LEAN THINKING

• Lean companies work to precisely define value in terms of specific products with identified capabilities offered at set prices through a dialogue with their customers.

• The process involves learning to adopt and employ a series of tools and techniques to achieve incremental improvements in an organization.

• Above all, Lean Thinking methods are inclusive of all employees and involve a major change in the embedded attitudes of the individuals that make up the organizations.

• Lean tools such as Value Stream Mapping, Quick Changeover/Setup Reduction, Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), Kaizen, Cellular/Flow Manufacturing, Visual Workplace/5S Good Housekeeping, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Pull/Kanban Systems are used to produce change.

• Companies and organizations employing these lean tools report significant gains in productivity and overall effectiveness within their specific entities.

• Lean manufacturing uses less of everything compared with mass production. Half the human effort in the factory, half the manufacturing floor space, half the investment in tools, half the engineering hours to develop a new product in half the time.

• Also it requires keeping far less than half the needed inventory on site and results in fewer defects.

• This is accomplished through: Teamwork, Communication, Efficient use of resources & Continuous improvement.

Source :www.lean101.ca