Lean success takes more than doing things right. "It is also about avoiding pitfalls that can lead to failure," says Jamie Flinchbaugh, partner in the Lean Learning Center (Novi, MI) and author of ASSEMBLY magazine's monthly "Leading Lean" column. "Leaders must always be on the lookout for signs of lean failure, which can occur at any point in the lean transformation process."

Flinchbaugh will be participating in the Lean Barrier Busting session at this year's Assembly Technology Expo in Rosemont, IL. The 3-hour session on Tuesday, Sept. 26, is organized by ASSEMBLY and will feature insights on several lean manufacturing success stories. According to Flinchbaugh, there are five common lean pitfalls: