Doing or calculating lean? A sensemaking perspective on workplace learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss two different learning approaches to lean through a sensemaking lens. Design/methodology/approach This is comparative case study within one organisation, and a qualitative analysis of interview data, participative observations and documents. Findings Although this study found that both practices promoted lean thinking in the organisation, the “calculating lean approach” has an approach oriented towards one profession, namely, medical doctors, whereas “doing lean” has a more multi-professional-oriented approach. Originality/value This research enriches the literature on workplace learning in relation to lean, seen from a practice-based perspective. The authors argue that “The calculating lean approach” and its use of data presentations is best suited to persuade the powerful doctors to join, when working with small improvements. “The doing lean approach,” on the contrary, is more suited to promote more comprehensive changes from the bottom up that require a deeper understanding of lean among all the professions involved.