In terms of improvement focus, what does Lean primarily aim to reduce?

Lean primarily aims to reduce waste within processes. The concept of Lean is fundamentally centered around the idea of creating more value for customers with fewer resources by eliminating anything that does not add value to a product or service. This includes unnecessary steps, excess inventory, waiting times, and inefficient processes, which are all considered forms of waste.

While variation, cycle time, and employee turnover may indirectly benefit from Lean practices, they are not the primary focus. Reducing variation is more associated with Six Sigma methodologies, which concentrate specifically on stabilizing processes and improving quality by minimizing variability. Cycle time could be improved as a result of Lean efforts to eliminate waste, but it is not the central tenet of Lean principles. Similarly, employee turnover may be deemed a concern in organizational performance and culture but is not a main focus of Lean initiatives.

The strong emphasis on eliminating waste allows Lean to streamline operations and improve overall efficiency, leading to better resource utilization and outcome quality for customers. This alignment with customer value is what makes waste reduction a core objective of Lean principles.