Lean manufacturing
Origin
It was developed at Toyota Motor Corporation in response to the limited resources and economic challenges Japan faced after World War II. Taiichi Ohno, a Toyota engineer and executive, created the TPS (Toyota Production System), the precursor of lean manufacturing. The term "Lean Manufacturing" was coined by James Womack, Daniel Jones, and Daniel Roos in The Machine That Changed the World (1990), after analyzing and comparing the Toyota system with Western mass production.
Description
Lean manufacturing seeks to create a continuous workflow and eliminate any activity that does not add value to the product or service. Its application to software and knowledge management has given rise to Lean Software Development and to modern agile frameworks.
Principles
1. Elimination of waste
Lean manufacturing identifies seven types of waste (muda) that do not add value:
- Overproduction.
- Waiting time.
- Transportation.
- Overprocessing.
- Inventory.
- Motion.
- Defects.
2. Creating Value Flow
Production activities are organized so that products or services flow from the beginning to the end of the process without interruptions or delays. Value Stream Mapping is the usual technique for identifying and eliminating the steps that do not add value.
3. Just-in-time (JIT) production
Produce only what is needed, in the exact quantity and at the exact moment it is needed, avoiding excess inventory and the costs associated with storage.
4. Continuous improvement (Kaizen)
A culture of constant improvement in which all members of the organization identify and eliminate problems and waste in their work processes. Kaizen consists of small incremental improvements that accumulate over time.
5. Employee Empowerment
In a lean environment, people are encouraged to make decisions and actively contribute to process improvement. Delegating responsibilities and active participation are necessary conditions.
6. Design of flexible production systems
Systems that adapt to changes in demand or in products, so as to respond quickly to customer needs.
Common mistake
Applying lean as a set of tools without the underlying philosophy. 5S, kanban, and JIT are lean tools, but Lean as a system is based on respect for people, an obsession with customer value, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Without that foundation, the tools produce bureaucratic compliance but no real or sustained improvement.
References
- Ohno, Taiichi. (1988). Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. Productivity Press.
- Womack, James; Jones, Daniel; Roos, Daniel. (1990). The Machine That Changed the World. Simon & Schuster.
See also
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