What is Lean Manufacturing?

Lean manufacturing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can't do this yourself?

Read this CR4 blog entry for an introduction.

lean manufacturing is mean manufacturing.

lean manufacturing practices leave no room for waste.

to the uninitiated reader, waste can be visible only in (mis)utilization of raw materials. however (the often greater) wastes in manufacturing are :-

a) wasteful processes - non value adding activities in the processes.

b) wasteful processes - low efficacy tooling and fixtures leading to frequent setup modifications and tool maintenence.

c) wasteful processes - poor energy optimization, absence of heat recovery systems, etc.

d) wasteful processes - non-recycling of recyclable materials on the fly and consumables.

additionally - following JIT (just in time) practices eliminates idling of material on the line and reduces the costs of logistics and finance for the setup.

streamlined and aligned processes and material flows thus called bring quality to the customer at a price that the customer is willing to pay.

no wonder lean is mean!

I just gave two people good answer votes because they're both correct.

One thing I've learned about lean manufacturing is that it is hard to convince managers of companies that are wasteful to change over. They are afraid to break from their old habits. You almost have to replace the General Manager to get anything done.

Lean manufacturing is balancing act to maximize corporate profit by

1. Minimizing raw material stock and turn conversion of raw materials to product for sale

2. Eliminating waste by have good check and balances in product manufacturing

3. Elimination of unwanted steps in manufacturing and testing

4. Eliminating return

5. Manufacturing as per order

OVER ALL HAVING SHORTEST TURN AROUND TIME IN CURRENCY OF THE MANUFACTURING COUNTRY AND IF IT IS IN USA WE DEAL WITH MAXIMIZING DOLLAR RETURN IN INVESTMENT AND I GUESS IN INDIA IT WILL BE RUPEES

Questioning every process, spending every dollar and observing every man hour like it's coming out of your wallet and that each and every dollar saved goes directly into your wallet.

All the sudden everything looks different.....got to go.....they've been on smoke brake long enough.

"Lean manufacturing"

Lean manufacturing became buzz words in the 90's, it was conceived in reaction to the cheaper and cheaper manufacturing cost of the work coming out of foreign countries. This was an intellectual theory conceived by some high-end business universities within the USA, and was blindly adopted as good practice under the pressure of stock holders and executives that were solely focused on the bottom line. Unfortunately these very people lacked and ignored even a basic understanding of manufacturing, of which the first steps have always been present since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Investment in innovation, design, engineering, tooling, trouble-shooting, and constant, ongoing, never ending refinement of all tooling and processes as a rudimentary understanding.
All these things take as a necessary main ingredient....."TIME", something we seem to no longer have any patience for???
In the production phase things could have been improved, but with a wholly different mindset. What is now started to be floated is what's called "system processes" and is successfully being implemented in many industries. It is based on non-judgmental assessment of procedures and improvements and allows for a common-sense, very natural, seamless, cost effective progression of efficiency.

"Lean manufacturing" on the other hand, is a very constricting and continuing limiting mindset and application, meant to cut cost, at all costs, consistent with the short sightedness of such equals as "on demand manufacturing". These will produce initial cost saving but are in 95% of attempts the sure demise and bankruptcy of all possibilities in life and profits of any for-profit endeavor.

Look back in the history, and see if you can spot many, if any, business longevity in any venture that not only stagnated but actually had a single-minded philosophy of cutting back and eliminating innovation and the ever present need to progress,
an inconceivable notion to all but the last generation of industrialists.

I can not think of many more ill-conceived or un-American beliefs than that which gave up on, and jeopardized this country's well being and survival as a world leader, for lack of belief and investment in its invention, ingenuity, and it's people, to have the ability to reshape and sharpen, to over come any industrial or financial obstacles it would face.

Innovations once drove investments very successfully.

Progress, not.....deprivation. We are what we sow.

Editorial:

Gary J. Oliveira

Class "A" Progressive inventor and Tool and Die Maker for the electronics stamping industry for over 21 years.

Successful individual, and historical public project designer, and head sculptor at present.

I think that if you take a closer look, you'll see that "lean" was developed more in response to the waste of union shop practices and the tax liabilities of holding any kind of inventory. As is usual in these things, it has been carried to far, and it will take time for the pendulum to swing back.

Fester Bester Tester

Master of the Obvious, Thrall to Murphy's Law, Local Deity and All-around Good Guy

Lean Manufacturing is actually derived from Toyota's reexecution of their production system. Universities did get ahold of it, but to industrial practitioners, toyota is father, mother and examplar. http://www.strategosinc.com/just_in_time.htm

Issue for many of us is toyota lean is ideal for high volumelow mix factories; many of us work in high mix, lower volume factroies. Someone has to hold the damn inventory/raw material demanded for just in time- because upstream supply chain companies batch takt times donot match down stream release takt times by order of magniitude.

milo

Milo,

Thank you for the link, it expanded my knowledge of the origins, some of which I was already aware.
However, what I was speaking of was the wide spread '"reaction" that started in the late 80's, early 90's that drove companies to adopt these strategies without a full working knowledge or understanding of their new approach, their goals, and the long term consequences.

Yep. But most of that 'reaction' has been cobbled together into what a lot of BS artists are currently pushing as 6 sigma. If you search cr4 for 6 sigma discussions you'll find many of us are fellow travellers with what you have expressed.

But Lean as in "eliminating waste thru process improvement" is not the same BS that guts companies. Unless you apply low mix high volume lean techniques to low volume high mix companies. Then you see a lot of crazed people running around.

milo