Are You Operating Lean?
In today's competitive environment, if you are thinking about getting
lean—tightening your belt and becoming more efficient—you
may consider reducing your workforce. This is usually the first place
your accountant will look. Payroll is one of your highest expenses,
and it is the easiest solution to cutting costs. But that's not the
kind of Lean we want to discuss in this article.
Lean Manufacturing—also referred to as "just-in-time"
manufacturing or the "Toyota production system," is a process
that can reduce your costs by improving labor use, decreasing inventory,
reducing manufacturing cycle time and increasing capacity without capital
expenditure. Many companies can attest to its effectiveness. This method
reduces waste, lowering the cost of the entire production process by
lowering the cost of operations within that process. It will also improve
the use of production labor.
Lean Manufacturing differs from traditional manufacturing in several
ways:
In traditional manufacturing, production schedules are based on a
forecast resulting in product being "pushed" through the
system. Lean schedules are based on customer orders causing product
to be "pulled" through the system.
Traditional manufacturers make product to replenish the finished goods
inventory, while Lean makes products to fill customer orders.
When one adopts Lean processes, production cycle times will go from
weeks and months to hours and days.
Traditional processes will typically have large batch sizes moving
between operations with product staged ahead of each operation. Lean
processes involve smaller batches and are based on one-piece flow
between operations.
In a traditional setting, the plant layout is set up by department
function, but a Lean plant is set up by product flow, using cells
or lines for similar products.
Quality control is maintained in a traditional plant by sampling various
lots of each product. Lean maintains quality by checking 100 percent
of the product at the production source.
A traditional plant will usually have one person assigned to a single
machine, while Lean will have one person handling several machines.
In a traditional plant, the workers have very little input regarding
how operations are performed. When using Lean processes, each worker
has the responsibility for identifying and helping to implement improvements.
Traditional plants usually have a central storeroom for in-process
staging and a large warehouse full of finished goods. Lean plants
will have low levels of inventory between operations and will ship
goods often.
Inventory turns in a traditional plant may run six to nine turns per
year or less. A Lean plant may turn inventory as much as 20 times
or more per year.
In a traditional plant, there is a low level of flexibility making
it difficult to adjust and accommodate changes in manufacturing schedules.
Lean processes are highly flexible making it easier to adjust and
implement changes.
Implementation of Lean processes requires the proper attitude. The
change will totally revolutionize the culture in your manufacturing
operation. Lean uses traditional industrial engineering methods to eliminate
waste by focusing on the entire process flow. It is a process of continuous
improvement that eliminates such non-value added operations as storage,
transportation and inspection.
If you decide to adopt Lean manufacturing, remember it will take the
full commitment of everyone. Every employee—from those in upper
management to those on the shop floor—will need to take a role
in the design and implementation of the processes for Lean to be successful.
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Authored by: Rick Sparks, Business and Industry
Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Source: Creating Quality Newsletter, Volume
11, Number 7, July 2002
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