Lean Management - Waste Reduction Tools

Lean management is either organization-wide or department-wide approach that supports the ideology of continuous improvement, delivering value from a customer’s point of view, and elimination of waste. Lean management is a long-term approach that works in a very systematic manner, aimed at achieving success in units and implements small and incremental changes to different processes and workflows. This approach makes sure that the processes and in turn product improves in efficiency and in quality.

Mainly derived from the Toyota Production System invented by Taiichi Ohno, along with Shigeo Shingo and others, Lean management aimed at eliminating “Muda” or waste along the workflow or process line within manufacturing and production. But trumping the other objectives it fulfills, lean management involves the concept of continuous improvement among processes. Eventually, the benefits of lean management cascaded quickly from Toyota’s production line to other manufacturing units of businesses across the world, now designated as an industry standard management practice.

A Japanese term for wastefulness or uselessness, Muda was adopted to identify the different types of wastes that exists in scenarios where the process hoards up more resources than required and these wastes are doing the rounds at production/manufacturing units. When we can identify what type of waste is involved, the necessary actions of elimination can be undertaken by managers to manage the lean system implemented.

As per the identification and study, 7 types of wastes were determined and put under scanner within Lean management to find ways and means of elimination, providing us with a smooth and value-rich process flow. These 7 types of wastes include (TIMWOOD):

• Transportation (moving materials that are not required for the process)
• Inventory (unwanted parts of the product, whether in WIP or finished)
• Motion (resources or equipment moving more than needed)
• Waiting (disruptions and interruptions during processing)
• Overproduction (excessive supply ahead of demand)
• Over-processing (poor tool or equipment design or even less efficient product design)
• Defects (efforts involved in inspection, monitoring, and fixing of errors or defects)

Lean management gained a lot of traction and was mostly used in the manufacturing sector, but has ever since gained a lot of precedence in the recent past as a complete set of methodologies to eliminate waste in the curve and turn of the production/manufacturing process.

Lean methodologies have processes as a “value stream”. Management of this value stream involves defining these values in the product and process capabilities within a workflow. This is focused on the needs of the customers and Lean ensures that the customers receive the product or service they need at the right time and at the right cost for purchase, making it a win-win situation for the business as well as the customers.

Quality is of utmost importance while there are changes implemented. And, the working of putting these changes or improvements in place is through the inputs and feedback from people performing the work, who are in the spot.