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.
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