Manufacturers who have already achieved success through the implementation of various lean manufacturing principles will often point to their new dedication to continuous improvement as one of its greatest benefits. Lean will deliver these benefits to any organization that successfully adopts it, but it is the results of continuous improvement that gets most people talking.
In the early stages of an organization's adoption of lean, many will note the elimination of wastes to be a prime goal, with continuous improvement only a distant objective. However, most will come to recognize that continuous improvement is a welcome result of the overall process. In the manufacturing world that result can be the difference between the life and death of any organization. Certainly such organizations will find initial success with the proper adoption of certain lean concepts and principles, but it's entirely possible that afterwards they will disregard the necessity for continuous improvement and soon find themselves left in the dust as their opposition pulls ahead.
This remains a simple, yet oft forgotten rule among early adopters of lean. With the first rush of success that they encounter, distant goals like continuous improvement can be completely forgotten. It doesn't help matters that the concepts and tools that must be learned are rather complicated and require the complete dedication of participants in order for it to deliver results. Any manufacturing organization can adopt a few of these tools and concepts and experience quick success. However, it takes a truly successful manufacturing organization to prioritize continuous improvement.
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