Lean Manufacturing

The Five Principles of Lean Manufacturing

2013-03-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

All companies seek ways to improve their businesses. One of the most common goals of trumping the competition is cutting expenses, which can be best achieved through lean manufacturing strategies.

But before anything, let us first define what lean manufacturing is. Lean manufacturing is a management concept that supports the 'no waste' policy. These 'wastes' refer to the
seven most common reasons for underproductivity and delay identified by companies all over the world.

They are inventory, over production, waiting time, transportation, processing, scrap and defects and motion. According to studies, most firms waste between 70% and 90% of the resources available to them. These happen when there are huge stockpiles of overruns, or when it takes ten activity levels to achieve something that can be done equally as good as when completed in three steps. The list can go on, but you get the picture.

The tricky part about implementing lean manufacturing principles is that most of the wastes identified are invisible, making their reduction and eventual eradication challenging. But with careful planning, lean manufacturing should be a walk in the park for your company

There are five core disciplines in lean manufacturing. Not all firms require their implementation, but at least one of which is necessary for the betterment, or 'leaning', of an organization.

1) team development
2) cellular manufacturing
3) six sigma and total quality management
4) rapid setup
5) pull scheduling

To complement the above, the following five lean manufacturing principles are what serve as guidelines for firms that want to maximize value out of their organization.

Out With Waste

Lean manufacturing principles focus on eliminating waste from the company. This means taking out unnecessary departments or redundant positions, or eradicating processes that just cause delay.

If it means terminating jobs, then do so. Lean manufacturing espouses that all resources, land, persons and capital, are used in the best and most efficient way they can be used.

Do It Right The First Time

Trial and error methods are simply a waste of resources and time. If enough effort is placed in carefully planning a certain manufacturing process, then there wouldn't be the need to start all over again, or settle with mediocre situations.

Always Seek The Best

Every company should always reach for the highest value that can be achieved. All the effort will be futile and major waste if this isn't done so.

Be Flexible

Lean manufacturing principles do not support stiff and linear thinking. If something needs to be improved and changed along the way, then do so at once, instead of contending with the original plan that has been eventually found to be resource and time-wasteful along the way.

Don't Push, Pull

Consumers should be given the freedom to decide what they want. As a manufacturer, you should impose trends or products to your clients. Rather, you should always be on the lookout for what will make your consumers happy.

Of course, adopting lean manufacturing principles does not always mean that your company is saved. It still takes careful planning, method-mapping and a lot of discipline to succeed. If your company is not wary of the consequences of strategies that are haphazardly implemented, then these lean manufacturing principles will be in vain -- and total waste.

What Is Lean Manufacturing Process?

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Lean manufacturing process is the process of empowering companies to be able to implement manufacturing methodologies that attempts to maximize the valued goods and minimize the waste that comes with it.

Every company has been asking what is lean manufacturing process. What is lean manufacturing process as compared to the present manufacturing methods and why should it be considered
.

Lean manufacturing process hopes to satisfy not only the customers of a company but its employees and shareholders as well.

What Is lean Manufacturing Process To The Beneficiaries

1. What is lean manufacturing process to the customers?

Customers only pays for what they need. This is called value in the perspective of a company. Value is termed as something that the customer is willing to buy or pay for.

So basically, lean manufacturing process gives the customer what it wants. What is lean manufacturing process as an effect to customers is that it decides to make the manufacturing companies more customer centric and therefore more satisfaction to the customers.

Companies usually do surveys or just plainly asks a particular customers of his needs or wants and then focuses all its available resources and energies to that particular need.

2. What is lean manufacturing process to the employees?

Employees have long been part of the manufacturing line. They are considered to be a major part of the manufacturing line. If a company implements a lean manufacturing process, the employees will benefit from the ease of work and less redundant or loops in the manufacturing line.

Though, underutilized employees are also part of the program of lean manufacturing process, employees will surely benefit from less stress.

What is lean manufacturing process' effect to the employees is that the lean manufacturing process will eliminate the processes or things that are considered as waste in the manufacturing process.

At some point, an employee can be considered underutilized and an action will be required as is taught by the lean manufacturing process.

3. What is lean manufacturing process to the company?

The lean manufacturing process will bring great benefit to the company since its programs are focused on how the company can improve its manufacturing lines. What is lean manufacturing process for the company is that its ability to eliminate wastes and diminish redundant and looping processes.

What is lean manufacturing process to the customers, employees and shareholders is that it aims to develop a centralized and more effective manufacturing process beneficial to all.

Below are some of the focal points that are aimed to be resolved by the lean manufacturing systems:

a. Inventory
b. Overproduction
c. Defects
d. Waiting Time
e. Extra Processing
f. Underutilized People
g. Motion
h. Transportation

These focal points of the lean manufacturing process will be methodologically acted upon. Each of these focal points have been a problem by one manufacturing company or another. Therefore, a solution for a problem that includes the abovementioned focal points are readily available. Any future problem will be studied for a ready solution. A problem may be solved mechanically or methodologically, in whatever way, the solution will always be available for the manufacturing process.

What is lean manufacturing process as implemented on these focal points? the lean manufacturing process is drafted to increase the value of the goods and decrease the presence of wastes. It is after years of experience in the manufacturing lines that effective methodologies are made in place to improve the manufacturing lines of manufacturing companies.

What is lean manufacturing process compared to the old methodologies in manufacturing if these methodologies do not contribute to the overall gain of the company or the satisfaction of the esteemed customers.

The lean manufacturing processes in placed today in most companies were constructed in reference to the lean manufacturing systems that started in Japan. The lean manufacturing systems or processes started in Toyota Production System (TPS) in Japan. That is why most of the terms used in lean manufacturing processes are Japanese words such as kaizen, kanban and andon. The Toyota Production System has a wide experience when it comes to manufacturing and it has been rightly so that they have developed their own lean manufacturing process.

The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

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The standard lean manufacturing system has been referenced from the Toyota lean manufacturing system in Japan. Even the lean manufacturing system developed in North America has evolved from its beginnings in the Toyota Production System (TPS) in Japan.

In fact, many of the recognized phrases being used in the lean manufacturing
systems in North America and all over the world are Japanese terms such as kanban, kaizen or andon. These Japanese terms originated from the Toyota lean manufacturing systems and have become standard and normal terms in every lean manufacturing systems available in every country.

The Heart Of The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

Value has been the heart of the Toyota lean manufacturing system. When we say value, it means something that a particular customer desires to pay for or even buy.

As such, if there is value, then there is also non-value in the Toyota lean manufacturing system. Non value are everything that is not of value, meaning all aspects of the Toyota lean manufacturing processes are considered a waste or of no value.

Basically, the Toyota lean manufacturing system has an objective to be used as a tool in focusing all resources or energies in producing certain value-added characteristics while also identifying, acknowledging and eliminating the activities that are of no value.

The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Toyota lean manufacturing is a sort of codification of several ideas into a set of workable harmonies.

First, a company who adopted the Toyota lean manufacturing system must be able to identify a particular customer and how or what is value to them. Afterwards, the Toyota lean manufacturing system will be able to guide the companies and employees to focus their energies into adding value to the goods.

By delineating the existing manufacturing process to the demands of the customer, the Toyota lean manufacturing system will be able to add value to the products or goods. in the end, the customers, the employees and the shareholders of the companies will all be satisfied.

The Waste In The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Toyota lean manufacturing system faces a hindrance in its aims to improve manufacturing processes. The waste has become the focus of the Toyota lean manufacturing system although it is taught that focus and energies must be directed towards the valued goods as wanted by the customers.

Previous manufacturing processes has defined and categorized wastes as objects. The teachings of the Toyota lean manufacturing system, however, expands this view into meaning that wastes are not only objects but can be processes of the manufacturing system.

The Toyota lean manufacturing system rather defines waste in terms of the relationship between the resource and the end customers. Anything therefore that is not of interest to teh customer but incurs expense to the company is a waste for the Toyota lean manufacturing system.

Continuous Improvement In The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Toyota lean manufacturing system is bent on pursuing continuous improvement for all its processes. Any redundant or looping process will have to be terminated or replaced to improve the manufacturing process.

The Toyota lean manufacturing system allows itself to be open and adaptive to any changes. By identifying what wastes are existing in the value stream, immediate and instant gains are acquired and achieved.

The Plan Of Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Toyota lean manufacturing system lays out a plan to increase the profitability of companies by reducing the costs that can be incurred. This is done by knowing and tagging what the customers identify as value. therefore, any processes or objects that do not align with this value or do not add value to the object is reduced or eliminated.

When a company adopts the Toyota lean manufacturing system, it knows that it can direct cost savings by eliminating wastes in the system.

Using the Toyota lean manufacturing process, companies can readily see the following improvements in their company:

1. An increased morale and productivity of the employee.
2. Satisfaction for the customer because of reduced defects on the goods and an improved delivery.
3. The goods will also be faster to market.

As was said previously, the Toyota lean manufacturing system is very much customer focused.

What is lean manufacturing?

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Lean manufacturing is said to be a form of continuous improvement and when a company adopts it, a full-time continuous improvement person must be identified within the company as well as a continuous improvement team must be formed.

The company will then bring in a recognized expert or a consultant to be able to map out the company's operation and help it identify specific areas for improvement.

Some Definition Of Terms

There are some terms that needs to be properly defined if a company wishes to learn what is a lean manufacturing process. The following are some of the terms that are used in lean manufacturing systems:

1. Value is anything that a prospective customer will be willing to buy or pay for. Therefore, what is a lean manufacturing process to a company if it does not provide teh customer what he specifically needs.

2. Cellular manufacturing is the linking of machine and manual operations into the most effective combinations possible to be able to maximize certain value-added activities while at the same time minimizing wastes. This is clearly what is lean manufacturing systems intends to do for the company.

A cell lay-out is typically U-shaped and uses only a one-piece flow.

3. The Kanban System is a pull system that utilizes color-coded cards that are attached to parts or some part containers to be able to regulate the upstream production and also the delivery flow of the process. This is also what is lean manufacturing adopting for the company manufacturing processes.

4. The lean manufacturing is the process of analysis of the flow of information and materials in a manufacturing environment as well as continuously improving the system process to be able to achieve an enhanced value to the customer. What is lean manufacturing is trying to accomplish is the streamlining of existing manufacturing process in companies so as to improve its revenue gain.

5. When a lean manufacturing process identifies a non-value added, it will easily translate to a waste. A non-value added is any activity or process that do not add market form or runction or is simply not necessary. These activities are targetted by lean manufacturing processes to be able to be eliminated, terminated or simply reduced.

This is exactly what is lean manufacturing is trying to do, reduce if not eliminate unwanted processes or activities that translate to waste.

6. Pull system is the method of controlling and managing the flow of resources by replacing only the goods that has been depleted. They are therefore replenished. What is lean manufacturng process is trying to do is to make a systemized process of replenishment and depletion in inventories.

7. Push system is the method by which resources of the company is made available to the customer by using surveys and forecasting or much better by schedules. What is lean manufacturing pushing for, however, is that the push system be disregarded.

8. Takt time is the demand rate of a customer. Takt time aims to set the pace or rhythm of production of goods to be able to match the demand rate of customers. The takt time is the heartbeat of any lean manufacturing system. What is lean manufacturing observing is the calculation of this takt time.

The calculation of takt time is made by dividing the work time that is available by the total number of units that are sold.

9. The value added is any activity that hopes to increase the form of the market or the function of the product and service. This value added is basically the value that was discussed in number one. What lean manufacturing is trying to do is to guide manufacturing companies into putting all their focus and energies towards a good of particular value to the customer.

In the end, what lean manufacturing is aiming to complete is the over all improvement of the company manufacturing process. The company manufacturing process has always been part of an important industry that deserves to be continuously improved upon. Therefore, the last theme of a lean manufacturing system is continuous improvement. The lean manufacturing system has been an inspiration to other parts of company processes as well.

Lean Manufacturing Books

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A Handful of Recommended Books About Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is the emerging trend nowadays for maximization of productivity among companies and firms.

Because today’s time is so hard, with almost every company around the world suffering from narrowing margins and operation losses, major and established giant firms acknowledge and start implementing lean manufacturing strategies within their businesses.

However, lean manufacturing is a discipline, an approach that should be carefully studied before implemented in the workplace. Taking a closer look at it and its operational nature will ensure the attainment of desired benefits from lean manufacturing.

Because lean manufacturing is a helpful set of strategies and business operational techniques, it would be helpful if managers, employers, entrepreneurs and even the most common workers know about it.

In this regard, here are some of the best and most helpful books that are recommended if you want to study, look at and know more about lean manufacturing.

These books are available on your nearest book stands. These lean manufacturing books are also available online, so log in and check them out through your reliable and favorite online shopping Web site.

“5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace”

A book authored by Japanese expert Hiroyuki Hirano and translated by Bruce Talbot, “5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace” gives pertinent outlook and information about the visual workplace.

“5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace” touches and focuses on the widely popular 5S’s principle, which are being used currently worldwide. These are seiri or organization, seiton or orderliness, seiso or cleanliness, seiketsu or standardized cleanup and shitsuke or discipline.

The Japanese 5S clearly and obviously outlines the approaches behind the ever-reliable lean manufacturing techniques. Apparently, the two workplace concepts are interrelated with each other because both aim to maximize productivity by eliminating wastes and wasteful practices.

“5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace” also offers a number of significant and related case studies that include 5S training materials and graphic demonstrations and illustrations.

“New Manufacturing Challenge”

This book details and outlines the competitive techniques and strategies successfully implemented and adopted by successful and giant global companies in the past two decades.

Authored by another Japanese researcher, Kiyoshi Suzaki, “New Manufacturing Challenge” focuses on manufacturing firms and provides recommendations on how these companies can boost production efficiency.

“New Manufacturing Challenge” is very much recommended specifically for manufacturing and production specialists.

“Just Another Car Factory?”

The book is written by Christopher Huxley, James Rinehart and David Robertson.

“Just Another Car Factory?” demonstrates the effective implementation and use of lean manufacturing techniques by taking the example of the CAMI Automotive.

CAMI Automotive is a joint car making business of US-based General Motors and Japan’s Suzuki. It is understood that CAMI Automotive has developed and adopted one of the most effective lean production facilities.

By taking a closer look and conducting a case study of the company, the authors have successfully come up with a book that touches mainly on lean manufacturing, including the aspects of sociology, labor, human resources management and industrial relations.

“Lean Manufacturing Implementation”

“Lean Manufacturing Implementation” is a sequential and step-by-step informative reading about implementation of lean manufacturing techniques in businesses.

The lean manufacturing book is authored by Dennis Hobbs and co-published by CPIM and APICS. “Lean Manufacturing Implementation” was published in October 2003.

The book enumerates comprehensible and understandable transformation of manufacturing businesses into productive ones using lean manufacturing techniques.

“Lean Manufacturing Implementation” is written in a manner that readers will surely easily understand the techniques and description due to the simple words, vocabularies and sentence structures used by the author.

“Lean Manufacturing Implementation” also tackles common problems and concerns arising from the implementation of lean manufacturing techniques as well as effective and recommended solutions to address these lean manufacturing issues.

“What is Lean Six Sigma”

“What is Lean Six Sigma” is written by Bill Kastle, David T Rowlands and Michael George.

This lean manufacturing book focuses on the integration of the Lean Six Sigma, which practically and effectively combines the principles of improving work (through the use of the paradigm of the so-called workplace Six Sigma) and faster work (through using and implementing key lean manufacturing principles).

“What is Lean Six Sigma” will surely be an easy reading, but informative, because the authors employed the plain-English style of book writing.

Advantages Of Lean Manufacturing

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Lean manufacturing is the processes, techniques, strategies and initiatives being implemented by companies around the world that aim to reduce unnecessary and unproductive tasks, activities and behaviors in the work environment. Because the times have really gone hard, demanding and intense
due to political and turbulent concerns affecting all nations, firms are currently facing challenges to be
able to keep their profitability and efficiency.

Lean manufacturing not only reduces operational costs but also targets to boost, restore and significantly raise the competitiveness of a company.

There are seven identified ‘forms of waste’ within the work environment and systems that lean manufacturing principally aims to alleviate, if not totally eliminate. These are over production, over processing, transportation, motion, inventory, waiting and scrap and defects.

Several advantages of adopting lean manufacturing principles

The first advantage identified by experts from implementing lean manufacturing techniques and strategies is the reduction of manufacturing time.

When the manufacturing lead time is significantly lowered, it follows that the operational costs incurred from the use of energy, utilities and wages from laborers’ time will also be significantly reduced.

Thus, lean manufacturing helps companies retain, maintain and significantly increase their earnings, widen their margins and help them generate savings from lower costs.

Space is another area where lean manufacturing advantages are clearly and effectively exhibited. Working space, it is understood, is one of the primary and basic factors that keep operations of businesses going.

Labor and human resource experts estimate that adoption of good and effective lean manufacturing techniques and strategies will likely help companies reduce their physical floor space requirements by as much as 5% to 30%.

The figures involved could be small and miniscule for your eyes, but, actually, that will significantly contribute to much more efficiency and savings. That would be an advantage almost all businesses will surely look after.

The advantage in productivity

It is found that in general, companies implementing and adhering to lean manufacturing practices significantly boost and increase their manufacturing productivity by as much as 75% to 125%.

It is because time and efforts are principally targeted by lean manufacturing processes. Thus, elimination of wastes, practices, behaviors and unnecessary and disturbing objects in the work place will surely and practically help workers get on to their tasks with much smooth pacing and comfort.

You know how it is when workers work without any distractions and interruptions. Productivity is very much maximized. Thus, lean manufacturing becomes a necessity for companies to be able to achieve that goal.

The advantages in terms of waste to profit relationships

It follows that elimination and reduction of wastes will gradually and efficiently help boost and raise up earnings and profits in companies.

Thus, elimination of wastes and unproductive activities, objects, tasks and behaviors in the work place will surely help the company and its personnel focus on the requirements and demands of the customer.

The advantage of that, above all is that, when customer satisfaction is achieved, sales will surely rise. The best way to establish a good relationship with customers is to improve the products and services offered to them.

Lean manufacturing would be of great help to achieve a good customer or client relations.

Another advantage brought about by lean manufacturing techniques among various companies and firms adopting it worldwide is streamlined, rationalized or lean structuring of the organization.

You should know that elimination of excess and unnecessary job positions and tasks in a company is a sure way to help that firm reduce labor costs and eventually lead to generate savings.

Lean manufacturing without a doubt brings that advantage of leanness upon organizations and companies practicing and adopting it.

Advantage on culture improvement

Various companies around the world are practicing and implementing different cultures. It is usually a cause of problems, conflicts and issues around and within the organization.

In lean manufacturing, the cultures are standardized, thus, unfavorable practices and behaviors of both the employees and the management are reduced, if not eliminated.

The greatest advantage of lean manufacturing in terms of cultures adopted by companies is that lean manufacturing makes the differences between management and personnel reach to a verging point.

Lean manufacturing principles should really be implemented by companies. It is high time to reap its advantages.

The Lean Manufacturing Process

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Lean manufacuring process is a general term for a wide variety of manufacturing methodologies that are bent on maximizing the value and minimizing the waste in a manufacturing process.

The lean manufacturing process had its origin from the Toyota Production System in Japan. Most of the pharses and terms used in the lean manufacturing process such as kanban, kaizen and andon are Japanese terms that became standards in teh lean manufacturing process.

The Focus Of Lean Manufacturing

Basically, lean manufacturing is focused on value. What is value?

Value is defined in the lean manufacturing process as something that the customer is willing to pay for. Aside from this, all aspects of the manufacturing process is now deemed a waste.

So all processes that is included in the lean manufacturing process is focused on gaining value and reducing waste. The lean manufacturing process is seen as a tool that focuses all the resources and energies to the features with value and less on the features with no value.

Lean Manufacturing Process Is Customer Centric

Lean manufacturing process is customer centric. The term value that is defined in the lean manufacturing process is based on the definition of value from a customer's point of view.

Companies who have identified their customers and how they define the term value will focus all their resources on that particular value.

So basically, companies who observe lean manufacturing processes are manufacturing based on customer needs.

Through the use of lean manufacturing process, companies hopes to satisfy their customers and gain more revenue.

Lean Manufacturing Process Eliminates Waste

The lean manufacturing process eliminates waste. Waste is defined in the lean manufacturing process as anything that the customer is not willing to pay for.

So companies hoped for eliminating waste by conserving the process in manufacturing. Companies focuses on correcting the levels of quality and features of the manufacturing process. The companies hopes to make the manufacturing process "leaner" by eliminating unnecessary processes or loops.

In a lean manufacturing process, an inventory that is depleted is simply replenished, when a customer demands, the company delivers the product, all processes are monitored and checked.

Upon monitoring, the company will be able to have standard targets and will have an idea whenever the manufacturing process has reached its qouta or is higher or below what is expectant of it.

These figures will also tell the company of any loopholes that it needs to correct. By correcting these loopholes and avoiding any unnecessary items in the process, the process will be faster and more effective.

Basically, the equation for the actual cost of a product has changed since the advent of the lean manufacturing process. Previously, the equation is price of the product is equal to the cost of manufacturing and the expectant profit.

After implementing the lean manufacturing process, the equation is still the same but was seen in a different view. The profit is now equal to the sales price of the product minus the cost of manufacturing.

Lean Manufacturing Process Is Continuous Improvement

The lean manufacturing process also commits to the continuous improvement of the manufacturing line. Doing so will eliminate whatever process that can be eliminated as time passes by. Old processes will always be replaced by newer and better ones.

The lean manufacturing process is always open for changes and adjustments. As time passes by, more and more automation of processes will make the manufacturing process shorter and more robust.

Lean Manufacturing Process Is Effective

All in all, the objective of the lean manufacturing process is to satisfy the customers, increase the morale of the employees, and increase the gain of the shareholders.

The lean manufacturing process satisfies the customers because it provide their needs and deliver them on time. The lean manufacturing process satisfies the employees of the companies because it eliminates unnecessary and tiring process along the manufacturing line. Also, more and more automation of the processes will surely eliminate any human error along the process.

The lean manufacturing process satisfies the shareholders because it hopes to implement continuous improvements along the manufacturing line. The manufacturing process will be more effective and the company will have more revenue gain from this. More and more products will be able to be manufactured and yet the quality of the product is not tainted.

Lean Manufaturing 3rd Party Logistic

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Implementing Lean Manufacturing by Third Party Logistic Outsourcing

Lean manufacturing is one of the business philosophies of today that have been embraced by most corporations around the world. Though it was initially intended for the improvement
of manufacturing systems and processes, it made its mark throught the rest of the enterprise as well.

Lean manufacturing originated from the business policies of
one of Japan's top automobile maker Toyota. This is very obvious since several of the terms used in the lean manufacturing processes or systems are Japanese words like kaizen, kanban and andon.

Lean manufacturing has since been part of the business system and is regularly observed by most companies around the world.

Lately, lean manufacturing is being implemented by companies by hiring third party logistics. Lean manufacturing by third party logistics is possible by outsourcing.

Lean Manufacturing By Third Party Logistics

Outsourcing is currently the trend in most businesses today. In fact, General Motors of North America has been using outsourcing as part of its competitive advantage strategies. This company has plenty of experience when it comes to the analysis of an outsourcing company’s capabilities and solutions.

Lean manufacturing by third party logistics is being utilized by most of the companies today including General Motors. General Motors identified the Powertrain Warren plant where General Motors can implement lean manufacturing and they used third party logistics to do this.

It embraced lean manufacturing principles by third party logistics and used the plant to effectively manufacture engines. It also used lean manufacturing by third party logistics to resolve transportation issues.

Later general Motors decided to further use lean manufacturing by third party logistics for the entire group. Greater benefits are evident from the economies of scale. Clearly, the teachings of lean manufacturing are to add value and eliminate waste simplifying the manufacturing process.

Steps Done In Choosing Lean Manufacturing By Third Party Logistics

General Motors made its choice on what potential supplier or third party logistics to choose from a number of factors enumerated below:

1. The overall quality of the lean manufacturing by third party logistics.

2. The service of the lean manufacturing by third party logistics.

3. The available technology or innovation of the lean manufacturing by third party logistics.

4. The price of the lean manufacturing by third party logistics.

The Benefits From Lean Manufacturing By Third Party Logistics

In line with the principles of lean manufacturing, the outsourcing party must be able to do it all in the least costly and the most relaxed manner.

The strategy of General Motors to outsource its transportation function has been very effective and is rather working well. The third party logistics have a 99 percent record for on-time performance and has met its objective to gain significant savings for General Motors.

The lean manufacturing by third party logistics has been implemented rather well in the case of General Motors. The available visibility of the products and data information via the supply chain pipeline of General Motors has been a value that was unexpected.

Furthermore, the lean manufacturing by third party logistics strategy covered scanning of all the General Motor’s freight and updated the advance shipping notifications of General Motors.

To make sure that both parties will combine their efforts to continuously improve processes in line with the principles of lean manufacturing, the outsourcing arrangement will include a gain sharing component.

Lessons Available From The Outsourcing Journal

The lean manufacturing by third party logistics strategy is effective since outsourcing several of the company’s functions such as the transportation functions will allow a buyer to possibly leverage the strength of the supplier in the economies of scale in order to be able to achieve a number of objectives that include on-time performance and cost reduction.

From the view of the third-party logistics supplier, it will manage the transportation function. It may also decide on using subcontract arrangements for some portions of the route, or otherwise perform and deliver the transportation services along with the management decisive component.

Lean manufacturing by third party logistics have a gain sharing mechanism indicated in the outsourcing contract which is a highly effective option for an incentive as well as for continuous reduction of cost and the improvement of services.

Andon Lean Manufacturing

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The Andon Lean Manufacturing Tool

Andon is a “visual control” device that shows machine, line or process status. It is a very useful tool in lean manufacturing systems where the main goal is to reduce production waste in all levels.

Using andon boards can help the industry guide, monitor and ensure productivity. Andon boards also double as early warning devices because audible alarms or warning messages usually accompany them to
communicate a problem.

With andon boards installed in lean manufacturing warehouses, workers can instantly see order status, priorities and many relevant productivity measurements even from more than 100 feet away. Critical areas in lean manufacturing where andon boards can be used are manufacturing, inventory management, storage, receiving, picking and shipping.

By using andon boards in a lean manufacturing system, there is evidently better coordination of orders, parts, priorities and flow thus an improvement of customer service.

In shipping for example, andon boards can display queuing information, priorities, pick-up and departure and wait times, truck directions and other specifics which ensure fast and correct deliveries. Inventory accuracy is assured by seeing to it that proper items are picked.

Because of andon boards, lean manufacturing systems do not rely on white boards, clip boards and word of mouth and even emails and intranet as a communication tool. There is little room for error, therefore, and a reduction of “work in progress” or lag time between cycles.

Most andon boards have the ablity to project a number of 4” characters. Requests normally refer to x number of lines and y number of characters. You can run for example 5 lines of 30 characters each which implies 4” characters.

Andon boards can also be used to display smaller characters as needed. 2.1” high characters are usually used for smaller areas with 100 ft. or less of viewing distance. Some adaptive andon boards can display different character sizes at once. are available in single-sided and double-sided veer

Windows applications can be installed inside andon board displays and all these will operate on the boards just like they run on PCs. Excel can be used to display charts and graphs live. Explorer can display internet or intranet sites as well.

Other HMI applications like GE Cimplicity, Wonderware, Visual Plant, Iconics or other SCADA applications can also be run on andon boards just like they are run on a desktop computer.

Andon boards have enhanced lean manufacturing tremendously. However, andon displays have, for a long time, been a basic but very expensive addition to lean manufacturing systems.

New technologies had to be developed to further enhance these communication tools and reduce more waste. Before, the data that andon boards display are usually fixed and restricted to single word headings such as “target” or “actual”, and data is lost once the display changes.

Now, Gemba Solutions have developed a new model, the OEE Impact Andon Board which provides flexible and displays which the user can configure via a PC. This can also be viewed on LCD or plasma screen.

The OEE Impact Andon Board creates another dimension for lean manufacturing as its software lets you know how you fare against targets in real-time by calculating TAKT times. A production plan for machines and lines can also automatically account planned breaks.

A profile of progress can also be views within a specific period of time or within work shifts. The OEE Impact Andon Board also can provide a historical summary report showing shift, daily, weekly performance vis-à-vis TAKT times, targets, rejects and down-times.

These new kinds of andon boards are very helpful in lean manufacturing as they let you know how well your production is going. In the event that results are less than what you want them to be, the OEE Impact Andon Board can also utilize a powerful software to find out where problem areas and bottlenecks are.

This helps lean manufacturers decide what to change in the process and later check on summary reports whether, in changing the process results have indeed improved. This shows that with the OEE Impact Andon Board, no data is ever lost.

Adapting Lean Manufacturing

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What Adapting Lean Manufacturing can do for you

Lean manufacturing espouse the philosophy that the seven major wastes in every production process and company should be significantly reduced or even eliminated in order to be able to
compete more effectively and dramatically boost profitability.

Times are changing fast and the demands of the market for faster delivery periods, higher quality and lower costs are placing huge tolls on every firm. This is where lean manufacturing comes in.
What it does is help your firm rise up to the competition by being "lean" that is, by taking out all the unnecessary activities and methods that cause problems and delay.

Lean manufacturing has identified seven major "wastes", as named by companies surveyed all over the world : over processing, transportation, waiting time, over production, motion, scrap and defects and inventory.

For example, a certain production level becomes a huge waste of time, effort and resources if it's being done in ten levels, while it can be completed in just three.

Citing another case, productivity could have been raised if defects of a particular equipment or system had been addressed before processing began. A lot more could have been done you had not waited for it to bog down in the middle of everything and cause annoying delays.

Another one is where your company has overproduced and have no more space to stock the overruns. Where do you put the excesses ? How do you manage to sell them? More likely than not, you will be forced to offload them at a price much lower than intended just so you coul make room for new goods. And, this as lean manufacturing says (and any bussines person would say) is major waste.

Studies show that firms adopting the lean manufacturing principles have seen their productivity has gone up 75% to 125%.

This is because the energy and time usually spent on regular processes have been significantly lowered to allow for greater focus on quality and what the customers trully need. With lean manufacturing, there is no this will have to do attitude.

Everything is done at the right quality, at the right quantity, at the right time, all the time.

As with the workplace setting, lean manufacturing's focus on eliminating unproductive activites and task will also help the firm and its employees give more attention to what their clients need. No job will be haphazardly done because enough time is afforded to each level to make sure things are running smoothly.

When customer satisfaction is achieved, it follows that revenue will rise. Your client is happy, your company is happy, everybody is happy.

Lean manufacturing also aids the organization by weeding out redundant position, thereby cutting labor costs and eventually raking in savings. It helps firms focus just on what needs to be done and do away with unwanted stress, especially those that arise from having too many people on board. With lean manufacturing, less is definitely more.

One major change that your company will see once you have adopted lean manufacturing concepts is the raised discipline among your emplyees. Because the culture becomes standardized, annoying kinks and practices are done away with.

While several people criticize lean manufacturing, saying it's a costly endeavor, you must be aware that the costs related to its preliminary stages will far be trumped by the advantages it will deliver for the company in the long run.

The Lean Manufacturing Process

2012-05-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Lean manufacturing process is general term for a wide variety of manufacturing methodologies that are bent on maxizing the value and minimizing the waste in a manufacturing process.

The lean manufacturing process had its origin from the Toyota Production System in Japan. Most of the pharses and terms used in the lean manufacturing process such as kanban, kaizen and andon are Japanese terms that became standards in
the lean manufacturing process.

The focus of lean manufacturing

Basically, lean manufacturing is focused on value. What is value? Value is defined in the lean manufacturing process as something that customer is willing to pay for. Aside from this, all aspects of manufacturing process is now deemed a waste.

So all processes that included in the lean manufacturing process is focused on gaining value and reducing waste. The lean manufacturing process is seen as a tool that focuses all the resources and energies to the features with value and less on the features with no value.

Lean manufacuring process is Customer centric.

The term value that defined in the lean manufacturing process is based on the definition of value from a customer's point of view.

Companies who have identified their customers and how they define the term value will focus all their resources on that particular value.

So basically, companies who observe lean manufacturing processes are manufaturing based on customer needs.

Through the use of lean manufacturing process, companies hopes to satisfy their customers and gain more revenue.

Lean manufacturing process eliminates waste. Waste is defined in the lean manufacturing process as anything that the customers is not willing to pay for. So companies hoped for eliminating waste by conserving the process in manufacturing. Companies focuses on correcting the levels of quality and features of the manufacturing process. The companies hopes to make the manufacturing process "leaner" by eliminating unnecessary processes or loops.

In a lean manufacturing process, an inventory that depleted is simply replenished, when a customer demands the company delivers the product, all processes are monitored and checked.

Upon monitoring, the company will be able to have standard targets and will have an idea whenever the manufacturing process has reached its quota or is higher or below that is expectant of it.

These figures will also tell the company of any loopholes that it needs to correct. By correcting these loopholes and avoiding any unnecessary items in the process, the process will be faster and more effective.

Basically, the equation for actual cost of a product has changed since the advent of the lean manufacturing process, previously, the equations is price of the product is equal to the cost of manufacturing and the expectant provit.

After implementing the lean manufacturing process, the equation is still the same but was seen in a different view. The provit is now equal to the sale price of the product minus the cost of manufacturing.

The lean manufacturing process is continuous improvement.

The lean manufacturing process also commits to the continuous improvement of the manufacturing line. Doing so will eliminate whatever process that can be eliminated as time passes by, old processes will always be replaced by newer and better ones.

Lean manufacturing process is always open for changes and adjusments. As time passes by, more and more automation of processes will make the manufacturing process shorter and more robust.

Lean manufacturing process is effective.

All in all, the objective of the lean manufacturing process is to satisfy the customers, increase the morale of the emplyees, and increase the gain of the shareholders.

The lean manufacturing process satisfies the customers because it provide their needs and deliver them on time. The lean manufacturing process satisfies the emplyees of the companies because it eliminates unnecessary and tiring process a long the manufacturing line. Also, more and more automation of the processes will sure eliminate any human error along the process.

The lean manufacturing process satisfies the shareholders because it hopes to implement continuous improvement along the manufacturing process will be more effective and the company will have more revenue gain from this. More and more products will be able to manufactured and yet the quality of the product is not tainted.

What is Lean Manufacturing

2012-05-13T02:01:00.000-07:00

Today, in highly consumerist society where people strive to acquire more processions, it is ironic that in manufacturing consumer product, lean is in.

The concept of zero-waste does not only circulate among ecological zones, it seems. Lean manufacturing is new buzzword in the industrial world which is rapedly gaining ubiquitous following. Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to eliminate waste in the production process
with the end goal of satisfying customers.

Waste is anything that a customer refuses to pay for. The type of wastes in a manufacturing system include the following.

a) overproduction or producing more, earlier or faster than required.
b) waiting for machines to process
c) inventory or work in process because of large lot production or processes with long cycle time.
d) unnecessary processing
e) transportation which hardly adds values to product.
f) excessive motion of workers, machines and transport due to inappropriate location of tools and parts.
g) making defective product and
h) underutilizing people.

The focus of lean manufacturing is to minimize the consumption of resources that adds no value to a product. As such, it is a process-focused production system which minimize cost, maximizes customer options and ensures high quality and fast delivery of products and services.

The consept of lean manufacturing originated in Japan where, after WW II, it was necessary for manufacturers to developed a new, low cost manufacturing process.

Unlike their western counterparts, Japanese manufacturers needed torebuild after the war and faced declining human, material and financial resources. The first leaders to create lean manufacturing systems were Eiji Toyoda, Taiichi Ohno and Shingeo Shingo of Toyota Motor Company.

In the 1990's, the concept of lean manufacturing was popularized in the USA by a study conducted by the Massachucetts Institute of Technology on the movement of mass production toward the more streamlined Japanese production style as described in the book entitled The Machine That Changed the world (Womack, Jones & Ross).

This depicted essential elements which are used in lean manufacturing systems. The term lean was adopted because these methods used less human effort, capital invesment, production space, materials and time in all operation stages.

All U.S. manufacturing business evetually applied lean manufacturing because of competition among U.S. and Japanese automakers over the last two decades.

Lean manufacturing systems recognize the fact that the value of a product is defined slely by the customer. Customers needs must be met at a specific time and price. The nitty-gritty of product operations is of no importance to customers.

This realization forces companies to comprehensively analyze business process.

To apply lean manufacturing is to understand basic activities required to produce a particular product and to optimize the entire process from the point of view of the customer. This is important as it helps identify activities that clearly add value, those have no valued-added and cannot be avoicded and those that have no value-added and can be scrapped altogether.

Transition to lean manufacturing system does not happen overnight. Lean manufacturing requires every level of its basic principles and execution proceses. Widespread orientations must be set to prepare and motivate people and to make them understand the need to switch to lean manufacturing.

After that, a mentality for continuous improvement is necessary to reach company goals. This means that the company aims for incremental improvement of products, and proceses over time.

For this, employe involvement and an atmosphere of expermentation are essential. Decision-making and system development must be delegated. Willingness to take risks must be encouraged.

Improvement must be measured according to results vis-a-vis macro level targets not on number of activities undertaken. Because of the complicated nature of lean manufacturing systems, there is need to execute pilot projects before spread the culture accross the organization.

The number of manufacturers attempting to become lean is increasing fast. Companies that have fully implemented lean manufacturing systems are rare. Although perfection is impossible, it is a goal that lean manufacturers strive for because it helps them be more vigilant of wasteful practises.

Lean Manufacturing 2

2012-05-11T06:46:00.002-07:00

Lean Manufacturing

This might approach you as a big suprise, but the principles of lean manufacturing actually dates a whole lot back, specially the era of Benyamin Franklin. This does not assume that
lean manufacturing principles are ancient, but the time of Benyamin Franklin cannot be called recent can it ?

It is stated that in lean manufacturing, you must not waste time. Why ? Well, have yiy ever heard of the saying ? Time is gold?"
You probably never imagined that this saying could apply to real life ; well it does, especially in lean manufacturing. If you lose five shillings, you also lose the advantages and opportunities that come along with it.

So, hopefully, you learn a lesson which is. If you waste time, thus wasting money, then you can say bye bye to other good things, or blessings that come along with it.

It is also a must in lean manufacturing that you avoid involving yourself with unnecessary costs because doing so is believed, in terms of lean manufacturing as a more profitable way, rather than incrresing your sales. Increasing your sales do not conclude that the customers will buy what it is that you are selling.

But not purchasing or spending money on things that are not really necessary will definitely save you a big comfortable bag of money. Just take this saying for example, "A penny saved is two pence clear. A pin a day is groat a year, save and have."

Having unnecessary inventory can give you quite a number of disadvantages. It not only adds up to the space of your sales, and it also adds your responsibilities, but it also gets you busy over things that you do not really need to be responsible of.

You might refer to those unnecessary items as good.

Howefer, you have to give these so-called goods some care if you do not want them to give you same evils. They will probably be sold with a cheap price which is very unfair because they cost a lot more than they price with which they are sold.

If your sales are cheap, then they are only apparent and not real, as you expected and have been hoping for. If you do engage yourself and your sales in certain bargains, you have to be careful and you also have to be choosy of the said bargains.

Why?

Some bargains, which at first deem to be straightening your business, may actually cause you more harm than good. Harm in the case that when it straghtens your circumstances, it reduces a big amount of the cast that available.

The concept of having trash built into certain jobs and then taken for granted afterwards was taken to notice by some motion efficiency experts. One motion efficiency expert is Frank Gilbreth.

Frank Gilbreth used the mason to serve as an example about the practise of lean manufacturing. He saw how the mason help each other. A certain mason will bend over to pick up bricks from the floor and then another mason, the brick layer, lowers and then raises the whole of his upper body to obtain a five pound berick. They are not wasting time because time is money.

However, this came as quite an efficiensy as it as built into the job after long practice. So when the masons were introduced to a non-stooping scaffold, level, permited the masons to go on with their work, only for an approximation of three times as quickly, and also with lesser effort.

In lean manufacturing, you can make us of standardization and also of best practice development. When you involve improvement in your proposal, the policy of the management is the only one that can make a thorough and careful analysis of the method.

If necessary, it will conduct a series of procedures to find out, accurately, if there is a relative merit of the newly suggested statement and also of the old standard.

Lean Manufacturing-1

2012-05-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

The Philosophi of Lean Manufacturing

In the field of management, there are various approaches that principally aim to accelerate and boost corporate firm's revenues and operational effcienies.

Progressive companies from around the world have been coming up every now and then different strategies for corporate improvement, some of these schemes have been so effective that other firms have recognized and even adopted them.

One of these efficiency-focused philoshophies is what is termed "lean manufacturing".

What is lean manufacturing ?

Lean manufacturing is holistic and strategic approach that aims to enable business and companies to improve and boost competitiveness and provitability.

Lean manufacturing aims introduce and set in desired improvements through identifying, and gradually, eliminating wasteful or unproductive behavior and practices among employees and management.

The scheme called lean manufacturing is a program or methodology that could prove to be fitting and appropriate for all types of business or organizations. Lean manufacturing would be effective wether adopted by companies in the manufacturing, service, trading or other sectors.

Lean manufacturing is focused at helping companies get the right things, to the right and appropriate places at the perfect or right time and in the right amount or quantity while at the same time, reducing waste and promoting productivity and flexibility among workers.

Lean manufacturing and wastes

It does not take a succesful manager to assert that businesses and companies carry unnecessary and unlikely burden of wastes.

Lean manufacturing as philosophy focuses on reducing the seven wastes commonly identified among global firms. Lean manufacturing attemps to help companies eliminate these unnecessary wastes to improve output quality, to maximize production and the time needed for it and mostly, to significantly save costs.

The seven wastes lean manufacturing aims to slash and eliminate n the workplace are the following :

1. over production
2. over processing
3. transportation
4. motion
5. inventory
6. waiting
7. scrapt and defects

Over production, over processing and inventory

While some companies view over production in the positive way, most, especially those on the service and manufacturing sectors, take it as a manufacturing liability.

Over production will create a pilling of inventory that would eventually create a problem in distribution because most warehouse have capacity limits.

What is worse is that over production and pilling of inventories are the usual causes of price drops, which are deemed bad for business by most firms.

The fundamental law of supply and demand will attest that if supplies are exceeding or too much, the demand tries to settle down or decline. Demands going down will mean prices rolling back or dropping as well.

Over proceesing is unnecessary because it takes so much productive time from employees and managers. There are many disadvantage of over processing and most of them seem pretty obvious to you. Over processing makes costs blow up.

Trasnportation, motion and waiting.

Because time is an important element of productivity, lean manufacturing values it the most. Thus, lean manufacturing philoshophy aims to boost efficiency.

Transportation is an essential element of manufacturing because through it commodities and merchandise are distributed to retailers, down to customers.

However, lean manufacturing mandates firms to maximize the use of transportation especially nowadays when oil prices are soaring.

Because energy prices are rising, and energy is what makes companies rolling, motion should be controlled. Lean manufacturing will have companies slash procrastination and unproductive hours among employees so as to increase and meet sufficient production targets.

If motion is made efficient, then waiting could be reduced if not eliminated. In lean manufacturing, waiting makes idle of people and it kills time that should have been used instead in productive measures and activities.

Scrap and defect.

Lean manufacturing have it that if employees are efficient and if they are motivated, the quality of production would be greatly boosted. That means, the company will not have to spend costs wages, energies and other capital just to produce defective items that would eventually rejected upon distribution.

While sraps and defects in production items are inevitable, companies adhering to lean manufacturing could always do something about it. Basic management principles have it that motivation is the most effective incentive to get workers doing the right and proper procedures in the work place.

All the seven wastes that are combated by lean manufacturing strategies are somehow interconnected with each other that eliminating one could lead to the elimination of others.

Definition of Lean Manufacturing

2012-05-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

Defining Lean Manufacturing

Understanding what lean manufacturing is does not take rocket science, nor does it take a conference of ten experts to bear down to basic concepts. Simply put, lean manufacturing is
the achievement of the greatest efficiency and profitablility for a company by eliminating the wasteful methods and activities that are commonly present in corporate regimes.

At the first glance, some firms are intimated with the thought of adopting lean actually easier than seems, what you just need to have is dedication and the discipline to see through and make change happen.

First up, let us identify what the top seven wastes companies identified as the reasons for production delays, gargantuan cost and eventually, bankruptcy fillings and hostile takeovers.

1) overproduction
2) transportation
3) motion (processes that don't need conduct)
4) inventory
5) processing
6) waiting time
7) defects

These are the key reasons why most firms often fail. For instance, with defects, instead of focusing on achieving the best quality output at the shortest period of time, some firms waste effort and energy into looking at and fixing equipment and method defects and problems. If the kinks had been addresed in the first place and the problem nipped at the bud, such an unnecessary activity would be eliminated.

Definitions of popular lean manufacturing terms

If a company wants to fully understand what lean manufacturing is, it should first familiarize itself with some of the prominent technical terms linked to it. Dont let these words scare you off.

Cellular manufacturing

This involves the linking manual and machine operastion to achive the most efficient and cost-effective combination that would extract maximum value from certain activity and method, while reducing wastes at the same time. Cellular manufacturing is usually u-shaped and flows in a single pattern.

Kanban System

This is a pull method that makes use of color-coded cards attached to parts to be able to ensure the smooth flow of production process. A pull method simply means the customer's interest is foremost, instead of you as the manufacturier dictating what the customer should have.

Value

This involves the replacement only of goods that have been used up or depleted.

Takt time

This is identified by the customer's rate of demand. The takt time is what sets the production pace and matches it with how badly consumers need the product delivered to them. It is often referred to as the heartbeat of lean manufacturing systems.

Lean Manufacturing

The Five Principles of Lean Manufacturing

Out With Waste

Do It Right The First Time

Always Seek The Best

Be Flexible

Don't Push, Pull

What Is Lean Manufacturing Process?

What Is lean Manufacturing Process To The Beneficiaries

1. What is lean manufacturing process to the customers?

2. What is lean manufacturing process to the employees?

3. What is lean manufacturing process to the company?

The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Heart Of The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Waste In The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

Continuous Improvement In The Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

The Plan Of Toyota Lean Manufacturing System

1. An increased morale and productivity of the employee.2. Satisfaction for the customer because of reduced defects on the goods and an improved delivery.3. The goods will also be faster to market.

What is lean manufacturing?

Lean Manufacturing Books

Advantages Of Lean Manufacturing

The Lean Manufacturing Process

Lean Manufaturing 3rd Party Logistic

Andon Lean Manufacturing

Adapting Lean Manufacturing

The Lean Manufacturing Process

What is Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing 2

Lean Manufacturing-1

Definition of Lean Manufacturing

1. An increased morale and productivity of the employee.
2. Satisfaction for the customer because of reduced defects on the goods and an improved delivery.
3. The goods will also be faster to market.