While you may not hear the company talking in terms of Lean phrases, they have used Lean principles for years to drive improvement in their business.  Lean principles come naturally to high performance companies, whether they know it or not.  One of my favorite examples is Southwest’s 15 minute turns.  According to the book Nuts! By Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, today, two of three Southwest planes are turned in 20 minutes or less.  Using similar technology to Lean quick changeover practices for production equipment, Southwest has developed a standardized method for turning a plane.  Turning means to completely unload guests and luggage; reload the plane with guest, luggage, fuel, supplies; and then get the plane back on the runway for take off.  Southwest does this in about half the time of their major competitors.

What has this meant for Southwest Airlines?  By being able to quick turn a plane, Southwest uses about 35 fewer planes than competitor airlines that turn planes at the industry average rates.  The book Nuts! Points out that with new planes at $28 Million in 1995, that’s $1.3 Billion in capital expenditure savings.  This translated into value for Southwest’s customers in the form of lower fares while increasing profits for Southwest’s shareholders.