Month: November 2018

Introducing the House of Lean

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Lean manufacturing is a systematic methodology used to reduce wastes in the process while improving productivity and sustaining or improving the value of the product for the consumer. Many concepts, principles, and strategies fall under the umbrella of Lean The concepts and principles of Lean manufacturing are often referred to as a house: a strong foundation of leadership and employees, the walls of the house that optimize processes, and finally the roof that signifies customer …

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Understanding the Terms of Lean

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The principles and strategies of Lean manufacturing are mostly derived from the Toyota Production System. Because this system is was developed in Japan, there are many Lean terms that are also Japanese terms like Heijunka or Jishuken. There are also a few English words in the Lean vernacular including Value Stream Mapping and Bottleneck Analysis. It can be difficult to fully grasp the concepts of Lean manufacturing without understanding the terms, so this post focuses …

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The Wastes of Lean

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Taiichi Ohno, the pioneer of the Toyota Production System, formally identified common wastes found in manufacturing and coined it as the 7 Wastes of Lean. The 8 Wastes of Lean is simply an extension and update of Ohno’s original philosophy. Lean manufacturing breaks down different categories of waste: Muda, Mura, and Muri. Literally translated from Japanese, Muda means useless, and the original 7 Wastes of Lean fall under this category of the 3M’s. What are …

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What is Lean Manufacturing?

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Lean is business model often used in manufacturing industries that works to identify and eliminate waste while still creating value for customers. Lean encompasses a variety of things and Lean manufacturing terms, tools, and practices are mainly derived from the Toyota Production System and was first coined in the 1980s by John Krafcik. The toolbox of Lean Organizations practicing Lean has a toolbox chock full of helpful tools when it comes to finding waste and …

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Improving Lean in the Workplace

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The methodology of Lean can be successfully implemented in a number of workplaces across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, offices, and government. The concept of Lean focuses on improving processes while involving workers from all levels, but still having the customer’s satisfaction in mind. The Toyota Motor Company worked to develop many of the concepts that are at the core of Lean and it was referred to as the Toyota Way. Nowadays, the terms Lean manufacturing …

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