Five principles of Lean

Establishing agreement on what and how- 

standardization is the foundation for improvement. You need to create high agreement with no uncertainty.

Systematic waste elimination-

This will require a good understanding of waste and value from the customer’s perspective and then relentlessly pursue systematic waste elimination on a daily basis.

Systematic problem solving-

any gap between the current reality and ideal situation is seen as a problem. We need to see every problem as a way to move closer to the ideal state. People should be rewarded for ensuring that the problem is prevented through systematic continuous improvement.

Creating a learning organization-

more time should be spent on reflecting on how organization works, thinks and improves. This reflection should happen at all levels of the organization. Leader must be learners and teachers, open to changing themselves in the learning and experimentation and setting an example by leading from the front.

Directly observe work as activities, connections and flows- 

the product, material and information should flow through simple and specific pathways. 

Have you ever used tools for lean..?

There are only 8  tools in lean

Lean Tool	What Is It?	How Does It Help?
5S Visual Factory	Organize the work area: •          Sort (eliminate that which is not needed) •          Set In Order (organize remaining items) •          Shine (clean and inspect work area) •          Standardize (write standards for above) •          Sustain (regularly apply the standards) Visual Indicators, displays & controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information	Eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g. wasting time looking for a tool). Makes the state & condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible & very clear to everyone
PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)	An iterative methodology for implementing improvements: •          Plan (establish plan and expected results) •          Do (implement plan) •          Check (verify expected results achieved) •          Act (review and assess; do it again)	Applies a scientific approach to making improvements: •          Plan (develop a hypothesis) •          Do (run experiment) •          Check (evaluate results) •          Act (refine your experiment; try again)
Error Proofing	Design error detection and prevention into production processes with the goal of achieving zero defects.	It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production.
Standardized Work	Documented procedures for manufacturing that capture best practices (including the time to complete each task). Must be “living” documentation that is easy to change.	Eliminates waste by consistently applying best practices. Forms a baseline for future improvement activities.
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)	A holistic approach to maintenance that focuses on proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment. TPM blurs the distinction between maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.	Creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).
Visual Factory	Visual indicators, displays and controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information.	Makes the state and condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible and very clear – to everyone.
Quick Changeover	Changeover time is the time between the production of the last good part in one series of parts and the production of the first good part in the next series of parts	Changeover time reduction efforts find ways to eliminate waste in setups thus speeding up the process of setup
Line Balancing	Line balancing occurs when work is performed by each operator evenly over time with no peaks or valleys	Each worker or machine on the assembly line has work that fills the same amount of time, so no one or no machine is waiting for something to do or is having to rush to keep up
Kanban (Pull System)	A method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate when more goods are needed.	Eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for physical inventories (instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be ordered).

Lean Tool

What Is It?

How Does It Help?

5S

Visual Factory

Organize the work area:

•          Sort (eliminate that which is not needed)

•          Set In Order (organize remaining items)

•          Shine (clean and inspect work area)

•          Standardize (write standards for above)

•          Sustain (regularly apply the standards)

Visual Indicators, displays & controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information

Eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g. wasting time looking for a tool).

Makes the state & condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible & very clear to everyone

PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)

An iterative methodology for implementing improvements:

•          Plan (establish plan and expected results)

•          Do (implement plan)

•          Check (verify expected results achieved)

•          Act (review and assess; do it again)

Applies a scientific approach to making improvements:

•          Plan (develop a hypothesis)

•          Do (run experiment)

•          Check (evaluate results)

•          Act (refine your experiment; try again)

Error Proofing

Design error detection and prevention into production processes with the goal of achieving zero defects.

It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production.

Standardized Work

Documented procedures for manufacturing that capture best practices (including the time to complete each task). Must be “living” documentation that is easy to change.

Eliminates waste by consistently applying best practices. Forms a baseline for future improvement activities.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

A holistic approach to maintenance that focuses on proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment. TPM blurs the distinction between maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.

Creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).

Visual Factory

Visual indicators, displays and controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information.

Makes the state and condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible and very clear – to everyone.

Quick Changeover

Changeover time is the time between the production of the last good part in one series of parts and the production of the first good part in the next series of parts

Changeover time reduction efforts find ways to eliminate waste in setups thus speeding up the process of setup

Line Balancing

Line balancing occurs when work is performed by each operator evenly over time with no peaks or valleys

Each worker or machine on the assembly line has work that fills the same amount of time, so no one or no machine is waiting for something to do or is having to rush to keep up

Kanban (Pull System)

A method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate when more goods are needed.

Eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for physical inventories (instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be ordered).

LEAN STARTS WITH RULES NOT TOOLS

THE FOUR RULES

1. Structure every activity

•         Lean Is A System Not An Event

•         Standardize everything that is done

•         Make it a way of life not a “flavor of the month”

2.Clearly connect each customer and supplier

•         Every connection must be standardized & direct, clearly specifying the people involved, the form & quantity of the goods & services to be provided, the way requests are made by each customer & the expected time in which the request will be met

•         No gray zones in deciding who provides what to whom & when

3.Specify and simplify every flow

•         Product, Material & Information should flow along a simple, specified path

•         Do not flow to the next available person or machine but to a specific person or machine

4.Improve through experimentation at the lowest level possible towards the ideal state

•     For people to consistently make effective changes, they must know how to change & who is responsible for making the changes

•         See every problem as an opportunity to focus and move toward the ideal state

•         Decision making at the point of activity