If you’ve been in manufacturing for more than a few years, you’ve probably seen your fair share of continuous improvement initiatives. Kaizen events, 5S rollouts, value stream mapping — the list goes on. And while each one likely started with a burst of excitement and activity, chances are, many of them fizzled out within a few months, leaving behind little more than a stack of dusty binders and a sense of frustration.
So what separates the lean success stories from the failures? According to Steve Riley, a manufacturing veteran with over 30 years of experience, it comes down to two critical factors: visual systems and sustained habits.
Riley, who currently serves as Chief Organization Officer at Bespoke, a company that creates custom tool control solutions, has seen the power of visual management firsthand across a wide range of industries, from injection moulding to aerospace composites.
Visual systems are really helpful in reducing waste in the facility. You don’t spend time wondering how things are going. The answer isn’t buried deep in the computer somewhere that nobody has access to, but instead is right in front of everybody.
The concept is simple: by making the status of work immediately visible to anyone who enters an area, you eliminate the need for constant questions, updates, and supervision. A well-designed shadow board, for instance, makes it instantly clear where each tool belongs and whether anything is missing. A production dashboard with real-time metrics and color-coded alerts allows managers to spot issues at a glance.
Riley pointed to the example of a tier one automotive supplier he once visited, where the expectation was that within 30 seconds of entering any work area, you should be able to understand exactly what was happening, what the current challenges were, and where to go for more information.
When I first heard that, I about fell out of my chair, just thinking it wasn’t possible. But after visiting the facility and seeing it in practice, I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing.’ You really can walk into any production room, look at the board, and tell instantly — just through the andon lights, the reader boards, or the position of work — how things are going today, and if it’s going well or not well, where do you go from there.
But as powerful as visual systems can be, Riley is quick to point out that they’re only half of the equation. The other critical component? Sustained habits and accountability.
Too often, Riley has seen organizations invest significant time and resources into launching a lean initiative, only to let it fade away as soon as the initial project wraps up. The telltale sign, he says, is when audits and inspections become little more than a box-checking exercise.
“The poor example is the checklist you see in the fast food restaurant bathroom that says, ‘This restaurant was inspected every hour,’ and a signature is scratched on there every hour, and you go in, and the place is a disaster,” Riley said. “So obviously, the employee did their job, right? Went in and signed the block and walked away, but didn’t actually do the inspection.”
The antidote, he argues, is to make lean audits a regular, visible part of the organization’s rhythm — and to ensure that frontline workers, supervisors, and managers are all involved and accountable. By reviewing audit results in team huddles, posting them on communication boards, and celebrating successes, leaders can signal that the new way of working is here to stay.
Looking ahead, Riley sees lean as an increasingly essential strategy for American manufacturers looking to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape. But success, he stresses, will require a genuine commitment to building a culture of continuous improvement — not just going through the motions.
“I’m an advocate for good continuous improvement,” Riley said. “I think it is how America sets itself apart and is able to compete. I think it’s important that all of us get really good and support these initiatives and make sure that we are continuing to build the manufacturing leadership for the world.”
To learn more about Steve Riley’s work and Bespoke’s custom tool control solutions, visit bespoketooltrace.com. You can also email stever@bespoketooltrace.com to request a free 5S audit template or guide on implementing shadow boards in your facility.
