The Lean Manufacturing System was developed by Toyota in the 1950s in Japan.
It was the main driving force that contributed to the transformation of the company into one of the leading players in the automotive industry.
With constant work to eliminate activities that do not add value to the process, Toyota has become the leading example of a lean company in the world.
It is a management philosophy that seeks to reduce waste while increasing productivity and quality.
It is used in many different types of companies in the incessant search for a competitive edge.
The use of Lean management principles is today the most logical way to develop a company that thinks about:
We have separated 5 basic principles that will help you in understanding what Lean Manufacturing is.
The value, reflected in its sales price and market demand, must be defined by the customer despite being produced by the manufacturer.
The value in a product is created by the manufacturer through a series of combinations, actions, activities, and processes.
That’s why value is the starting point for Lean Thinking.
Lean Thinking is based on the TPS – Toyota Production System and was developed in the automotive industry.
The goal of Lean Thinking is to eliminate unnecessary activities, and to preserve and enhance those that add value to the customer.
Value flows are the activities required for the production of all products.
They include the whole production flow, from raw material stage to the final consumer.
It also includes the flow design itself, from its conception to the launch of a new product on the market.
This enables company managers to see the full flow of processes and better understand what Lean Manufacturing is all about.
Value Flow Mapping is an essential tool used in Lean Manufacturing for these reasons:
The use of continuous flow reduces delays between activities and stock levels.
This eliminates queues and allows you to produce in line with the pace of demand.
After all, improving flow means reducing steps, times, costs and all unnecessary efforts.
This shows how much each activity is required for the process, always maintaining a continuous flow of order and delivery.
Pulled production is the production control method in which the initial flow activities (such as a request, for example) warn the subsequent flow activities (such as stock control or packaging) about their needs, ie, it attempts to eliminate overproduction.
Here, the demand generated by the customer is the “start” of production. Needs are provided and attended to when required.
With the help of Lean Manufacturing, the goal of quality control is to attain perfection through continual improvement.
At this point, it is worth talking about the 5S program.
The 5S philosophy, also called 5 Senses, is intended to organize and raise awareness among all company employees about cleaning and organizing work spaces in a logical and effective manner.
The program was developed, according to consensus, by the engineer Kaoru Ishikawa, in Japan after the Second World War.
It has been used to this day in the majority of companies that consider the fight against waste as a company philosophy.
As you have seen, lean’s main focus is on avoiding waste in companies.
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