Lean Production, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Lean Manufacturing

What is Lean Production?

Lean is about doing more with less: less time, inventory, space, labor, and money. "Lean manufacturing", a shorthand for a commitment to eliminating waste, simplifying procedures and speeding up production. Lean Manufacturing (also known as the Toyota Production System) is, in its most basic form, the systematic elimination of waste – overproduction, waiting, transportation, inventory, motion, over-processing, defective units – and the implementation of the concepts of continuous flow and customer pull. Five areas drive lean manufacturing/production: cost; quality; delivery; safety; and morale. Just as mass production is recognized as the production system of the 20th century, lean production is viewed as the production system of the 21st century.

A Management Philosophy

Toyota perfected lean manufacturing in the 1990s, and now the concept is being put to use in other areas, such as organizational, distribution and logistics. Though books have been written detailing the steps to achieving lean manufacturing and many manufacturers have tried to emulate Toyota's success, few have actually done so. Why? Because they have failed to adopt lean manufacturing as a management philosophy that encompasses the entire organization. Instead, they see it only as a departmental solution.

Selected Key Terms of Lean Production

üAutonomation – a form of automation in which machinery automatically inspects each item after producing it, ceasing production and notifying humans if a defect is detected.

üBaka-yoke – a manufacturing technique of preventing mistakes by designing the manufacturing process, equipment, and tools so that an operation literally cannot be performed incorrectly; an attempt to perform incorrectly, as well as being prevented, is usually met with a warning signal of some sort.

ü5S – refers to the five words seiri, seiton, seison, seiketsu, shitsuke. These words express principles of maintaining an effective, efficient workplace: seiri – eliminating everything not required for the work being performed; seiton – efficient placement and arrangement of equipment and material; seison – tidiness and cleanliness; seiketsu – ongoing, standardized, continually improving seiri, seiton, seison; shitsuke – discipline with leadership.