LEAN MANUFACTURING: STEP BY STEP, BENEFITS, TOYOTA CASE - DUDAS - 2024

The lean manufacturing, lean production or lean manufacturing is a production method that seeks to minimize waste, generate quality and improve productivity. This system is based on several pillars, including just-in-time or on-demand manufacturing. This technique allows to maintain a homogeneous flow of production and reduce the stock.

Other techniques linked to lean manufacturing are work standardization and the 5 S method. In essence, lean manufacturing identifies the added value of the product and eliminates unnecessary activities from production. It requires a high level of flexibility and involving suppliers in the processes.

This system also involves adopting a mindset of continuous quality improvement. Lean manufacturing emerged in the mid-20th century in Japan, and Toyota was one of the first to implement its techniques. Among the benefits of lean manufacturing are the improvement of quality and the reduction of lead time or process time.

The main objective of this type of manufacturing is to eliminate everything that does not add value to the determined product, in order to achieve a considerable increase in its quality and simplify its production process, maintaining a high quality standard.

What is lean manufacturing?

Lean manufacturing or lean manufacturing is a production method that seeks to eliminate minimizing waste, increasing quality and improving productivity.

Residues or waste (also called "muda") are the unnecessary resources used in the production system. The lean system recognizes seven types of waste: overproduction, lead time, transportation, over-processing, stock, movements, or defects.

The necessary activities and the activities that create added value must be maintained, while the rest of the activities can be removed from the system to make it more efficient. The simplification of the production structure allows increasing productivity.

Through lean manufacturing, reducing errors and the need for rework allows for increased robustness in manufacturing processes. The product is also simplified, and features that do not generate added value are eliminated.

Lean manufacturing also seeks to minimize lead time or process time. In addition, small batches are produced and only on demand, which reduces the stock and associated costs.

This system requires a high degree of flexibility to adjust production to needs. To implement a manufacturing system based on lean manufacturing and respect lead time, it is essential to involve suppliers.

History

At the beginning of the 20th century, the development of mass production, a large batch manufacturing technique to achieve cost reduction, took place.

It was at this time that FW Taylor and H. Ford began to apply novel production techniques. Among other novelties, Ford introduced the production chain. For his part, Taylor pushed for standardization in manufacturing.

The lean work philosophy as such arose in Japan. After the Second World War, in an environment characterized by low demand, mass production was not an efficient system.

In this context, during the 1940s the Toyota company developed a manufacturing-on-demand system, by reducing the size of batches.

Supporting Pillars of Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is based on several pillars:

Jidoka

Jidoka refers to "automation with a human touch." Automation adapts to interact with workers.

The aim is for the machine to be able to detect possible errors and to stop automatically in order to resolve them.

Just in time (JIT)

To reduce stock, the just in time system is based on producing on demand: only when the customer requests it.

Through the JIT system it is possible to obtain the five zeros: zero defects, zero breakdowns, zero stock, zero delays and zero control.

It is known as kanban to the visual signal that gives the order to begin the manufacture of a product, after receiving the order from the customer.

Heijunka

It is a technique of adjusting daily production to obtain a certain level of total production. It allows to face the variability of demand over time, optimizing the resources used at the same time.

Work standardization

It consists of designing and implementing procedures that allow the worker to perform their tasks following a constant sequence.

5S

It is a technique to improve organization, order and cleanliness in the company. It consists of five steps:

- Seiri

Eliminate unnecessary elements from the work area.

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Order the work area.

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Clean and inspect the elements to detect and correct faults.

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Standardize work.

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Have discipline to maintain change.

Continuous improvement or kaizen

The company must introduce small constant improvements, which allow increasing quality and reducing costs progressively.

Toyota case

To solve the problems of its factories, the Toyota corporation decided to analyze each of its processes.

Toyota developed a production system known as the Toyota Production System (TPS). This system was based on production on demand or just in time.

Compared to the traditional or push philosophy, which is based on the accumulation of stock as production is generated, the pull system is based on producing only the necessary quantity and at the necessary time.

Through the pull system, production is made more flexible by adapting to demand. By following a pull production system and without interruptions, stock is minimized. In this way, it was possible to establish a homogeneous production flow.

The benefits that the Toyota company has obtained from the implementation of this model have led to its use in factories around the world.

The 6 Steps to Implementing Lean Manufacturing

To implement a production system based on lean manufacturing techniques, several steps must be followed:

1- Know the consumers and identify what characteristics of the product generate added value.

2- Eliminate waste at all stages of the company, from design to manufacturing.

3- Design and implement the new processes.

4- When problems are detected, the processes must be redesigned.

5- Measure the results of the new system to identify the benefits.

6- Develop a knowledge management base that captures the organization's learning and allows it to continue applying it.

To successfully implement these techniques you must adopt a mindset of continuous improvement.

Benefits

The application of lean manufacturing techniques allows the company to obtain a number of benefits. The most relevant are the following:

- Reduction of errors, waste and rework.

- Quality improvement.

- Reduction of operating costs.

- Decrease in time (lead time).

- Stock reduction.

- Optimization of resources.

- Productivity increase.

- Teamwork.

- Improved understanding of processes and knowledge management.

References

1. Ben Naylor, J.; Naim, MM; Berry, D. 1999. Leagility: Integrating the lean and agile manufacturing paradigms in the total supply chain. International Journal of Production Economics. Available at: elsevier.com
2. Feld, WM 2000. Lean manufacturing: tools, techniques and how to use them. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
3. Garbrecht, S. 2017. Embracing Lean Manufacturing Fundamentals. General Electric. Available at: ge.com
4. Hernández Matías, JC and Vizán Idoipe, A. 2013. Lean manufacturing. Consultations, techniques and implementation. Madrid: EOI Foundation.
5. Melton, T. 2005. The benefits of lean manufacturing. What Lean Thinking has to Offer the Process Industries. Available at: icheme.org