The Basics in Lean Manufacturing Tools

Here are a few examples of some of the most common and basic lean tools and what they attempt to achieve:

Kaizen.  Derived from the Japanese word Kai (change) and Zen (better), it’s a continuous improvement philosophy based on achieving small, continuous, incremental steps in making process better.  Kaizen Blitz or Events, which typically take three to five days, are staged to target and rapidly improve processes or work areas.

Visual Factory.  It creates a visual language to distinguish quickly between normality and abnormality, and illustrates waste in a manner that is obvious to everyone.

5S. A component of the Visual Factory, it stands for sort, stabilize, shine, standardize and sustain, and represents the use of controls that enables immediate recognition to standard and any deviation from it.

Quick Changeover.  It’s the period between the last good piece off one production run and the first good piece off the next run, and provides the opportunity to changeover more often.  Benefits are: smaller batch sizes; lower required inventory; better quality control; waste reduction; greater flexibility; reduced lead time; and on-time delivery.

Value Stream Mapping.  A flow diagram that follows all aspects of a product’s production path from beginning to end, it’s a useful way to show process problems.  The “current state” map details what is occurring today.  The “future state” map is the perfected product and process flow with the waste and non-value added activities removed.

Kanban.  A “pull” system, it reduces overproduction by allowing for the production of exactly what is ordered, when it is ordered and in the quantities ordered.  Kanban requires the integration of people, process and technology to eliminate overproduction and secure the benefits of line inventory and safety stock reductions while building to schedule and to customer requirements.