What is Lean Short definition of current Lean

What is Lean Short definition of current Lean philosophy…. and how it might/might not be different than Six Sigma

Lean - Lean philosophy is that for each process there is one correct way to perform it. - If all stations performing that process perform it correctly a wide range of support processes and personnel are not needed - Ultimately Lean is about stripping your operations down to the true essentials and elimination of Waste - Origin seems to be grounded in the Toyota Production System. November 13, 2009

Lean process Contact customers and determine their needs, expectations and desires. Create and exhaustive process map, of what is, not what they think it is. Evaluate each process; does it add value to the customer or not. If there are multiple processes/equipment doing the same thing which is best? Eliminate non-value added processes and standardize on best processes. Relentlessly reduce/eliminate Waste.

Eight Types of Waste or Muda 1. Overproduction 5. Motion 2. Inappropriate Processing 6. Inventory 3. Waiting 7. Defects 4. Transportation 8. Underutilization of Employees

Overproduction Over production is making product prior to the time its needed This is wasteful because it creates inventory of stagnate product that may or may not be able to be sold If this is done in individual departments and not uniformly it will cause confusion for scheduling Product may become obsolete Product requires extra handling which can damage product November 13, 2009

Inappropriate Processing Often specific rework processes are setup to accommodate processes that are not the identified optimum Thermal process to burn off particles instead of a wash process Rework process to “fix” scrapped product, instead of making sure they were done correctly the first time with 100% measurements November 13, 2009

Waiting Product that cycles around on conveyor belts without being processed through the next step Many products/parts/processes are thermally sensitive If they don’t get processed straight through thermal profile is not the same which causes variation Open air exposure can cause corrosion over time Etc. November 13, 2009

Transportation Moving products, handling products can cause damage Any time you move an item there is some risk Minimizing the trip reduces the risk, keeps the product fresh The shorter the time frame the quicker you can see problems in the next set of the process that tests/uses the product feature. The quicker issues are identified the easier it is to fix November 13, 2009

Motion Its not the fall that will kill you it’s the stop…. Motion requires energy, that energy can be misapplied… If people are involved it can cause injuries, If machines, its quicker wear-out November 13, 2009

Inventory Typically the issues start with the overproduction problems WIP costs money 1$ WIP=-1$ cash to the company The inertia of inventory leads to extraordinary measures to make it get used. Can’t we just stretch those size 8 shoes to size 9? Nobody will care it the shoes are a bit tight…. . So what if it was set up for Australia…. Go to Poland sell them the parts November 13, 2009

Defects Seems obvious…… Often just because there has been a level of scrap it becomes accepted…It shouldn’t!!!! November 13, 2009

Underutilization of Employees The workers to the job thousands of times know when its right and when its not. You have to ask them…. But you have to build trust If you ask they will usually give you something small, if you follow through with that they will believe you are sincere and start giving you bigger ideas November 13, 2009

Lean addins 5 S…. . Visual workspaces Process mapping

5 S

Why 5 S Builds pride Organizes the area, and helps cut down on the confusion if done properly Helps with maintaince November 13, 2009

So If you do this, what happens? ? ? Well variability is reduced greatly, across the whole organization. If you are doing Six Sigma ( as intended ) aren’t you doing the same thing? ? ? It’s a macro (strategic) versus mircro (tactical) approach in my mind.

links https: //www. toyotaglobal. com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_production_system/ https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System