Five Lean Manufacturing Principles

Lean Manufacturing Principles

→ Five Fundamental Lean_Manufacturing Principles are mentioned below:

Identify Value
Map Value Stream
Create Flow
Establish Pull
Seek Perfection

[1] Identify Value:

→ The Lean approach begins with a detailed understanding of the value assigned to products or services by the customer.
→ This determines what the customer will pay.
→ Establishing worth allows organizations to create a top-to-the-bottom target price.
→ The cost to produce the products and services is then determined.
→ The organization focuses on eliminating waste so that it can meet the customer's expectations.
→ As an organization, we must have to give importance to our customer’s needs for a specific product.

Examples of Lean Principles:

→ What is the timeline for manufacturing and delivery?
→ What is the price point?
→ What are other important requirements or expectations that must be met?

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[2] Map Value Stream [VSM Study]:

→ The Value stream is the product’s entire life cycle from the raw materials to the customer’s use and also disposal of the product.
→ In order to eliminate waste, there must be an accurate and complete understanding of the operation.
→ Processes are examined to determine what worth is added by steps, materials, features, and movement.
→ Steps, materials, features, and movements that do not add worth are eliminated.
→ Once the end goal has been determined, the next step is mapping all the steps and processes involved in taking a specific product from raw materials and delivering the final product to the customer.
→ VSM Study is a simple but eye-opening experience that identifies all the actions that take a product or service through any sequence of operations.
→ The idea is to draw, on one page, a "map" of the flow of material/product through the process.
→ The goal is to identify every step that does not create worth and then find ways to eliminate those wasteful steps.
→ Value Stream Mapping is sometimes referred to as process re-engineering. Ultimately this exercise also results in a better understanding of the entire business operation.

[3] Create Flow:

→ Understanding flow is essential to the elimination of Manufacturing Waste.
→ Create flow is about creating a value chain with no interruption in the production process.
→ After the waste has been removed from the process, the next step is to be sure the remaining steps flow smoothly with no interruptions, delays, or bottlenecks.
→ Make the worth creating steps occur in a tight sequence so that the product or service will flow smoothly toward the customer.
→ However, studies show that this will also lead to huge gains in productivity and efficiency, sometimes as high as 50-percent improvement or more

[4] Establish Pull:

→ The lean principle of pull helps ensure flow by making sure that nothing is made ahead of time, building up work-in-process inventory.
→ Rather than using the traditional American manufacturing approach of pushing work through based on a forecast and schedule, the pull approach that nothing is made until the customer orders it.
→ This requires a great deal of flexibility and short design to delivery cycle times.
→ It also requires an efficient way of communicating what is needed for each step.
→ The Pull system makes easier to deliver products as needed, as in “just in time” manufacturing or delivery.
→ This means the customer can “pull” the product from you as needed (often in weeks, instead of months).
→ As a result, products don’t need to be built in advance or materials stockpiled, creating an expensive inventory that needs to be managed, saving money for both the manufacturer/provider and the customer.

[5] Seek Perfection:

→ The march toward perfect process happens step by step as continuous improvements and implementing preventive actions on root causes of quality problems and production waste.
→ Experts often say that a process is not truly lean until it has been through VSM at least half a dozen times.
→ Continuously dig deeper, measure more, and change more in the process for achieving the perfect lean process.
→ Accomplishing Steps 1-4 is a great start, but the fifth step of Perfection is the most important
→ Making lean thinking and Process Improvement as a part of your corporate culture.
→ It is important to remember that lean is not a static system it requires constant effort and vigilance to perfect.
→ Every employee shall be involved in the implementation activity.