Audit

Lean Metrics & Health-Check Self-Assessment

A practical, scored audit to rapidly diagnose how well core lean practices are working and to surface prioritized next steps, evidence to collect, and a ready-to-use 90‑day improvement plan template.

Purpose

This self-assessment helps teams quickly benchmark the health of lean practices across critical areas: standard work, visual management, problem-solving cadence, metrics quality, improvement velocity, and leadership–frontline alignment. Use it to identify the highest-value focus areas, collect simple evidence, and turn findings into a 90‑day action plan.

How to use this audit

  1. Gather a small cross-functional team (supervisor, operator, quality/CI lead) and allocate 45–60 minutes.
  2. For each scored area below, discuss the statements and select the score that best represents current day-to-day reality. Be evidence-based—capture one or two examples for each area.
  3. Use the Immediate Next Steps guidance to pick 1–3 actions. Transfer those into the 90‑Day Improvement Plan template at the end.
  4. Schedule a brief follow-up check after 30 and 90 days to review progress, adjust actions, and capture learnings.

Scoring rubric (per area)

Score each area 0–3:

  • 0 — No evidence: Practice not present or sporadic, no measurable activity.
  • 1 — Emerging: Practice exists in pockets; inconsistent use; limited measurement.
  • 2 — Stable: Practice is taught, used regularly by many teams, and measured, but there are gaps or frequent exceptions.
  • 3 — Sustained: Practice is standard work, consistently followed, supported by leadership, routinely improved, and evidenced by reliable measures.

Assessment areas

1. Standard Work Adherence

Focus: Are operating steps, takt, and quality checks documented, trained, and followed at the line level?

Example evidence to collect:

  • Current standard work documents at the station and last revision date.
  • Direct observations: % of operators following documented steps (sample of 5–10).
  • Training records and recent gemba coaching notes.

Immediate next-step recommendations:

  • Score 0–1: Pick one high-variability station and create a one-page standard work checklist; pilot for 2 shifts.
  • Score 2: Run a 1‑hour coaching session to close observed gaps and record follow-up observations.
  • Score 3: Identify one step in the standard work with frequent defects and run an A3 or PDCA experiment.

2. Visual Management & Visual Controls

Focus: Are goals, status, abnormalities, and next actions clearly visible and understood at the point of work?

Example evidence to collect:

  • Photos of boards, Andon lights, or floor markings; recent updates to boards.
  • Operator recall of what visual signals mean and expected responses.

Immediate next-step recommendations:

  • Score 0–1: Create a simple visual board showing today’s targets and current status for one cell.
  • Score 2: Standardize the board format and run a rapid training walk-through with shift teams.
  • Score 3: Add a clear escalation path and capture response time to abnormalities for the last 30 days.

3. Problem-Solving Cadence

Focus: Are problems captured, investigated, and closed with countermeasures and learning shared?

Example evidence to collect:

  • Log of recent problems (last 30–90 days) and status—root cause vs. containment noted.
  • Samples of A3s, 5 Whys, or Kaizen event outputs and whether actions were sustained.

Immediate next-step recommendations:

  • Score 0–1: Start a daily 10‑minute problem board review and assign owners for top 3 problems.
  • Score 2: Ensure all countermeasures have owners, target dates, and follow-up evidence checks.
  • Score 3: Share at least one successful countermeasure and learning across shifts weekly.

4. Metrics Quality & Actionability

Focus: Are OEE, defect rates, throughput, and lead-time metrics accurate, timely, and used to trigger action?

Example evidence to collect:

  • Recent metric reports and the raw data sources; notes on data gaps or manual fixes.
  • Examples where a metric triggered a corrective action in the last month.

Immediate next-step recommendations:

  • Score 0–1: Identify the most important metric for the cell and agree on a single reliable data source.
  • Score 2: Improve collection rules (who, when, how) and document them in one page.
  • Score 3: Define clear thresholds that trigger immediate countermeasures and test the trigger once.

5. Improvement Velocity

Focus: How frequently are improvements identified, tested, and implemented at the team level?

Example evidence to collect:

  • Number of Kaizens or small experiments completed in the last 90 days and sustained results.
  • Average time from idea to implemented pilot.

Immediate next-step recommendations:

  • Score 0–1: Run a 90‑minute Kaizen blitz on a visible problem and document quick wins.
  • Score 2: Create a rolling backlog of improvement ideas with owners and scheduled pilots.
  • Score 3: Set a cell-level improvement goal (e.g., 3 sustained small experiments per quarter) and measure it.

6. Leadership & Frontline Alignment

Focus: Are managers coaching at the gemba, removing obstacles, and aligning priorities with frontline needs?

Example evidence to collect:

  • Gemba visit logs, coaching notes, and examples of removed blockers in the last 30 days.
  • Operator perception: do frontline teams feel supported to stop the line or raise issues?

Immediate next-step recommendations:

  • Score 0–1: Schedule regular leader gemba walks and require one documented coaching conversation per walk.
  • Score 2: Ensure leaders attend problem reviews and commit time to unblock top issues.
  • Score 3: Publish alignment examples where leader action directly enabled improvement and share across teams.

Quick prioritization guide

After scoring all areas, calculate the total (max 18). Rather than relying only on the total, look for low scores in areas that most limit your current goals. Typical prioritization:

  • Score 0–6: Focus on establishing reliable basics (standard work, visual controls, owner assignment).
  • Score 7–12: Stabilize processes and close measurement gaps; target one rapid pilot to build momentum.
  • Score 13–18: Scale improvements, document learning, and build a cadence to sustain gains.

90‑Day Improvement Plan (template)

Copy this template into your team tracker or use it as a one-page plan.

Priority (1–3) Opportunity / Problem Desired Outcome / Measure Owner Key Actions (next 30 days) Due Date Check (evidence)
1 Create standard work at Station X Reduce process variation by 50% (observed deviations) Line Lead Document steps, train 3 operators, run 5 observations 30 days Updated checklist, observation log
2 Visual board for daily targets Board updated each shift; 90% operator recall Shift Supervisor Design board, trial for 2 weeks, collect feedback 45 days Board photo, survey results

Notes & coaching tips

  • Keep audits short and evidence-focused—one or two examples per area are enough to start action.
  • Treat this as a conversation starter, not a compliance checklist. The real value is in the follow-up experiments and coaching.
  • Capture one learning per follow-up and update the standard work or visual board immediately when a fix is proven.

Next capability suggestions

Consider converting this audit into an interactive form to save scores, evidence, and the 90‑day plan. Stored responses can build trend reports for the site or enterprise and help measure improvement velocity over time.

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Discussion

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