I was recently introduced to the concept of lean manufacturing (or just-in-time manufacturing, JIT). The overall concept is to eliminate all wastes in your business which can include any processes, inventory, and motion. A number of companies are able to transform an unviable product into a viable one by adopting the lean manufacturing method.
Here is a great study about lean manufacturing, excerpt below: Lean Manufacturing
For industrial companies, this could involve any of the following:
- Material: convert all raw materials in to end products. Try to avoid excess raw materials and scrap.
- Inventory: keep constant flow to the customer and to not have idle material.
- Over production: produce the exact quantity that customers need, and when they need it.
- Labor: Get rid of unwanted movement of people.
- Complexity: Try to solve problems the uncomplicated way rather than the complex
way. Complex solutions tend to produce more waste and are harder for people to
manage.
- Energy: utilize equipment and people in the most productive ways. Avoid
unproductive operations and excess power utilization.
- Space: Reorganize equipment, people, and workstations to get a better space
arrangement.
- Defects: make every effort to eliminate defects
- Transportation: Get rids of transportation of materials and information that does not
add value to the product.
8
- Time: Avoid long set ups, delays, and unexpected machine down time.
- Unnecessary motion: Avoid excess bending or stretching and frequently lost items.
In general all of these wastes are categorized into seven major types and it is summarized in table 2.1 [3, 5, 12, 13, 17].
Table 2. 1 The seven categories of waste
|
Waste |
Description |
|
1) Over production |
Producing to much or too soon, resulting in poor flow of information or goods and excess inventory |
|
2) Defects |
Frequent errors in paper work, product quality problems, or poor delivery performance. |
|
3) Unnecessary inventory |
Excessive storage and delay of information or products, resulting in excessive cost and poor customer service |
|
4) Inappropriate processing |
Going about work processing using the wrong set of tools, procedures or systems, often when a simpler approach may be more effective |
|
5) Excessive transportation |
Excessive movement of people, information or goods resulting in wasted time, effort and cost. |
|
6) W aiting |
Long periods of inactivity for people, information or goods, resulting in poor flow and long lead times |
|
7) Unnecessary motion |
Poor workplace organization, resulting in poor ergonomics, e.g. excessive bending or stretching and frequently lost items |
Pingback: Lean Manufacturing Continued | Balance Your Life with Rex