The Roots Of Lean Manufacturing

Production practices have had an important role in satisfying the dynamic market. Many approaches have being developed in order to respond effectively to specific business requirements. In fact, some areas of management have focused its study on the overseeing, designing, and controlling the process of production in an effort to find the best methodology that ensures the business success and performance. However, complexities arise in this field because many variables such as costs, inventory, scheduling, suppliers, etc have to be considered in any business. Lean approach and the traditional approach are two points of view that aim to address this complexities, and those will be examined in this essay.

Mapping the value stream | | |Jared Lovelle.  IIE Solutions.  Norcross: Feb 2001.Vol.33, Iss.  2;  pg.  26, 7 pgs | Subjects: Production methods,  Value added,  Efficiency,  Mapping Classification Codes 9190 United States,  5310 Production planning & control Locations: United States,  US Author(s): Jared Lovelle Document types: Cover Story

The implementation of lean operations is one the most popular ways to improve efficiency and productivity in operations. This strategy has afforded many businesses the opportunities to streamline processes that resulted in improved systems and efficiency. However, many businesses face obstacles with implementing lean practices for various reasons such as unclear directions, employees that are resistant to change, and poor planning. Businesses that encounter issues with lean implementation must identify performance metrics to improve operational strategies. This paper will examine the obstacles businesses experience with lean implementation.

The human race has made leaps and bounds in manufacturing of goods needed not only to survive, but to make our lives easier and more efficient. From the earliest recorded history, man has made the tools he needed to survive or gain a completive advantage. In the not too distant past, 100 years or so, we had skilled craftsman who had specific skills and talents. In a small town you would have a blacksmith, a tailor, a farmer, etc. Each of these people learned their skills through years of apprenticeships, and the items they made were unique. Their processes often took months or even years to complete. Since these times we as a society have progressed from craftsmanship to assembly lines. Even now we have robotic manufacturing,

It is a present-day instance of the recurring theme in human history toward increasing efficiency, decreasing waste, and using empirical methods to decide what matters, rather than uncritically accepting pre-existing ideas. As such, it is a chapter in the larger narrative that also includes such ideas as the folk wisdom of thrift, time and motion study, Taylorism, the Efficiency Movement, and Fordism. Lean manufacturing is often seen as a more refined version of earlier efficiency efforts, building upon the work of earlier leaders such as Taylor or Ford, and learning from their mistakes.

Lean accountings primary use is in the manufacturing industry. A lean manufacturing company in which lean accounting is used looks to attack wastes in all forms. This in turn reduces the cost of goods sold. Lean accounting instead uses value stream costing. “Lean accounting experts believe that accounting itself can be lean, which can contribute to profit rather than just calculating it. Cost do not exist to be calculated. Costs exist to be reduced” (Taiichi Ohno).

Your organization, a company that manufactures automobile brake pads, is about to introduce lean concepts into its operations in order to be more competitive with foreign manufacturers. The lean project manager does not understand why you, the safety manager, want to be a part of the process. Provide a convincing argument about what you can contribute if you are included.

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Six sigma and lean system has the same way of approaching but uses different technology to achieve the goal. The both procedure lives up to expectations for to dispense with waste and expand the productivity of the procedure and convey the zero defect items. Recognizable of primary cause of waste is the fundamental distinction between lean and six sigma. lean innovation says that waste originates from undesirable steps in the production process which don 't add the value of the final product while six sigma says that waste is a direct result of variety of diverse procedures.

The operational systems of organizations can be viewed as open systems, which interact with their respective environments on a continuous basis. In this context, these systems comprise synergetic and interdependent subsystems of input, process and output with the main objective of these systems being to efficiently and effectively deliver goods and/or services to their demanding customers (Yasin and Wafa, 2002). Confronting the challenges of global competition, companies have to reduce costs, improve quality, and meet their customers’ ever-changing needs (Canel et al., 2000). Even though lean techniques were developed for the manufacturing firms and

In the book “The Story of Lean Production – Toyota’s Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That is Revolutionizing World Industry”, published in 2007, James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos generally introduce and discuss about three worldwide industrial manufacturing methods from the very first approach to the most current one, which are craft production, mass production, and lean production respectively.

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In defining how best to apply lean tools and techniques to the optimization of supply chain processes, the systemic structure of a firm's value chain needs to first be taken into account, with each specific sector of the supply chain considered an integral part. Of the many excellent insights gained from the study of Lean Logistics (Jones, Hines, Rich, 1997) one of the most significant is how the planning and execution of supply chain optimization processes must take a more strategic view in solving complex logistics problems, even if they appear to be isolated in a given area. Throughout the many examples of the logistics, supply chain and procurement processes that comprise the Toyota Production System (TPS) the authors succeed show that the selection of lean tools and techniques to optimize supply chain processes is more predicated on the context of a given challenge, not its isolated occurrence. This strategic view of supply chain optimization succeeds in taking into account the constraints of product strategy, people's roles and tasks, and the processes that unify the enterprise together. The outcome of this perspective is a model for optimizing supply chain processes that fits equally as well distribution-centric and manufacturing-oriented companies (Zylstra, 2005). The authors of Lean Logistics are careful to point out early in the article that the most popular approaches to

According to (Homa Sheikh-Sajadieh, 2013) “Waste elimination is one of the most effective ways to increase the profitability of any business. Processes either add value or waste to the production of a good or service. The seven wastes originated in Japan, where waste is known as “muda”. “The seven wastes” is a tool to further categorize “muda” and was originally developed by Toyota’s Chief Engineer Taiichi Ohno as the core of the Toyota Production System, also known as Lean Manufacturing. To eliminate waste, it is important to understand exactly what waste is and where it exists. While products significantly differ between factories, the typical wastes found in manufacturing environments are quite similar. For each waste, there is a strategy to reduce or eliminate its effect on a company, thereby improving overall performance and quality”.

One of the most important things in a manufacturing company in order to obtain profit is to have a high level of quality and a minimum level of investment. This is the key that every company wanted to find during the years. In order to maintain a high position on the market and a competitive advantage, the implementation of a manufacturing strategy is very important.