Conclusion

This article is intended as a response to objections frequently heard during discussions on lean with some of our contacts in the push-flow industry. Certainly, some of the methods specific to pull flow cannot be transposed: no, we won't be able to pull production! Which is not to say that we haven't used kanbans in spare parts stores. However, we think we've shown that most of the lean approach is perfectly applicable in an industry where flows are pushed.

We would also like to respond to some of the objections raised, either to not launching continuous progress approaches, or to postponing them... until much later. We recommend not indulging for months or years in the highly detailed and ambitious Plan phases of a PDCA. Instead, we should validate a good number of the hypotheses outlined in the Plan fairly quickly, through "Do" implementation and possible "Act"...