4. Lessons learned

One of the strengths of lean in the automotive industry is the high skill level of operators and management. In the world of waste, we had to deal with a much less skilled population. Instructions for the (minimal) cleaning of machines therefore had to be the subject of visual management, where the steps were described using pictograms and photos with a minimum of text. A particular effort had to be made in terms of training, supervision and follow-up. You have to be willing to take your time, and give people time to get to grips with new approaches. This doesn't seem to us to be specific to "waste", but is even more critical than elsewhere. Lean requires managerial skills!

The point of deploying lean in a sector such as waste management is to prove that it's an approach that can be understood in the field, because teams need to make it their own. There's no need...