Lean manager

Job / role

Introduces and coaches lean methods in an organisation, such as value stream mapping, 5S and standard work, and helps teams to improve their processes.

Description

A lean manager introduces lean management in an organisation and coaches the people who apply it. The work includes training in methods such as value stream mapping, 5S, standard work and kanban, leading or supporting improvement events, and helping leaders to build routines such as gemba walks and tier meetings.

The role is more about teaching and supporting than about doing the improvements for others. A lean manager tries to build the habit of problem solving in the teams, to make waste visible and to connect local improvements with the goals of the site. The role is often found in manufacturing, but also in logistics, healthcare and administration. Job titles vary, for example lean coordinator, lean coach or lean expert.

Related topics in brief

• Lean management · Related to · Concept
  A management approach derived from the Toyota Production System that creates more value for customers with fewer resources by removing waste, improving flow and involving the people who do the work in continuous improvement.
• Gemba walk · Related to · Concept
  A lean management routine in which leaders go to the place where the work happens, observe the process and ask the people doing it questions, to see problems first-hand and support improvement.
• Value stream mapping · Related to · Concept
  A lean method for visualizing how material, information and decisions flow through a product family, including process steps, queues and handoffs.
• 5S · Related to · Concept
  A workplace organization method with five steps (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) that keeps tools and materials in their place, makes problems visible and supports safe, efficient work.
• Standard work · Related to · Concept
  The documented best-known way to do a task, with its sequence, time and quantities. It gives a stable basis for training and quality, and is the starting point for the next improvement.

Experts and companies for this topic

Experts on related topics

• Mirko Peters · via Gemba walk

Maintained by Mirko Peters (Microsoft MVP) · Last updated: 2026-11-11