When
talking about lean manufacturing, the only thing that comes to one’s mind is
that to improve production process’ efficiency. But if you go through the book
stuff, you’ll come to know that there’s more to it.
It’s
a philosophy that embarks upon the practices of eliminating all kinds of waste
to make the business the best it can be!
Companies
require experts and professionals to exercise these activities as it’s not a
piece of cake for all. Many firms do try to practice lean manufacturing solely
with the help of some written texts and merging departments, but an expert
professional eliminates any room for error and creates a scope for improvement
and innovation. A man’s job can never be done by anything else!!
Waste
in Lean methodology can be classified into three main categories:
- “Muda” (work that does not add value)
- “Muri” (overburden)
- “Mura” (unevenness)
Work
that doesn’t add value and overburden can be easily understandable, but unevenness
can disrupt the smoothness of the production flow. Unevenness can be perceived
when there are no orders placed in during the lead time. To avoid this, it is
recommended to place orders frequently to ensure smooth flow of work.
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To
reduce excessive waste does not only count upon the raw material waste. There
are several frontiers where firms can get a hold and enable a lean methodology.
- Shrinking the size of the package which reduce space and money required for transport
- Proper inventory management so the products does not stock up
- Using effective project planning for efficient performance
- Time scaling of equipments for further planning
- Purging gratuitous steps in the processing chain
- Computing each model to minimize failures
There
are other areas for improvement too. These modifications, ask for professional
help in any organization and thus an expert in lean manufacturing is required.
An expert can evaluate the firm in and out and create customized plans
according to it.
An
online portal like SolutionBuggy facilitates organizations to find consultants
for lean manufacturing and even in other vital areas. SolutionBuggy helps both
the ways, for the organizations and for the consultants as well!
Competition
today is neck-to-neck; companies can only thrive in the market if they offer
the best price in the best time. To ensure this, they adopt lean production.
Many
big industries and manufacturers have adopted the lean principles and they have
been running better than ever. Take for Intel; it is the world’s largest
computer chip maker. The factory manager in Ireland said that they used to take
14 weeks to introduce a new chip to their factory, but now with lean
methodology it takes only 10 days.
What
it all shows, that it has been effective! The lesser the use of time and money,
the more the productivity yields. In many surveys, it has been found out that
the processing steps of the companies are eating out the massive chunks of
their inputs. In lean manufacturing, special emphasis is given to the reduction
of these insignificant steps to save a ton.
Another
great example that comes to mind is of a book printer in Maharashtra. The
printer almost saved a million when someone from his factory asked him to
change the font of the book. By changing the font of it, the owner saved a heap
of cash as it was using lesser ink than in the previous font. The same content
printed with lesser cost… how smart was that?
Improvising
the process of manufacturing like these illustrates the importance of lean
principles and how effective it could be. By adopting these, they do not only
benefit the organization but it also does the job for the sustainability of
environment by reduction of waste materials. This could be also a method of lean
for a company where both of its aim of reduction and environment sustainability
gets fulfilled with one dart!
Registerat SolutionBuggy for more information on Lean Manufacturing projects and to find right experts on Lean Manufacturing.
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