Lean and self directed teamwork-differences, difficulties and future developments - A case study

Abstract

A value stream oriented organisational structure following the Lean philosophy, often is seen as contradictory to the concept of self directed teamwork (SDT). Whereas SDT is broadly defined by the takeover of responsibilities for a certain range of management tasks by a team within defined boundaries Lean is defined as an approach of continuous improvement for process design and development with an advanced toolbox and clear standards. The following case study describes two manufacturing companies that implemented SDT during the 90's before they decided to implement Lean strategies on the shop-floor level. Both companies used different approaches. In both cases the 'new' Lean philosophy caused reasonable friction with the existing team structure. In this study we will describe the perceived differences and difficulties as well as the similarities between the two concepts. As a conclusion a way to integrate the two concepts will be considered. © 2008 International Federation for Information Processing.