Lean companies break with the practice of organizing work by function. Instead, they opt to organize by value stream or create cellular work areas where products are produced start to finish.
Buffer time, in projects, is the 'fudge factor' that compensates for delays. It can be embedded into tasks, or held in reserve by the project manager.
Reducing cycle time is commonly known to improve productivity, but it also helps quality.
Each phase of our Continuous Improvement Development System is governed by a set of principles. This video summarizes our Phase 2 (Committing) principles.