Lean Manufacturing Concepts: Keeping It Short And Simple

Lean manufacturing is a school of thought which aims to cut down production to its most basic form. That means any expenses that do not contribute to the value of the product from a customer’s perspective should be avoided. How do you determine value? Fortunately, that’s not yours to dictate. Value is what the consumer is ready to pay for.

History

Lean manufacturing concepts bode well for the producer and consumer. From the side of the manufacturing company, it can create a product with a reduced workload and lesser expense. Their history can be traced to the Toyota Production System in the 1990s, from the Japanese philosophy to cut down waste, proposed by Taiichi Ohno.

These seven wastes are:

Overproduction – creating products that exceed market demand.
Transportation – moving the product within the manufacturing processes is both wasteful and dangerous.
Waiting – there should be no waiting time between processes.
Inappropriate processing – why invest in expensive machinery when a simple one will do?
Unnecessary motion – proper workplace layout will reduce the need for workers to move about when doing their work.

Defects – superior quality limits the inventory of defective products.
Excessive inventory – creating more products than necessary will increase storage cost as well as maintenance expenses.

Lean manufacturing education revolves around the above seven key concepts. While companies added their own variation to be relevant with the times, the main aim is the same: keep production simple.

Training

At its core, lean manufacturing education involves a variation of the “seven wastes” that companies should avoid, according to Toyota, in order to boost production and improve product value.

Proper Planning in Lean Thinking

Implementing Lean strategies in your production line starts with proper preparation. It’s true that methods like Six Sigma emphasize the importance of achieving an efficient state of production and that Lean thinking focuses on the reliability of continuous improvement initiatives. However, these later developments are precisely plotted destinations on a road map to success organizations develop early in the Lean process. Whether it’s A3 problem solving or six sigma training, the key to success is in the ability to honestly appraise the current situation of the manufacturing line and prepare team members with the tools and training they’ll need.

                                                      

Generally, the “preparation stage” is a nebulous term that encompasses far more steps than most people expect. In A3 Problem Solving, proper preparation involves moving beyond simply establishing what the trouble areas on a manufacturing line are in order to firmly determine the root cause of said problems. By uniting an efficient team who are all intimately familiar with the line itself and establishing an open forum for them to discuss what they perceive to be potential or recurring issues, an A3 report that accurately sets the stage for the changes to come can be developed. Through personal development, collaboration and proper training, an effective team can prepare an analysis that often returns surprising dividends. It truly is all in the preparation here. Lean strategies emphasize such thorough steps because it truly is the most effective way to address root problems in the manufacturing line, the existence of which allows problems to resurface when left untreated. For more details on  lean process planning visits: www.ame.org

Using Lean to Deal With Shifting Market Trends

 With the shift in marketing trends now favoring the consumer as the active party in setting the selling point for goods, more and more manufacturers are struggling to stay competitive and successful. Lean process improvement continues to grow in popularity as more and more business leaders realize its effectiveness in dealing with these unfamiliar market trends. Product development enhanced by Lean philosophy is now seen as the optimal way to succeed in that regard.

 Lean thinking continues to grow in popularity among successful business owners because they recognize its ability to confront these trends with tactics, tools and strategies that enhance customer value. In Lean process improvement, manufacturing lines are often benchmarked against competitors to establish a jumping off point for the work yet to come. By establishing a clear picture of the entire manufacturing line, from product development to point of sale, Lean thinkers can identify a multitude of wasteful expenditures. Lean process improvement is so successful because fundamental issues have long remained invisible to organizations. These fundamental issues went ignored for so long that their waste has become integrated into the process without a second thought. In upending classical schools of thought, Lean process improvement is able to not only able to firmly establish the root causes of the issues, but also provides organizations with the tools and strategies they’ll need to eliminate them. Not only that, but a successful Lean-centric overhaul will institute a number of continuous improvement initiatives that will continue to pay dividends for years to come.

Lean Product Development Process and Advantage

While a wide variety of industries have taken advantage of Lean philosophy, many modern systems focus on product development. Overextended developmental cycles, unnecessary redevelopment and unnecessary costs continue to remain prime concerns for manufacturers and as such many of the more advanced lean production systems first target these issues. In product development  all important involved parties on the manufacturing line come together to decide on a project plan. This plan outlines an approach intended to most effectively deliver the team’s desired outcome. Together, the team identifies product development activities to achieve this plan. 

                                            

At this point in planning, most teams will break down causes of waste in the manufacturing line and identify the main source of this waste. Documentation done during this initial planning state will build the foundation for the lean development systems to be implemented during the course of refining the product development line. The intentions and success of this stage depend entirely on the team’s ability to realistically analyze the current situation. 

Only through a realistic appraisal of the current situation can value be properly defined and waste properly eliminated. The final checklist of procedures and strategies to be implemented will detail improvements, personal responsibilities and corrections, along with an ideal timeline that will reflect the actual starting point from which the company will move forward and a realistic endpoint for them to arrive at. Various industry-specific lean tools are currently available, but it’s usually advised that companies interested in them undergo training in order to properly appraise their situation. For  more details please  contact us at  www.ame.org/contact-ame .

Basic Lean History - Toyota Production System

Lean manufacturing concepts were developed on a foundation developed by Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota over a period of almost thirty years. Their original concept was known has the Toyota Production System. This was a developmental approach to applying complex socio-technical systems intended to improve quality across the manufacturing line, from job satisfaction of the personnel working on the line to the product itself. Lean manufacturing principles focus on the success of Toyota’s system, creating a system of philosophies and strategies that emphasized the value of customer response and their perspective of the product. Lean strategies account for as many factors as can be quantified in the production process, targeting waste where it springs up and removing it. This waste can take many forms, whether it be related to issues with personnel or generally redundant tasks, the only defining trait is that the waste reduces value for the consumer. 

In the original Toyota Production System, these wastes are identified as Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Over-production and defects. Each waste pertained to an aspect of the production product where potential customer value could be lost. By identifying and removing these wastes a solid lean manufacturing strategy will effectively overhaul most problems that prevent a manufacturing line from achieving its true potential. While the original system mostly adhered to one guiding set of principles, modern lean strategies have evolved and diversified to better suit a variety of industries. This makes the application of any one lean strategy particular tricky and thus a thorough education in the pertinent strategies and tools is advised.

Lean Certification: Inspiring a New Generation of Positive Management Thinking

With the intensity of competition on the rise among businesses, any extra leverage is a welcome addition to producing the best goods and services and increasing profits. To help people in this endeavor, many organizations have been set up specifically to exchange of knowledge to improve business and management practices.

Industry Standard

This gathering of qualified members come together ways and means to improve the way business is run, improve processes under the heading lean manufacturing and lean thinking. It works by reducing expenses wherever they can without compromising on manufacturing quality standards, and has become the industry standard currently.

                                          

Quality Control

Irrespective of what kind of service or manufacturing product, well-managed and motivated companies worldwide have opted for effective lean management. The lean production system of manufacture centers on one goal i.e. to reduce as much wastage as possible in production, thereby minimizing expenses, but retaining high quality standards. Since there are many organizations with their own way of teaching these principles, selecting the most suitable is the responsibility of each individual.

                                                 

Appropriate Courses

Training for lean education is possible through the various training courses offered by many companies and they cater to people of different academic backgrounds. There are classes and training courses for beginners, leadership courses for team leaders and managers, and those who are good at mentoring and coaching. Together they work on making the lean enterprise a resource saving and improved manufacturing process, which is beneficial to the company, the environment, and to the consumer.

Leading Lean Principles and Strategies by AME

Lean strategies continue to be ranked among the leading methods for businesses to achieve excellence in manufacturing. Many of the principles, concepts and systems endorsed by Lean thinking encourage the best practices the leaders in a variety of industries depend on. Continuing your professional education and development through the adoption of a lean production system remains a key way to achieve excellence.

The appraisal of a manufacturing line in any industry, benefits from a strategy focused on implanting Lean principles. Implementation will reveal wasteful expenditures of resources and eliminate the redundancies and poor practices that create them. Trough identifying the practices that produce value for an end customer, a team can set baselines and encourage best practices that produce an infrastructure that is not only able to initiate the steps needed to achieve that level of excellence, but will also establish a method for continuous improvement that pays dividends for years to come.

Lean-centric manufacturing concepts encompass several schools of thought, each developed by leading manufacturers over the years. They established a set of manufacturing principles that became Lean philosophies and strategies for success. These have been used to create a comprehensive system that brings management and the workforce together to work on projects designed to eliminate waste from the production cycle. Their unity creates a work force that is truly capable of understanding the issues in a production cycle on a variety of fundamental levels. That intuitive insight is the key to the success that Lean Production systems produce.

Information on A3 Problem Solving and Six Sigma Training

As Lean manufacturing continues to evolve its core philosophy and tools, it incorporates new ways of thinking. A3 problem solving and Six Sigma training are two such schools of thought; processes, tools and strategies designed to encourage excellence in manufacturing.

Both A3 problem solving and Six Sigma incorporate comprehensive tools and unique strategies. A3 problem solving breaks down foundation problems in a manufacturing cycle and creates a “map” that sets the origin point as the parameters that created those problems, and the “destination” as the elimination of those wasteful practices. Utilizing statistical analysis and the input of the general workforce, management can establish realistic checkpoints and countermeasures that are designed to create a feasible and cost-effective process to produce excellence.

Six Sigma training abides by many of the same tenants of A3 problem solving, and indeed, the foundations of Lean thinking in general. It too utilizes statistical analysis to efficiently eliminate waste. Six Sigma differentiates in that it focuses instead on a professional hierarchy within an organization that is able to implement an infrastructure that reflects the changes the organization is looking to see in the manufacturing line.

Both Six Sigma training and A3 problem solving remain leading strategies for achieving excellence in manufacturing, so it should come as no surprise that both are being incorporated as tools to be used in implementing Lean manufacturing strategies. Studying their history and their current development should remain a high priority for any enterprise hoping them to achieve excellence.

Lean Manufacturing Education and Training Enhances Your Understanding of Concepts

Lean production system is the manufacturing philosophy that originated from TPS or ‘Toyota Production System.’ These values are used broadly in the automobile industry. It has been altered and adapted to suit the local manufacturing situation or procedures. However, its main principles have not been changed. The system is also widely used in non-automobile industries especially in the assembling systems. 

In order to achieve a top-notch production system, the workforce should be ready to take up courses that will educate them on the various elements involved in the system. Lean manufacturing education is the first step in this journey. The knowledge imparted is on the processes known as ‘Lean Six Sigma.’ This helps you to know and work on the different kinds of lean research projects, make and implement its designs and also manage the processes with the aim of performing better. The curriculum focuses on manufacturing and engineering concepts. The knowledge attained will help in strengthening your analytically competence and enhance your understanding in the application of a range of concepts.

In order to optimize business performance, lean manufacturing training is indispensable. There are several colleges that offer this teaching and there are different levels of programs. Besides campus education, you can also avail of online courses which are especially useful for those already in a business organization. Online diploma courses are conducted by reputed colleges; on completion of the course you can be sure to get good jobs in the field. The training imparted is excellent and you benefit greatly by obtaining a higher degree without giving up the current job. 

Lean Manufacturing and Value Stream Mapping are Emerging Business Challenges

Lean manufacturing refers to the techniques, processes, initiatives and strategies implemented by businesses in order to reduce unproductive and unnecessary activities, tasks and behaviors from the work environment. With economic slowdown around the world, companies are facing tough challenges in making profits. Therefore, the technique strives to improve competitiveness and remove waste so that more value is received by the consumers. In such an environment, businesses produce only what the customer needs and demands. The focus is on manufacturing processes so that the products are consumer-friendly. When lean principles are followed strictly by a company it is called lean enterprise. These companies have common characteristics; focus on customer and purpose, organizational alignment, knowledge, empowered employees and flexible workforce are some of the characteristics of an enterprise.

A simple yet powerful tool used for analysis and visualization of the production process through mapping is called value stream mapping or VSM. The technique originated from Toyota, the car manufacturer. It is nothing but a graphic representation of the processes in the information and material flow. Real-time data gathered is extremely important because ground data is often outrageously different from calculated or estimated data. This proven tool is suited for different types of industries. It is perfect for creating organizational changes positively and producing benefits in quality, cost and flexibility. However, VSM should be properly applied. This means that the common mistakes that undo the process of stream mapping must be avoided. One significant step is to ensure that there is a VS map before starting the process. If the steps are followed correctly, there will no waste of time and resources.

Utilizing Value Stream Mapping

When enhancing your production line through implementing lean principles and attempting to efficiently overhaul your supply chain so that it capitalizes on its full potential and delivers the dividends you have been investing in, it pays to be fully immersed in every aspect of your product and its development cycle. Doing so will help you better anticipate potential issues which may arise. Utilizing a lean-focused product development cycle when trying to better understand your production line will help you realize and better appreciate the values of efficiency and constantly focusing on improvement. A tool you can utilize in achieving that improvement is value stream mapping, a lean-focused technique that concentrates on charting and refining the stream of material and information through your manufacturing line. Better understanding the ins and outs of lean product development requires the proper research and education on this and other techniques.

Value stream mapping for non manufacturing environments

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Understanding the techniques required to analyze, refine and apply a strategy designed to streamline your supply chain will demand proper planning and insight into which lean practices best apply to you and your business. Of course you will already be familiar with some of the basic concepts, as the relevant areas of interest in your supply line should already be familiar to you. Therefore, when you do eventually move on to implementa lean production system best suited to your needs, you will be capable of applying the knowledge we have discussed through maneuvers that will genuinely bring your enterprise closer and closer to success. 

Lean Basics - AME

If you have analyzed your business plan and decided that it is best to move ahead and implement a lean strategy focused on addressing issues within your enterprise, then it is expected that you properly research the pertinent concepts and educate yourself extensively on the subject matter. When you move to discuss the matter with staff members and which ever relevant committees you’ve included in the conversation thus far, you’ll need to have decided on the proper focus and be able to succinctly explain it. Most importantly, you must approach lean manufacturing with a cohesive team mindset and shared goal. If you and your team do not share aligning viewpoints and thoroughly understand the pertinent lean manufacturing concepts, then you’ll swiftly meet with discouragement, setbacks and, likely, failure.

After establishing that the senior management is on the same page as you regarding your shared vision, you’ll logically move to brainstorm your first lean-oriented project. The specific project you end up selecting and move to implement will depend highly on your specific needs--although in terms of pilot programs, there are certainly specific steps and stages you’ll want to focus on. What is of supreme importance at this point in time is that you, along with the senior staff, effectively communicate your intentions to the workforce so that you can gather feedback on the relevant lean manufacturing strategies. In doing so you’ll be able to effectively work with your team to implement the strategy best suited to the goalposts you set on the path to becoming a lean enterprise.