What is LEAN?
Lean manufacturing is a methodology for maximizing customer value while minimizing waste in production. In practice, it means streamlining processes to only use the necessary resources and eliminate activities that don’t add value.
USES and ORIGINS OF LEAN Manufacturing
Lean’s origins trace back to the Toyota Production System (TPS) developed in Japan after WWII. Faced with resource shortages in the 1950s, Toyota engineers Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda pioneered a discipline of eliminating waste and continuously improving processes to do more with less. TPS introduced practices like just-in-time production and jidoka (built-in quality) which formed the foundation of Lean manufacturing.
Productivity + Quality + Costs = Profitability
PHILOSOPHY
One of Lean Manufacturing’s foundations is Kaizen, which means continuous improvement. Kaizen is a management philosophy that involves the entire organization in improving processes, products, and services. It focuses on waste elimination and increasing value for the customer.
Toyota 1950- Henry Ford started first
1990s- the rest of the world followed
Eight Types of Wastes
- inventory
- transportation
- overproduction
- overprocessing
- underutilised people
- scraps
- efforts
- movement
LEAN Principles
These five principles – Value, Value Stream, Flow, Pull, and Continuous Improvement – provide a high-level guide to implementing Lean. Next, we’ll dig into some specific tools and concepts (the “Lean toolbox”) that support these principles day-to-day.
- value
- value stream
- flow
- pull
- perfection
Benefits of LEAN
- Increased efficiency: Streamlining processes to eliminate waste and improve productivity.
- Reduced costs: Lowering operational costs by minimizing waste and optimizing resources.
- Improved product quality: Enhancing the quality of products through continuous improvement practices.
- Higher customer satisfaction: Delivering better value to customers by focusing on their needs and reducing lead times.
- Enhanced team engagement: Fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration among team members.These benefits contribute to a more agile and responsive organization.
Morale and Motivation improves
PDCA Improvement Cycle (Deming)
It’s often helpful to follow a structured model like PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) for each change: plan the improvement, do it (on a small scale), check results, and act to standardize if successful. At this stage, you may be running multiple Lean projects in parallel (under the coordination of your Lean team).
Flow Process Analysis
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Symbols- deploying flow process analysis
Lean Manufacturing: Principles, Tools, Case Studies (2025 Guide)