Lean technique is one of the strategies being adopted by various manufacturing companies. A pilot project is important in various ways. One of the significant importances of using pilot projects is that it leaves adequate room for equipping a plan for a large scale implementation by first testing the assumptions of the implementation process in a much smaller scale. Similarly, risks that may be associated with the introduction of new strategies such as introduction of lean manufacturing.
In addition, the pilot project proposed to be used in the introduction of lean manufacturing can be used to assess the impact that lean manufacturing might have on the company. The effectiveness of the new technologies can as well be assessed and compared to previous ones in terms of production. Due to the risks associated with investing in a new venture, pilot projects help reduce these risks as they require little funding than that of a large scale implementation.
As a result, pilot projects provides the evidence that ensures a company of a risk free venture as the pilot projects provides the justification for a much higher expenditure on a particular strategy implementation. Pilot projects also gives the team members a chance to gain adequate experience before engaging in the main project which is much more demanding than the pilot project (Basssi, 2010, p. 1).
This ensures efficient performance and running of the large scale employment since the team is already conversant with the whole project. Finally, pilot projects can be used to compare between two or more strategies in order to ensure that the most effective is chosen since they only involve a small scale employment.
Ways of diffusing successful change
Diffusion of successful changes may be done in several other ways besides the pilot project. One of these methods is the technology push which involves the transfer of technological innovations from the top management downwards. This is where a new strategy is implemented among the top management of an organization first and with time, in relation to the impact of that strategy to the organization, it is implemented on the subsequent levels of organizational structure.
The advantage of this method is that every individual level of organizational structure gets to be assessed on the deployment of the strategy before being implemented to the next level (Rodgers, 1995, p. 1). This method is used by individual entrepreneurs and organizations for marketing purposes.
Another method is the transfer pull method which is directly opposite of the technology push method. It involves deployment of new strategies from the lowest levels of organizational structure up to the highest. In this case, the innovations come in as demands from clients which are then implemented from the low organizational levels until they are finally approved by the top management.
This method is a little similar to the pilot project in that it leaves room for assessment as the low organizational levels try the impacts of the strategies before they are fully implemented. Therefore, this ensures that the management approves of only those strategies that have great and positive impacts on the organization (Robinson, 2009, p.1).
The final method of diffusing change successfully is the innovation re-invention method which takes into account the organizational prior conditions when employing a new strategy. This is important in keeping and maintaining the organization within its market status as it takes into consideration all the factors affecting the organization and its clients.
Reference List
Basssi, R. (2010). Practical guide to pilot projects and large scale deployment of ICTs in the education sector. Web.
Robinson, L. (2009). A summary of diffusion of innovations. Web.
Rodgers, E. (1995). Diffusion of innovations. Web.