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Lean Management Practices

Lean management focuses on eliminating waste from processes. It utilizes various techniques like Kaizen for continuous improvement, 5S to organize the workplace, and Kanban for scheduling production. The goal of Lean is to maximize value and minimize unnecessary steps. Implementing Lean management can boost productivity, efficiency, and profitability by reducing activities that do not create value for the customer.

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65 views

Lean Management Practices

Lean management focuses on eliminating waste from processes. It utilizes various techniques like Kaizen for continuous improvement, 5S to organize the workplace, and Kanban for scheduling production. The goal of Lean is to maximize value and minimize unnecessary steps. Implementing Lean management can boost productivity, efficiency, and profitability by reducing activities that do not create value for the customer.

Uploaded by

MOHAN RAM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lean Management Practices

Lean management is one of the top tools that eliminate waste in any
process. Lean techniques are typically used in a production
environment, and the reality is that Lean techniques can be used in any
environment that uses processes. Lean is part of the Six Sigma
approach of problem-solving as eliminating waste goes a long way to
solving problems in any process. In this article, will be going over 8
different Lean Techniques.

The 5 Basic Lean Principles


1 Kaizen
The purpose of KAIZEN is to improve work processes in a
variety of ways. Kaizen is a generic Japanese word for improvement or
making things better. KAIZEN was created in Japan following World War
II. The word Kaizen means “Continuous Improvement.” It comes from
the Japanese words “kai” which means “change” or “to correct” and
“zen” which means “good.”

2 Poka-Yoke
The purpose of Poka-Yoke, the second of the Lean techniques, is to
prevent the occurrence of mistakes or defects. It uses a wide variety of
ingenious devices to prevent mistakes. An example is an automotive
gasoline tank cap having an attachment that prevents the cap from
being lost. Poka-Yoke is also known as Mistake Proofing – the Japanese
approach to “Mistake Proofing” in all aspects of Manufacturing,
Customer Service etc. It employs visual signals that make mistakes
clearly stand out from the rest. Its older name is baka-yoke (fool
proofing). Poka-Yoke is one of the most important Lean techniques.

3. 5S
Of all the Lean Techniques, 5S is the one that is focused on organizing.
The purpose of 5S is to reduce wasteful time and motion at a micro
level. It is an organized approach to housekeeping that ensures tools,
parts and other objects are in known, optimum locations. Actually, it is
a framework to create and maintain your workplace. 5S Stands for:
Sort, Set-in- order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. The act of sorting means
that all unneccesary tools and other items are removed from the
workplace. Set-in-order means that all neccesary items are placed in
locations that minimizes waste of motion. For example, tools that are
used frequently are placed close to the work station while tools that
are used less often are placed in storage further away from the work
station. Shine means that that work place is kept in a clean and orderly
manner. Next, standardize means that all processes in a work station is
standardized. Finally, Sustain means that the workers in that uses the
work station maintain the standard that has been set in the previous
four S’s.

4. KANBAN
The purpose of the fourth of the Lean techniques, KANBAN, is to
schedule production and minimize work-in-process while encouraging
improvement in many areas. KANBAN establishes a small stock point
(usually at the producing WorkCentre) that sends a signal when items
are withdrawn by a downstream process. The producing WorkCentre
replaces the items removed. Kanban literally means signboard or
billboard in Japanese. Kanban utilizes visual display cards to signal
movement of material between steps of a product process. It is a
scheduling system for Lean and Just-in-Time. KANBAN was developed
at Toyota to find a system to improve and maintain a high level of
production.

5: Just In Time
The fifth of the Lean tehniques is simply a production strategy that
strives to improve a business Return on Investment (RoI) by reducing
in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. To meet JIT
objectives, the process relies on signals or KANBAN between different
points in the process, which tell production when to make the next
part. Just-in-time is actually a manufacturing philosophy which leads to
“Producing the necessary units, in the necessary quantities at the
necessary time with the required quality”.

6 Jidoka
The purpose of Jidoka is to prevent problems on one station of a
production line from building inventory and also to create urgency to
find permanent solutions. Jidoka is the practice of stopping an
integrated assembly or production line when any workstation
encounters problems. Such stoppages create a crises atmosphere that
encourages immediate and permanent solutions. Jidoka means
“automation with human touch”. It implements a supervisory function
in a production line and stops the process as soon as a defect is
encountered. The process does not start until root cause of the defect
has been eliminated. Using Jidoka in a production process is a good
example of using Lean techniques to eliminate waste.

7 Takt-time
The purpose of Takt-time is to balance the output of sequential
production processes and prevent inventory buildups and
shortages. It is the average time required between output units at a
particular process coordinated with final customer requirements. Takt-
time is one of the Lean techniques in the Lean Toolbox. It is the
frequency at which a product or service must be completed in order to
meet customer needs. The formula for Takt-time is: TAKT Time =
Available Time / Required Output
8.Heijunka
Heijunka is the last of the Lean techniques that we will be discussing in
this article. Heijunka is the leveling of production by both volume and
product mix. This system does not build products according to the
actual flow of customer orders. Heijunka takes the total volume of
orders in a period and levels them out so the same amount and mix are
being made each day. It means Production leveling/smoothing. It is a
technique to reduce waste which occurs due to fluctuating customer
demand.
Lean techniques are used to create processes that have no non-value
add parts. Any part of a process that does not add value the consumer
are eliminated using Lean techniques. Applying Lean techniques is a
strict and disciplined approach to modifying and maintaining processes
that adds 100% value to the client and does not waste any costs with
non-value adding steps. This has a positive effect on RoI. Following Lean
techniques is a must for anyone who is responsible for a process. There
will always be some sort of waste in a process and using Lean
techniques will help to eliminate waste.
Benefits of Lean Management
The growing popularity of the Lean principles comes from the fact that
they actually focus on improving every aspect of a work process and
involve all levels of a company’s hierarchy.
There are a few major advantages that managers can benefit from.

 Focus. By applying Lean, you will be able to reduce waste


activities. Therefore, your workforce will be focused on activities
that bring value.
 Improving productivity & efficiency. When employees are
focused on delivering value, they will be more productive and
efficient, because they won’t be distracted by unclear tasks.
 Smarter process (pull system). By establishing a pull system, you
will able to deliver work only if there is actual demand. Which
leads to the next one.
 Better use of resources. When your production is based on actual
demand, you will be able to use only as many resources as
needed.

These are some of the Lean management practices followed in


the industry.

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