Most manufacturers have board meetings. Very few have Daily Management that actually drives improvement. The difference doesn't lie in the design of the boards — but in the structure, rhythm and management behaviour around them.
Why board meetings lose their energy
A typical scenario: the company invests in fine visual boards. A kickoff meeting is held. The first weeks the energy is high. But gradually the following happens: the meetings start too late. The data is out of date. Problems are discussed but not acted on. Managers check in sporadically.
The Tier 1-2-3 structure: an escalation engine
Effective Daily Management is not one meeting — it is a system of cascading meetings with clear escalation paths.
Tier 1: team-leader level (daily, 10-15 min)
- •Held at the production line's board
- •Review of yesterday's KPIs and today's plan
- •Identifying deviations and immediate blockers
- •Escalating problems the team can't solve itself
Tier 2: department-manager level (daily, 15-20 min)
- •Receives escalations from Tier 1
- •Prioritises resources across teams
- •Coordinates support from maintenance, quality, logistics
- •Escalates to Tier 3 if necessary
Tier 3: leadership level (daily/weekly, 20-30 min)
- •Strategic overview of operational status
- •Decisions that require a management mandate
- •Resource allocation across departments
- •Follow-up on the improvement portfolio
The three non-negotiable rules
Based on the Lean literature and practical experience, there are three rules that decide whether Daily Management holds:
- •Fixed times — the meetings start at exactly the same time every day, no matter what
- •Manager present — the department manager must be physically present at Tier 2, not just "check in"
- •Action the same day — problems identified in the morning must have an action plan before the end of the shift
To go from theory to practice, you can download our Tier meeting template and read the full Daily Management guide. The point is the same all the way through: the structure only works once the management behaviour is anchored in operations.
✓Getting started well
- →Start with Tier 1 — make it work before you add more layers
- →Measure the completion rate — how often are the meetings actually held?
- →Train facilitation — a good board meeting needs a structured facilitator
- →Make escalation paths explicit — everyone must know when and how to escalate
Sources and further reading
- Mann, D. (2010). Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions (2nd ed.). Productivity Press.
- Rother, M. & Shook, J. (1999). Learning to See. Lean Enterprise Institute.
- Lean Enterprise Institute — lean.org.
The references show the professional basis. Sources are reproduced in their original language.