Lean
manufacturing or lean production, also known as simply “lean,” is a system that
helps businesses eliminate waste, save time, and reduce overhead costs. Companies
around the world use lean practices to transform their supply chain management
and improve overall performance in manufacturing and production.
But here’s the challenge with lean – do a
quick search on “lean
manufacturing” and you’ll see as many as 35 tools categorized as “essential”.
That’s a lot of tools, and most growing businesses aren’t ready to take on the
process of diving deep into lean manufacturing.
Any business, no matter how big or small,
can take advantage of some of the philosophies of lean manufacturing. Let’s
take a higher-level look at how lean manufacturing tactics can help to reduce
waste, increase efficiency and deliver more value to your customers.
Eliminate
waste
The primary lean principle to follow is
eliminating waste at every point of your process. The more you eliminate, the
more you save. If you don’t make an effort to reduce waste throughout the
production process, even if you’re using the lean tools, you might not achieve the
potential benefits of lean.
Identify
D-O-W-N-T-I-M-E in your processes
One tool to share here is a convenient acronym to help you
identify, prioritize and eliminate the top 8 wasteful processes:
Defects – Information, products, and
services that are incomplete or inaccurate
Overproduction – Making more, or
earlier or faster, than is needed
Waiting – Waiting for information,
equipment, materials, parts, or people
Non-Utilized talent – Failure to take
advantage of experience, skills, knowledge, or creativity
Transportation – Unnecessary movement
of materials, information, or equipment
Inventory – Too many parts, too much
information, software, etc,
Motion – Any movement by people that
doesn’t add value to the customer
Extra-processing – Steps or
requirements that don’t help a customer be more efficient
Making
an effort to reduce waste will enable your business to improve in performance
and efficiency – which can add up to significant cost-savings over time.
We’re here to help
At Ohio
Valley Goodwill, our Industrial Services Division provides outsourced business
services for businesses in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast
Indiana. With decades of expertise in assembly, kitting, and fulfillment, we
know how to streamline processes, reduce waste, and respond to changing
customer needs using lean techniques. Contact us for an informative tour of our
facilities, and let’s see how we can put some more “lean” in your business!
