If you currently work or have a company and you want to optimize the production process, you are in charge of improving production processes or you want to learn how to do it to dedicate yourself to that in the future, here we will share all that information.
In Spanish, it can be translated as lean manufacturing, lean manufacturing, agile manufacturing, but the most common is the Anglo-Saxon term lean manufacturing. There are many names by which this methodology is known: Just in time, Lean Manufacturing, Agile Manufacturing, World-Class Manufacturing, Toyota Production System, and more. The results obtained through its practices make it one of the most successful and revolutionary production philosophies in history.
Lean Manufacturing is a continuous and systematic process of identification and elimination of activities that do not add value in a process, but do involve cost and effort. The main philosophy behind Lean Manufacturing is based on the premise that “everything can be done better”; in such a way that in an organization there must be a continuous search for improvement opportunities.
As a result, an organization that applies Lean Manufacturing should adjust its production to demand, at the time and in the quantities in which it is requested, and at a minimum cost.
The lean manufacturing strategy identifies what does not add value to the customer and tends to reduce or eliminate it.
The Lean Manufacturing methodology is executed by inclusive, organized and trained work teams. The members of the work teams involved in Lean techniques represent all levels of the organization, especially demanding the active participation of the work operators in all stages of the methodology.
The key to the success of the lean manufacturing methodology is that it implies full collaboration and communication from all levels of the company: managers, middle managers and operators. This new culture tends to find a way to apply continuous improvements using the minimum resources, eliminating waste, improving quality and reducing production times and costs.
Lean Manufacturing principles
Get it right the first time: zero defects, this must be achieved by detecting problems and solving them at the source (for this we will use various tools, such as Pareto diagram).
Minimizing waste: excluding activities that do not add value to the product.
Continuous improvement: having as an axiom the power to guarantee the quality of the product or service, continually trying to increase productivity, and reduce costs.
“Pull” processes: the quantities produced are manufactured in response to demand (to avoid over-production).
Flexibility: having the ability to manufacture a variety of different product codes and in different quantities -on request-.
Construction and management of a long-term relationship and collaboration with suppliers, reaching agreements to share risk, costs and information.
Change of main focus: the customer is not sold a product, but the customer is provided with a solution.
It seeks to get the right things at the right time, in the right place, with the perfect amount, minimizing waste, being flexible and open to change and continuous improvement.
Benefits of producing with the Lean Manufacturing methodology
To remain competitive and create value for the customer, many companies in the industrial (or services) segment decide to adopt the Lean methodology.
This increase in competitiveness comes from a series of benefits that the company experiences internally at different levels of the hierarchy. We detail some examples of the benefits obtained:
- Increased productivity
- Increase in quality
- Increase in profits
- Increase in sales
- Increase in the value of the company
- Changeover reduction
- Inventory reduction
- Reduction of delivery time
- Reduction of production costs
Therefore, to enjoy the benefits that the Lean Manufacturing application offers, you need an environment and / or process that helps your employees to:
- Identify problems
- Fix problems
If operators are able to see the losses in their daily work, they will be able to propose simple improvements that will optimize their activities.
Through the implementation of lean manufacturing, we manage to meet customer specifications in quality, cost and delivery time, maximizing profit.
The Lean Manufacturing culture guarantees results already evidenced in the automotive manufacturers and consumer goods industries, with better management of their internal resources, to ensure compliance with critical elements in quality from the customer’s perspective.