 Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach of

eliminating waste ,so every step adds value for the

Customer
 Lean manufacturing involves never ending efforts to
eliminate or reduce 'muda' (Japanese word for waste or
any activity that consumes resources without adding
value) in design, manufacturing, distribution,
and customer service processes. 

 Waste - Any activity that consumes resources but creates

no value (waste).
 Reduces costs not just selling price
◦ Reduces delivery time, cycle time, set-up time
◦ Eliminates waste
◦ Seeks continuous improvement
 Improves quality
 Improves customer ratings and perceptions
 Increases overall customer satisfaction
 Improves employee involvement, morale,

and company culture

 Helps “transform” manufacturers
 After World War II, Toyota was almost bankrupt.
 Post war demand was low and minimising the
cost per unit through economies of scale was
inappropriate. This led to the development of
demand-led pull systems.
 The Japanese could not afford the expensive
mass production facilities of the type used in the
USA so they instead focused on reducing waste
and low cost automation.
 Likewise, Toyota could not afford to maintain high
inventory levels.
Founders of the Toyota Production System (TPS)

Taiichi Ohno Shigeo Shingo

(1912 †1990) 1909 †1990
 Quality, Cost, Delivery
◦ Shorten Production Flow by Eliminating Waste
 Just In Time
◦ The Right Part at the Right Time in the Right Amount
◦ Continuous Flow
◦ Pull Systems
◦ Level Production
 Built-In Quality
◦ Error Proofing – Poka Yoke
◦ Visual Controls
 Operational Stability
◦ Standardized Work
◦ Robust Products & Processes
◦ Total Productive Maintenance
◦ Supplier Involvement
 Raw Final
Material Customer
Assembly
Supplier

PUSH

Raw Final
Material Customer
Assembly
Supplier

PULL
Information Flow
Material Flow
 Every worker maximizes own output, making as
many products as possible
 Pros and cons:
◦ Focuses on keeping individual operators and
workstations busy rather than efficient use of materials
◦ Volumes of defective work may be produced
◦ Throughput time will increase as work-in-process
increases (Little’s Law)
◦ Line bottlenecks and inventories of unfinished products
will occur
◦ Hard to respond to special orders and order changes
due to long throughput time
 Production line is controlled by the last
operation, Kanban cards control WIP
 Pros and cons
◦ Controls maximum WIP and eliminates WIP
accumulating at bottlenecks
◦ Keeps materials busy, not operators. Operators
work only when there is a signal to produce.
◦ If a problem arises, there is no slack in the system
◦ Throughput time and WIP are decreased, faster
reaction to defects and less opportunity to create
defects
• Define value from the customer
perspective
• Identify the value stream
• Make the process flow
• Pull from the customer
• Head toward perfection
 Define and Specify value :
Specify value from the standpoint of the
end customer.

 Identify the value stream :

Identify all the steps in the value stream
for each product family, eliminating
whenever possible those steps that do
not create value.
 Create flow :
Make the value-creating steps occur in
tight sequence so the product will flow
smoothly toward the customer.

 Let the customer pull product

through the value stream:
Make only what the customer has
ordered.
 Seek perfection :
As value is specified, value streams are
identified, wasted steps are removed,
and flow and pull are introduced, begin
the process again and continue it until a
state of perfection is reached in
which perfect value is created with no
waste.
 Improve quality:
In order to stay competitive in today’s
marketplace, a company must
understand its customers' wants and
needs and design processes to meet their
expectations and requirements.
 Eliminate waste:

Waste is any activity that consumes

time, space or other resources, but does
not add any value to the product.
 Reduce time:
Reducing the time it takes to finish an
activity from start to finish is one of the
most effective ways to eliminate waste
and lower costs.
 Reduce total costs:

To minimize cost, a company must

produce only to customer demand.
Overproduction increases a company’s
inventory costs due to storage needs.
 overproduction (producing more than actual
current demand)
 Waiting (periods of inactivity)
 Transport (unnecessary movement of
materials)
 Extra Processing (rework and reprocessing)
 Inventory (excess inventory not directly
required for current orders)
 Motion (extra steps taken by employees
due to inefficient layout)
 Defects (do not conform to specifications or
expectations)
 Implementing Lean Can Be Difficult Because it is
Counterintuitive from a Traditional Paradigm:
◦ Buying multiple small machines rather than one big
machine that offers economies of scale.
◦ Shutting down equipment when maximum inventory levels
are reached rather than running flat out.
◦ Using standards to continuously improve.
 There is no step-by-step cook book
◦ There are some basic steps but the how-to varies from
organization to organization
◦ Requires an assessment of the company in order to map
out the strategy
 Company culture plays a big part in lean
 Gain top Management “Buy In” and Support
 Perform overall company assessment tied to company
strategic, operational, and marketing plans
 Develop strategic lean deployment plan
 Integrate customized training with lean to improve specific
skill sets, leverage training resources
 Team Building, Communications, Problem Solving, Change
Management, Lean Manufacturing Tools
 Conduct “Kaizen blitz” high impact events
 5S, Manufacturing Cell, Set-Up Reductions, Inventory
Reductions, Work Standardization
 Use an enterprise wide approach to help “Transform” a
client’s culture and the way they do business.
Steps to achieve
lean systems
The following steps should be implemented
in order to create the ideal lean
manufacturing system:
 Design a simple manufacturing system
 Recognize that there is always room for

improvement
 Continuously improve the lean

manufacturing system design

Design a simple manufacturing system
A fundamental principle of lean manufacturing is demand-based flow
manufacturing. In this type of production setting, inventory is only pulled
through each production centre when it is needed to meet a customer’s
order.
The benefits include
 decreased cycle time

 less inventory

 increased productivity

There is always room for improvement

The core of lean is founded on the concept of continuous product and
process improvement and the elimination of non-value added activities.
“The Value adding activities are simply only those things the customer is
willing to pay for, everything else is waste, and should be eliminated,
simplified, reduced, or integrated”. Improving the flow of material
through new ideal system layouts at the customer's required rate would
reduce waste in material movement and inventory. 
Continuously improve
A continuous improvement mindset is essential to reach a company's
goals. The term "continuous improvement" means incremental
improvement of products, processes, or services over time, with the goal
of reducing waste to improve workplace functionality, customer service,
or product performance.