When Toyota introduced lean manufacturing, people took notice. They recognized customers wanted value and worked hard to eliminate waste, much as Toyota did. Operational efficiency and continuous improvement remain hallmarks of this manufacturing method. Companies use it to produce high-quality items that meet consumers’ demands by optimizing processes and reducing waste.
What Makes Lean Manufacturing Stand Out?
When people first contact Supply Velocity to learn about lean manufacturing, they focus on eliminating waste to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. They quickly discover this process focuses on continuous improvement, as there are always areas in which they could do better. To work, every employee in the organization must be committed, including top management. The customer remains at the center of the process as the goal is to meet their needs.
Core Principles
Lean manufacturing revolves around five principles. First, the company must definite value as viewed by the customer. When it has this information, it can create products and services that fill the consumer’s needs. Once the value has been defined, the company maps the value chain, outlining each activity in making the product or service. It must do so to determine which steps can be eliminated to reduce waste. The goal of this site is to create a continuous flow of products with no interruptions.
Demand-driven production eliminates waste, as products are only created when needed. Excess inventory becomes less of a concern, and the company can better respond to market changes. When the company achieves this goal, the focus turns to improving the process.
Waste Elimination
Waste comes in many forms. A company may overproduce goods or move items and materials when unnecessary. Overprocessing is when the company adds steps that won’t add value for the customer.
Any stock sitting idle is considered waste, and unnecessary steps in the production process must be eliminated to make employees more productive. The process also focuses on idle time and defects, which lower a company’s bottom line. Many techniques can be used to reduce waste, including Plan Pulling and Value Stream Analysis.
Implementing Lean Manufacturing
To implement lean manufacturing, a company must focus on stability, production flow, and internal logistics flow. Stability relies on having the right workers, machinery, and materials and knowing the methods to maximize these resources. A continuous production flow also maximizes productivity.
The company must consider the design of the line and workstations. Low-cost automation can help boost the flow of goods, and employee tasks need to be standardized to increase consistency and efficiency. The company also needs to use Single-Minute Exchange of Die to increase productivity.
The final step of implementing lean manufacturing involves focusing on internal logistics. Doing so ensures materials are standardized and handled efficiently. Many methods may be used to achieve this goal, including Supermarket and Plan Pulling.
Conclusion
Technology allows lean manufacturing to be taken to the next level. AI, the Internet of Things, and data analytics make identifying and eliminating waste easier. Automation is another tool companies use to benefit from lean manufacturing. Many assume this means eliminating human workers, but it involves more than that. Implementing robotics and autonomous systems can provide cost benefits.
Lean manufacturing is a philosophy that touches every facet of a company’s operations. Every company wants to maximize value while minimizing waste, and these tools and techniques help it do so. Continuous improvement is needed to achieve and maintain the highest efficiency level, and the organization must remain committed to innovation. Lean manufacturing is also continuously improving, as it must address new challenges. Fortunately, it is well-positioned to do so.
