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What is Lean Manufacturing? While there are various definitions, most very similar,
I use the following
definition when training on lean manufacturing:
Lean Manufacturing is an enterprise-wide
strategy for achieving excellence:
- by creating value (from the customer's
perspective)
- by creating a culture of continuous
performance improvement and working to eliminate ALL waste of resources and time
- by creating high quality, stable processes and
emphasizing respect for people throughout the organization.
Lean is a continuous process improvement
methodology consisting of five
primary principles:
1. Value (from the customer's
perspective)
2. Value Stream (map the steps in the
value stream)
3. Flow (create a smooth flow)
4. Pull (the right amount pulled at the
right time, no more, no less)
5. Perfection (elimination of all waste
in the value stream)
Learn more about the five
principles of lean manufacturing from my short instructional video.
Video:
The Five Principles of
Lean
Lean Manufacturing or Lean Methodologies?
Lean as we know it today was developed from the
auto giant Toyota; more specifically, the Toyota Production System (TPS). Lean
is now being successfully applied in all types of service related industries,
saving companies hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars each year.
Therefore, in today's environment, I believe the term Lean
Manufacturing would be more appropriately referred to as Lean Philosophies or
Lean Methodologies.
Difference Between Traditional and Lean
Manufacturing
I am occasionally asked, "What is the
difference between traditional manufacturing versus lean manufacturing." The
overarching "big picture" difference between traditional manufacturing and lean
manufacturing involves a totally different mindset.
To be more specific I've put
together a short list below, in no particular order, of what I see as some of
the important differences between lean and the traditional approach. These are
generalizations, but based on my experience I've found these generalizations to
be true 100% of the time.
Traditional: Production
driven by a sales forecast (Push).
Lean: Production is driven
by customer demand; items are only produced when an order is placed (Pull - one
of the 5 lean principles).
Traditional: Problems are
viewed as just that, problems.
Lean: Problems are viewed as
opportunities for improvement often through root cause analysis.
Traditional: Work in process
(WIP) is viewed as a normal part of operations.
Lean: WIP is a sign that a
process needs to improved and is considered a type of waste that should be
reduced or eliminated
(the same is true for inventory).
Traditional: Improve system
(disregarding all of the types of waste in the process).
Lean: Improve system by 1)
Eliminating waste and 2) Improving current processes.
Traditional: Management is
the primary driver of change.
Lean: Everyone is empowered,
trained in the principles of lean and encouraged to look for ways to improve
processes.
Traditional: If a process is
working (if it ain't broke) don't fix it.
Lean: Always look for ways
to improve processes.
Traditional: Standardized work
(people performing the same task the same way) only exists in documents like
SOPs, rarely in reality.
Lean: Everyone performs the
same task the exact same way until a better way is discovered; then everyone
performs the task the new and improved way.
Traditional: Focuses on
training and relies on people to not make mistakes.
Lean: Focuses on building
processes that are error proofed (a person cannot make a mistake or it would be
difficult to do so).
Traditional: Systems
thinking (views the organization as a whole), often ignoring or unable to see
the enormous opportunities for improvement.
Lean: Views the organization
as a series of interrelated processes that can and should be improved.
Final Thought: Everything Functions Through
Processes (A Part of Lean Thinking)
As lean professionals we see the world as a
series of processes. Anytime you have something with a defined beginning and
ending, you have a process that could and should be improved. This is one
of the primary reasons Lean has been successfully applied in so many different
types of industries; every industry has processes.
For a non-manufacturing example let's consider
routine doctor's appointments. The process could START when the computer
indicates a patient is scheduled for a routine appointment. It could END when
that particular patient completed the routine appointment.
In this example we would analyze all of the
steps from start to end with a team of local experts. What we'd
undoubtedly find is a series of wasted steps, wasted time, reworks, non-standardized
work, poor process flow, etc.
Another example could be an
auto service center. The START could be when a customer signs in at the
counter, and END when the customer's car has been fixed and paid for.
Again, like the previous example, if we analyzed this process we'd undoubtedly
find many areas for improvement. These improvements equates to increased
efficiencies that have a direct impact on the bottom-line.
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