'Lean' is the Lever for Improving a Business - Agriculture and Rural ...

?While the word ?lean? typically conjures up images of low fat meats, lean as a management tool can be used on-farm to make an operation more efficient. Removing unnecessary steps or reconfiguring the flow of work often results in higher yields and quality ? with the same inputs.
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?Lean is used by leading manufacturers and service organizations to focus resources on creating value for the customer,? notes Shannon Park, business development specialist with the livestock and farm business branch, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. ?It originated in car manufacturing, and is now used around the globe in many industries.?

Earlier this year, the Egg Farmers of Alberta (EFA) used the lessons learned from a lean consultant to streamline some of their in-house processes. The EFA staff mapped out the many steps involved in collecting and organizing information from egg farmers, hatcheries and laboratories. The EFA was automating more of their data collection to help the industry manage enhanced flock health monitoring and the associated paperwork. The testing is part of the organization?s commitment to control and prevent reportable diseases under the Animal Health Act (Alberta).

?We knew that the launch of an enhanced flock monitoring program would stretch our resources,? explains Christina Robinson, producer services manager for EFA, who led the project at the Egg Farmers? office. ?By bringing in a coach to teach us about lean, we were able to reconstruct our processes in a way that cut out waste and optimized the use of our resources. We are now able to carry out our enhanced program, which has approximately three times the output, with the same administrative resources as our original program. The best part is that our staff now has the skills necessary to tackle other processes in our organization, keeping us on the path of continuous improvement.?

At the EFA regional meetings, June 19 to 21, 2012, Robinson will describe how lean can work for farmers who want to increase efficiencies in their own businesses. Having had first-hand experience with the lean process, Robinson can see clear advantages. ?Lean tools can be used in any type of operation, whether it is an office or a farm. We are excited to pass on our knowledge about lean to egg farmers, so that they can find ways to make some of the jobs they do every day easier, and to make their businesses more successful.?

Alberta?s 154 registered egg farmers are focused on continuous improvement and high quality product, so the lean coaching was a good fit for the organization. New lean management ?tools? for the staff toolbox were part of the onsite coaching.

?The team at Egg Farmers of Alberta was very goal-oriented. The staff really wanted lean to help them support their industry in its efforts to supply the very best product to market,? observes Park.

?They worked diligently and learned about the tools and techniques they could apply to other areas at their workplace, as well,? says Nicola Stevens, manager, Productivity Improvement Initiative at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. ?For organizations open to change and committed to spend the time necessary, lean coaching works. There can be significant gains in efficiency, work quality and employee engagement.?

More information on the Productivity Improvement Initiative funded by Growing Forward and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, is available online. There are tools, information and other resources for Alberta?s producers and processors to become more efficient and realize greater productivity. As information becomes available on this year?s program, it will be posted to the website.

For further information contact an Alberta Agriculture development officer or call 310-FARM (3276), toll-free in Alberta.

Contact:
Shannon Park
780-422-1852

Nicola Stevens
403-948-8511

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