Hanscom participants think lean at Book of the Month meeting Published Sept. 29, 2006 By Chuck Paone Electronic Systems Center Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Lean Thinking is on the mandatory reading list established for senior leaders by Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command; but that's not the only reason Electronic Systems Center employees should read it. They should read it, ESC Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Arthur Rooney said at a recent Book of the Month Club session, because it offers some great management insights and will help them eliminate waste within the organization. The book, authored by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, was reviewed at the meeting by Capt. Aaron Blake, executive officer for the 66th Air Base Wing commander. Captain Blake defined and explained key concepts and terminology presented by the authors. Some of the key terms, such as waste and value, seem self-evident. However, the power of the book, the captain said, comes not only from precisely defining these things, but from understanding how they come about. Waste, he said, is anything that absorbs resources while producing no value. Value is anything that empowers or benefits the customer. Lean Thinking is in large part about turning waste into value. Sometimes value gets "lost in translation," though. "To determine value, you must understand exactly what your customer needs," he said. "Sometimes we assume we know, but we really don't." Another key term is 'value stream,' a compilation of all the things that create value. "You have to be sure to look at all the components of the value stream - from the discovery of a need to the delivery of a product," the captain said. With that stream well defined, managers can create a flow. This puts all the critical steps in the value stream into a "chain of continuous movement," eliminating stoppages and obstacles. All of this, done properly, can move an organization toward 'perfection,' Captain Blake said. Perfection, as defined by the authors, means creating a virtuous circle where value is created then made to flow ever faster to more satisfied customers. Then resources that have been freed up through the elimination of waste can be used to create even more value. Perfection is in fact the goal and the thing against which organizations should benchmark themselves, Captain Blake suggested. "Benchmarking ourselves against the competition is not enough," he said. "That might only show us what someone else is doing to create value for their customers. We need to know how to create value for our customers." Lean thinking is not just a program, but "a whole new way of thinking about everything you do" according to Captain Blake. "It starts with the needs of the customer, the product or service that you offer, and how to get your product or service to them in the most efficient way."