD had distinguished itself as a dedicated and successful designer and implementer of lean-based production systems with significant experience in Asia, meeting those challenges specific to the apparel industry. TSD’s reputation is built upon its customer and value-driven approach to lean. Its projects are known for their focus on practical, cost-effective improvements that are sustained over time. And all TSD implementations are characterized by a concerted effort to embed lean culture into its clients’ organizations.
In the beginning, the TSD - MAS relationship moved through a period of acquaintanceship. Here the parties typically make their intentions and expectations known and familiarize themselves with each other’s basic business practices. It is at this early stage that TSD seeks information on three pivotal issues that serve as a lean system’s "Indicators for Success". Experience dictates that the client’s responses to these issues foreshadow the degree to which an implementation effort fulfills its potential. While few clients demonstrate all three indicators in their fully developed forms, each client must have the willingness to reach for them.
The first indicator is "openness to change". Those organization leaders that arrive at a decision to adopt lean systems with a set of preconditions or circumscribed boundaries to that change only diminish their own capacity for improvement. Also, a workforce that is uncompromising and resistant to change can undermine system-wide improvement. Fortunately, the MAS organization was built upon innovative change, and management viewed this next transformative step to a lean system, as necessary to its further growth as an industry leader. Likewise, the workforce was equally open to change. TSD assessments found it flexible, literate (Sri Lanka has a 96% literacy rate – the highest in Asia) and committed to do whatever was required to improve their performance.
The second indicator is "leadership endorsement and commitment to change". Any successful lean implementation effort requires the endorsement of those leaders with the authority to direct and implement change. Yet endorsement alone is not enough. Leaders must demonstrate, over time, a repeated commitment to lean change. Otherwise, the workforce will come to view lean as the latest in a line of considered and discarded methodologies. From the outset, the highest MAS leaders voiced their endorsement of lean and this has been repeatedly reinforced in their subsequent actions. This ongoing commitment has motivated others throughout the organization, and played a large role in later accomplishments on the road to lean.
The third indicator is "a valued workforce". This goes far beyond an organization’s mere appreciation for the labor contributed by the collective. The very core of a lean system is the appreciation and use of an engaged and independent-minded workforce. Management must be willing to release some traditional controls and demonstrate confidence that workers entrusted
| with responsibility and the capacity to effect change, rise to the challenge. Again, TSD found MAS ahead of its contemporaries. MAS has an established history of worker empowerment, and for years, it has valued its workers' welfare both on and off the job. MAS starting salaries exceed the Sri Lanka minimum, its operators enjoy ergonomic, air-conditioned stations, and because a large percentage of the workforce is female, there are a number of practices in place to integrate the demands of motherhood into the workday. |
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And MAS promotes not only professional development programs, but recreational programs designed to foster a sense of community within the MAS family of companies.*
With all the indicators pointing in a favorable direction, MAS and TSD embarked on a journey toward lean. Future articles will examine the basic structure of a multi-stage implementation program, the results it yields, and some of the cultural challenges presented in an international environment.
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*MAS is publicly praised for adeptly meeting its market's needs for competitive prices and quality products, while providing its workforce increasingly better working conditions, as featured in the book The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, by Thomas Friedman (author of The World is Flat: a Brief History of the 21st Century)
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