What does Lean Manufacturing mean?

Answer 1

Lean manufacturing is a system where wastes are defined, identified and removed from the system continuously. Wastes are defined from the customer’s point of view. If any process or an activity is defined as waste if it does not add value to the final product or service in the customer’s eyes. For an example manufacturer will feel it is necessary to move goods from one place to another in order to carryout the manufacturing. But from the customer’s point of view it does not add any value to the product. So transportation is considered as a waste in lean manufacturing.

Manufacturing processes are simplified and made transparent so that wastes will be visible easily. Removal of work in progress is a key to unhide the hidden inefficiencies from the system. Managers will be able to identify the problems just by looking at the manufacturing floor.

Identified wastes will be removed from the system with a systematic approach. Here complete system will be taken into consideration not just parts of it. Removal of any waste must have a positive effect to the full system.

Lean manufacturing can not be identified with its tools. It is very important to understand the concepts behind lean manufacturing. Lean tools and techniques may be unique to implementation, but the concepts are universal.


For more information visit:
http://learnlean.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-is-lean-manufacturing.html

Answer 2

Define Lean Manufacturing

Answer 3

Lean manufacturing focuses on eliminating operations that do not add value to the product. Many of the concepts are carried forward from TQM. This Wiki link is very descriptive and should give you a very good primer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing

Often six sigma is mentioned in conjunction with lean manufacturing, but these really are two differing systems. Six Sigma was originally launched by Motorola to drive defects down to the 1 in a million level. Obviously the secondary goal is to achieve these results while reducing cost. Both system use similar tools. However each has a different output target: Lean wants high efficiency; six sigma wants high quality.

Answer 4

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What does Lean Manufacturing mean?

Answer 5

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Basically lean manufacturing is where you keep your inventory low. A truck pulls up to the loading dock and products are unloaded directly on to the assembly line. Work in process is virtually eliminated as work units are completed every night. This in turn lowers the overhead and gives the company more flexibility to change production to other products.

Answer 6

I'm not 100% sure....we have "lean" and "six sigma" where I work - I have been trained in six sigma, but not in lean.

My understanding of the lean principle is to examine your work/manufacturing area and use the tools/strategies to eliminate duplication and waste (and thus save the company money).

Answer 7

I'll tell you what it means. The worker will be given an unattainable production rate he's not going to make and the employer knows that but uses it to tell him he's not up to par so to keep him worried about his job while employee is making peanuts. Just so upper management can make millions as too shareholders. We need unions also to protect us from certain ******* in management looking for advancement by being unreasonable backstabbing *** kissers

Answer 8

Bottom line? Downsizing. Reduction in headcount. Layoffs. Those that remain will work much harder than before.