What is Lean Manufacturing and how to implement it?

The concept of Lean Manufacturing simply states minimizing and eliminating waste from the manufacturing process without any impact on the overall productivity. Lean has been there for many years, however, restricting its definition to a few words would be unjustifiable since it is a continuously developing philosophy whose application and implementation differs from company to company. One should not be amazed at the myriad of definitions available on the internet for lean manufacturing or lean production. The ultimate goal continues to be the same regardless of what the definition is.

Lean Manufacturing is a broad concept to be implemented all across the production process thereby focusing on eliminating waste by not affecting the productivity of the company. Lean manufacturing, as the name implies, is not confined to manufacturing processes only, however, stands good and effective for service industry as well. The reason behind the same is that it is not a tactic or a typical cost reduction program rather it is a way to think and act for any particular organization. The core idea underlying the concept of lean manufacturing is enhancing customer value while minimizing waste.

Role of Lean Manufacturing Consultants

The significance and benefits of Lean Manufacturing are globally acknowledged and acceptable across the length and breadth of the overall global market. This has led to numerous Lean consultants guides you through the implementation process of Lean Manufacturing in addition to making you and your organization familiar with what it is, why is it required and what benefits will it have for your company.

The Five Steps of Lean Implementation

When you know about something the implementation becomes simple however being naive also does not restrict you from the successful implementation of the same. What matters is that with the right guidance around, implementation of Lean Manufacturing becomes easy yet effective. Let us have a quick walkthrough of the simple five steps of Lean Implementation:

1. Specify Value – Being specific about the significant things i.e. expressing value as a measure of customer’s perspective for any specific product or service at a specific time and price
2. Map – Having a route map simplifies the overall process of finally delivering the last product or service, therefore, it is necessary to have a process wherein the actions required to be taken are well known in order to make the three major management tasks easy i.e. problem solving, information management and physical management. Having an understanding of the current as well as future state of the entire value stream would make it easy to help eliminate waste as per current state
3. Flow – Merely having a step-by-step process in place is not sufficient enough; making it flow is where the key to the final outcome lies. However eliminating functional barriers thereby improving lead time is the key focus area
4. Pull – Sales forecast helps drive an organization’s product cycle however as per Lean Manufacturing, it is better to make the customers pull the product as and when required
5. Perfection – There is always scope to achieve perfection and that is what the lean manufacturing concept emphasizes on by reducing efforts, space, cost, time and mistakes thereby leading to prevention and elimination of waste

In the end, while you decide to implement or adapt to some new concept like Lean Manufacturing, it is always preferable to let the specialists i.e. Lean consultants do the task for you.

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