Augmented Lean: Why Moving from Industrial Automation to Worker Augmentation is the Key to Success for your Operations

Today’s industrial workforce has been underserved by technology. This is a paradox given that five decades of industrialization have been focused on scaling production using machines.

All industrial managers are familiar with lean, a way of thinking (and acting) that focuses on eliminating waste and streamlining processes to save time, space, materials, and money. For years now, we have sought to achieve this through machine efficiency. However, that has not worked so well, because machines don’t (yet) innovate and are not at the center of the production process. Until then, executives need a management framework that prioritizes humans over machines. Enter: The Augmented Lean Framework, which entails significantly more than lean plus digital.