Introducing LEAN Business Practices

Lean Manufacturing (often referred to simply as “LEAN Thinking”) derives from the ‘Toyota Production System” which is based upon the concept of continuous improvement.?

Continual improvement is achieved through the identification and elimination of waste in all processes and throughout the entire manufacturing chain ( this includes the office and factory).

In plain terms, LEAN Thinking may be described as a collection of concepts, tools, and techniques designed to improve the way organizations make and deliver products and services.?

LEAN Thinking is focused on value-added activities; it reduces costs by eliminating non-value-added, redundant, or unnecessary steps in a company’s processes.?

It should be noted that LEAN Thinking principles are also used successfully in many non-manufacturing environments and processes with very beneficial results.

In today’s highly competitive world, a company must be able to sell its products at a price the market is willing to pay, all the while maintaining or improving its bottom line performance. Effectively implemented, LEAN Thinking concepts will improve quality, employee safety, and morale; and decrease cycle times and costs.

Typical returns of a solid LEAN system include

• quality improvements of 50%,

• productivity increases of 7 to 10% a month,

• total cycle time decreases by 90%

That translates into an enormous competitive edge – one that (SME) industry can’t afford to miss.

The LEAN Thinking system evolved at Toyota over several decades, and it has proven to be one of the finest examples of world-class manufacturing ever to be embraced by the industry.?

Over the years, it has been implemented by a wide spectrum of progressive, forward-thinking companies from local manufacturers/distributors to large multinationals, each organization adopting applicable concepts and adapting them to its own specific needs.

Some of the major obstacles faced by an organization wishing to implement a LEAN Thinking approach are rooted in various false internal beliefs that

• mass production will result in the lowest possible cost,

• the largest and most productive machines will always result in the lowest-cost units,

• people and machines must never be idle,

• maintaining a large inventory is sound business practice.

LEAN Thinking encompasses a variety of easy-to-learn concepts, principles, and techniques, some of which are: Hoshin Planning, Containerization; Cycle Time Reduction; Error Proofing; Level Scheduling; Pull Systems; Small Lots; Supplier Rationalization; Visual Controls; and Workplace Organization.

Some concepts overlap in their focus; some are ‘subsets’ of others; and some of the terms have been altered over the years through use by various practitioners. Over the coming weeks, we will explore various concepts in more detail to help the interested reader come to a fuller appreciation of what is involved in a LEAN Thinking Approach to Business.

#CTM #LeanManufacturing #SME #ContinuousImprovement #Collaboration #LearningTogether #2023Achievements #manufacturingindustry #businessmanagers #leanthinking #lean

William Neeve, President

Cycle Time Management Inc?

?? www.leancycletime.com

?? (226) 747-7475