What is Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on reducing waste within manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productivity.
Five principles of lean manufacturing
1) Identify value from the customer's perspective
2) Map the value stream
3) Create flow
4) Establish a pull system
5) Pursue perfection with continual process improvement, or kaizen
The eight wastes of lean production
The Toyota Production System laid out seven wastes, or processes and resources, that don't add value for the customer. These seven wastes are:
- unnecessary transportation;
- excess inventory
- unnecessary motion of people, equipment or machinery;
- waiting, whether it is people waiting or idle equipment;
- over-production of a product;
- over-processing or putting more time into a product than a customer needs, such as designs that require high-tech machinery for unnecessary features; and defects, which require effort and cost for corrections.
- Although not originally included in the Toyota Production system, many lean practitioners point to an eighth waste:
- Waste of unused talent and ingenuity.
Lean Manufacturing Tools
1) 5S
- Sort (eliminate that which is not needed)
- Set In Order (organize remaining items)
- Shine (clean and inspect work area)
- Standardize (write standards for above)
- Sustain (regularly apply the standards)
How does 5S help?
- Eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g. wasting time looking for a tool).
2) Andon
- Visual feedback system for the plant floor that indicates production status, alerts when assistance is needed, and empowers operators to stop the production process or cycle.
How does Andon help?
- Acts as a real-time communication tool for the plant floor that brings immediate attention to problems as they occur – so they can be instantly addressed.
3) Bottleneck Analysis
- Identify which part of the manufacturing process limits the overall throughput and improve the performance of that part of the process.
How does Bottleneck Analysis help?
- Improves throughput by strengthening the weakest link in the manufacturing process.
4) Continuous Flow
- Manufacturing where work-in-process smoothly flows through production with minimal (or no) buffers between steps of the manufacturing process.
How does Continuous Flow help?
- Eliminates many forms of waste (e.g. inventory, waiting time, and transport).
5) Gemba
- The Gemba refers to “the place where value is created,” such as the shop floor in manufacturing, the operating room in a hospital, the job site on a construction project, the kitchen of a restaurant, and the workstation of a software programmer.
How does Gemba help?
- Promotes a deep and thorough understanding of real-world manufacturing issues – by first-hand observation and by talking with plant floor employees.
6) Heijunka (Level Scheduling)
- A form of production scheduling that purposely manufactures in much smaller batches by sequencing (mixing) product variants within the same process.
How does Heijunka help?
- Reduces lead times (since each product or variant is manufactured more frequently) and inventory (since batches are smaller).
7) Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment)
- Hoshin means direction.
- Kanri means administration.
- In Hoshin Kanri, the strategic goals of the company are communicated throughout the company and then put into action with the help of middle management.
How does Hoshin Kanri help?
- Ensures that progress towards strategic goals is consistent and thorough – eliminating the waste that comes from poor communication and inconsistent direction.
8) Jidoka (Autonomation)
- Autonomation described as automation with a human touch.
- Design equipment to partially automate the manufacturing process (partial automation is typically much less expensive than full automation) and to automatically stop when defects are detected.
How does Jidoka help?
- After Jidoka, workers can frequently monitor multiple stations (reducing labor costs) and many quality issues can be detected immediately (improving quality).
- Investigating the root cause and install a countermeasure in process or product.
9) Just In Time (JIT)
- It is focused on the production of customer's requirement like when they want it, how many quantities they want, where they want it?
- In this we produce the only customer's ordered quantity instead of creating a large stock of a product.
How does JIT help?
- Highly effective in reducing inventory levels. Improves cash flow and reduces space requirements.
10) Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)
- A strategy where employees work together proactively to achieve regular, small incremental improvements in the manufacturing process.
- It includes the involvement of all employees, from top management to bottom personnel.
How does Kaizen help?
- Combines the collective talents of a company to create an engine for continually eliminating waste from manufacturing processes.
11) Kanban (Pull System)
- A method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate when more goods are needed.
- Kanban controls the inventory level at any stage of production.
How does Kanban help?
- Eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for physical inventories (instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be ordered).
12) KPIs (key Performance Indicator)
- KPIs are essential metrics set by the management in order to check the success of lean manufacturing goals or performance of any process.
- It is important to measure efficiency, waste and productivity.
How does KPIs help?
- It helps management to define the roles and responsibility of employees.
- create a vision, mission and goals of organization.
- It helps to set objectives and targets.
13) Muda (Waste)
- Anything in the manufacturing process that does not add value from the customer’s perspective.
How does Muda help?
- Muda Type 1 includes non-value-added activities in the processes that are necessary for the end customer. For example, inspection and safety testing does not directly add value to the final product; however, they are necessary activities to ensure a safe product for customers. Muda Type 2 includes non-value added activities in the processes, but these activities are unnecessary for the customer. As a result, Muda Type 2 should be eliminated.
14) Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
- Framework for measuring productivity loss for a given manufacturing process
Availability (e.g. downtime)
Performance (e.g. Slow Cycles)
Quality (e.g. rejects)
How does OEE help?
- Provides a benchmark/baseline and a means to track progress in eliminating waste from a manufacturing process. 100% OEE means perfect production (manufacturing only good parts, as fast as possible, with no downtime).
15) PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)
An iterative methodology for implementing improvements:
- Plan (establish plan and expected results)
- Do (implement plan)
- Check (verify expected results achieved)
- Act (review and assess; do it again)
How does PDCA help?
Applies a scientific approach to making improvements:
- Plan (develop a hypothesis)
- Do (run experiment)
- Check (evaluate results)
- Act (refine your experiment; try again)
16) Poka Yoke (Mistake Proofing)
- Poka-yoke prevent defects from being made or it highlights a defect so that it is not passed to the next operation.
How does Poka-Yoke help?
- It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production. Hence poka-yoke use for effective and efficient operation.
17) Root Cause Analysis
- A problem solving methodology that focuses on resolving the underlying problem instead of applying quick fixes that only treat immediate symptoms of the problem. A common approach is to ask why five times – each time moving a step closer to discovering the true underlying problem.
How does Root Cause Analysis help?
- Helps to ensure that a problem is truly eliminated by applying corrective action to the “root cause” of the problem.
18) Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)
- Reduce setup (changeover) time to less than 10 minutes. Techniques include:
- Convert setup steps to be external (performed while the process is running)
- Simplify internal setup (e.g. replace bolts with knobs and levers)
- Eliminate non-essential operations
- Create Standardized Work instructions
19) Six Big Losses
- Breakdowns - It refers to mechanical failure and the need for maintenance or stoppage due to an unplanned activity like manpower not available.
- Setup / Adjustments - Machines are stopped due to planned events like planned maintenance, employee break and machine warm-up.
- Small Stops - small stops refers to machine stops for a short duration of time to correct settings, routine cleaning activity.
- Reduces Speed - Reduces speed are referred to machine runs slower than designed, low efficiency of operator and machine wear down.
- startup Rejects - Defective parts produced at the time of machine startups or during changeovers.
- Production Rejects - Production rejects are defective parts produced in the regular production, this is due to incorrect setting or operator error.
20) Smart Goals
- Goals that are specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-specific.
How does Smart Goals help?
- Help to ensure that goals are effective.
21) Standardized Work
- Standardized work is a documented procedure for any process. It must be live document so that it can be easily changed as per the modification of process.
How does Standardized work help?
- Eliminates waste by consistently applying best practices. Forms a baseline for future improvement activities.
- Improved productivity, it helps to train operator, reduced variation in the operation flow.
22) Takt Time
- It is maximum amount of time requires to produce the product and satisfy the customer's demand.
Takt time = Available working time per day ÷ Customer demand per day
How does Takt time help?
- For example, if a customer requires 100 light bulbs in an 8 hour day, the TAKT time is 8 hours / 100 bulbs
- Provides a simple, consistent and intuitive method of pacing production. Is easily extended to provide an efficiency goal for the plant floor (Actual Pieces / Target Pieces).
23) Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
- TPM focuses on proactive and preventive maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment and reduce equipment failure rate as much as possible in order to increase production efficiency.
- TPM blurs the distinction between maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.
How does TPM help?
- Creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).
24) Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
- A tool used to visually map the flow of production. Shows the current and future state of processes in a way that highlights opportunities for improvement by eliminating waste from processes.
How does VSM help?
- Exposes waste in the current processes and provides a roadmap for improvement through the future state.
25) Visual Factory
- Visual indicators, displays and controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information.
How does Visual factory help?
- Makes the state and condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible and very clear to everyone.
26) Total Quality Management (TQM)
- TQM is a customer-oriented process and it focuses on continuous improvement of product, process and service of organization.
- The goal is to increase quality at every step in an organization.
How does TQM help?
- TQM increase awareness of quality within organization, also increase commitment towards continuous improvement within organization.
27) Single Piece Flow (One Piece Flow)
- One-piece flow means that parts are moved through operations from step to step with no work-in-process (WIP) in between either one piece at a time or a small batch at a time.
How does Single Piece Flow help?
- It detects defects earlier and accurately.
- This reduces waste and costs.
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