Lean Manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste, and the implementation of continuous flow concepts and customer pull. Lean is the best management system for satisfying customers on delivery, quality, and price. | “The first challenge is to get rid of unnecessary delays and costs. This is done by eliminating ‘fumbles’ – bottlenecks, changes, rework, and unnecessary work.” -Lightning Strategies for Innovation, Willard I. Zangwill Introduction Lean Manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste, and the implementation of continuous flow concepts and customer pull. Lean is the best management system for satisfying customers on delivery, quality, and price. Many companies are turning to lean manufacturing in an effort to become more profitable. Implementing "Lean" can create superior financial and operational results. Lean manufacturing comes from the Toyota Production System. Practiced by Toyota for many years the ultimate goal of the syste, is to produce quality products by cost reduction activities and a cultural focus on employee involvement through empowerment. Lean manufacturing uses concepts pioneered by Toyota Motor Company’s former vice president Taiichi Ohno. This "new" manufacturing culture is based on working in every facet of the value stream, to include instilling the discipline to reduce cost, to generate capital, to make the money, to bring in more sales, and to remain competitive in a growing global market. Lean Manufacturing The Value Stream of a business is the sequence of steps that a company performs in order to satisfy a customer’s need. In every Value Stream, a 50-70% reduction in the number of steps in the process can be achieved. The first step a company must take to change their value stream is to determine its lean status by identifying efficiency gaps and areas for waste/cost reductions. Lean manufacturing is a fundamental enterprise transformation that must be approached as a total organizational and cultural transformation. Value stream mapping is a good way to train staff to find waste, identify the root cause, and prepare a strategic plan for its elimination. The seven categories of non-value added waste are overproduction, inventory, .
