Lean manufacturing espouses the philosophy that the seven major wastes in every production process and company should be significantly reduced or even eliminated in order to be able to compete more effectively and dramatically boost profitability.

Times are changing fast and the demands of the market for faster delivery periods, higher quality and lower costs are placing huge tolls on every firm. This is where lean manufacturing comes in. What it does is help your firm rise up to the competition by being 'lean', that is, by taking out all the unnecessary activities and methods that cause problems and delay.

Lean manufacturing has identified seven major 'wastes', as named by companies surveyed all over the world: overprocessing, transportation, waiting time, over production, motion, scrap and defects and inventory.

For example, a certain production level becomes a huge waste of time, effort and resources if it's being done in ten levels, while it can be completed in just three.

Citing another case, productivity could have been raised if defects of a particular equipment or system had been addressed before processing began. A lot more could have been done you had not waited for it to bog down in the middle of everything and cause annoying delays.

Another one is where your company has overproduced and have no more space to stock the overruns. Where do you put the excesses? How do you manage to sell them? More likely than not, you will be forced to offload them at a price much lower than intended just so you could make room for new goods. And, this, as lean manufacturing says (and any businessperson would say) is major waste.

Studies show that firms adopting the lean manufacturing principles have seen that their productivity has gone up 75% to 125%.

This is because the energy and time usually spent on regular processes have been significantly lowered to allow for greater focus on quality and on what the customers truly need. With lean manufacturing, there is no 'this will have to do' attitude.

Everything is done at the right quality, at the right quantity, at the right time, all the time.

As with the workplace setting, lean manufacturing's focus on eliminating unproductive activities and tasks will also help the firm and its employees give more attention to what their clients need. No job will be haphazardly done because enough time is afforded to each level to make sure things are running smoothly.

When customer satisfaction is achieved, it follows that revenue will rise. Your client is happy, your company is happy, everybody is happy.

Lean manufacturing also aids the organization by weeding out redundant positions, thereby cutting labor costs and eventually raking in savings. It helps firms focus just on what needs to be done and do away with unwanted stress, especially those that arise from having too many people on board. With lean manufacturing, less is definitely more.

One major change that your company will see once you have adopted lean manufacturing concepts is the raised discipline among your employees. Because the culture becomes standardized, annoying kinks and practices are done away with.

While several people criticize lean manufacturing, saying it's a costly endeavor, you must be aware that the costs related to its preliminary stages will far be trumped by the advantages it will deliver for the company in the long run.

Lean manufacturing is the processes, techniques, strategies and initiatives being implemented by companies around the world that aim to reduce unnecessary and unproductive tasks, activities and behaviors in the work environment.

Because the times have really gone hard, demanding and intense due to political and turbulent concerns affecting all nations, firms are currently facing challenges to be able to keep their profitability and efficiency.

Lean manufacturing not only reduces operational costs but also targets to boost, restore and significantly raise the competitiveness of a company.

There are seven identified ?forms of waste' within the work environment and systems that lean manufacturing principally aims to alleviate, if not totally eliminate. These are over production, over processing, transportation, motion, inventory, waiting and scrap and defects.

Several advantages of adopting lean manufacturing principles

The first advantage identified by experts from implementing lean manufacturing techniques and strategies is the reduction of manufacturing time.

When the manufacturing lead time is significantly lowered, it follows that the operational costs incurred from the use of energy, utilities and wages from laborers' time will also be significantly reduced.

Thus, lean manufacturing helps companies retain, maintain and significantly increase their earnings, widen their margins and help them generate savings from lower costs.

Space is another area where lean manufacturing advantages are clearly and effectively exhibited. Working space, it is understood, is one of the primary and basic factors that keep operations of businesses going.

Labor and human resource experts estimate that adoption of good and effective lean manufacturing techniques and strategies will likely help companies reduce their physical floor space requirements by as much as 5% to 30%.

The figures involved could be small and miniscule for your eyes, but, actually, that will significantly contribute to much more efficiency and savings. That would be an advantage almost all businesses will surely look after.

The advantage in productivity

It is found that in general, companies implementing and adhering to lean manufacturing practices significantly boost and increase their manufacturing productivity by as much as 75% to 125%.

It is because time and efforts are principally targeted by lean manufacturing processes. Thus, elimination of wastes, practices, behaviors and unnecessary and disturbing objects in the work place will surely and practically help workers get on to their tasks with much smooth pacing and comfort.

You know how it is when workers work without any distractions and interruptions. Productivity is very much maximized. Thus, lean manufacturing becomes a necessity for companies to be able to achieve that goal.

The advantages in terms of waste to profit relationships

It follows that elimination and reduction of wastes will gradually and efficiently help boost and raise up earnings and profits in companies.

Thus, elimination of wastes and unproductive activities, objects, tasks and behaviors in the work place will surely help the company and its personnel focus on the requirements and demands of the customer.

The advantage of that, above all is that, when customer satisfaction is achieved, sales will surely rise. The best way to establish a good relationship with customers is to improve the products and services offered to them.

Lean manufacturing would be of great help to achieve a good customer or client relations.

Another advantage brought about by lean manufacturing techniques among various companies and firms adopting it worldwide is streamlined, rationalized or lean structuring of the organization.

You should know that elimination of excess and unnecessary job positions and tasks in a company is a sure way to help that firm reduce labor costs and eventually lead to generate savings.

Lean manufacturing without a doubt brings that advantage of leanness upon organizations and companies practicing and adopting it.

Advantage on culture improvement

Various companies around the world are practicing and implementing different cultures. It is usually a cause of problems, conflicts and issues around and within the organization.

In lean manufacturing, the cultures are standardized, thus, unfavorable practices and behaviors of both the employees and the management are reduced, if not eliminated.

The greatest advantage of lean manufacturing in terms of cultures adopted by companies is that lean manufacturing makes the differences between management and personnel reach to a verging point.

Lean manufacturing principles should really be implemented by companies. It is high time to reap its advantages.

Andon is a "visual control" device that shows machine, line or process status. It is a very useful tool in lean manufacturing systems where the main goal is to reduce production waste in all levels.

Using andon boards can help the industry guide, monitor and ensure productivity. Andon boards also double as early warning devices because audible alarms or warning messages usually accompany them to communicate a problem.

With andon boards installed in lean manufacturing warehouses, workers can instantly see order status, priorities and many relevant productivity measurements even from more than 100 feet away. Critical areas in lean manufacturing where andon boards can be used are manufacturing, inventory management, storage, receiving, picking and shipping.

By using andon boards in a lean manufacturing system, there is evidently better coordination of orders, parts, priorities and flow thus an improvement of customer service.

In shipping for example, andon boards can display queuing information, priorities, pick-up and departure and wait times, truck directions and other specifics which ensure fast and correct deliveries. Inventory accuracy is assured by seeing to it that proper items are picked.

Because of andon boards, lean manufacturing systems do not rely on white boards, clip boards and word of mouth and even emails and intranet as a communication tool. There is little room for error, therefore, and a reduction of "work in progress" or lag time between cycles.

Most andon boards have the ablity to project a number of 4" characters. Requests normally refer to x  number of lines and y number of characters. You can run for example 5 lines of 30 characters each which implies 4" characters.

Andon boards can also be used to display smaller characters as needed. 2.1" high characters are usually used for smaller areas with 100 ft. or less of viewing distance. Some adaptive andon boards can display different character sizes at once. are available in single-sided and double-sided veer

Windows applications can be installed inside andon board displays and all these will operate on the boards just like they run on PCs. Excel can be used to display charts and graphs live. Explorer can display internet or intranet sites as well.

Other HMI applications like GE Cimplicity, Wonderware, Visual Plant, Iconics or other SCADA applications can also be run on andon boards just like they are run on a desktop computer.

Andon boards have enhanced lean manufacturing tremendously. However, andon displays have, for a long time, been a basic but very expensive addition to lean manufacturing systems.

New technologies had to be developed to further enhance these communication tools and reduce more waste. Before, the data that andon boards display are usually fixed and restricted to single word headings such as "target" or "actual", and data is lost once the display changes.

Now, Gemba Solutions have developed a new model, the OEE Impact Andon Board which provides flexible and displays which the user can configure via a PC. This can also be viewed on LCD or plasma screen.

The OEE Impact Andon Board creates another dimension for lean manufacturing as its software lets you know how you fare against targets in real-time by calculating TAKT times. A production plan for machines and lines can also automatically account planned breaks.

A profile of progress can also be views within a specific period of time or within work shifts. The OEE Impact Andon Board also can provide a historical summary report showing shift, daily, weekly performance vis-à-vis TAKT times, targets, rejects and down-times. 

These new kinds of andon boards are very helpful in lean manufacturing as they let you know how well your production is going. In the event that results are less than what you want them to be, the OEE Impact Andon Board can also utilize a powerful software to find out where problem areas and bottlenecks are.

This helps lean manufacturers decide what to change in the process and later check on summary reports whether, in changing the process results have indeed improved. This shows that with the OEE Impact Andon Board, no data is ever lost.

Success in the Implementation of Lean Manufacturing Principles in Companies

Lean manufacturing is a holistic and innovative approach to making companies' profits and earnings somehow upbeat and at par with contemporaries around the world.

Lean manufacturing, according to experts, was developed and initially implemented and launched in Japan, which is a country foremost known for interactive and inventive approaches to solving and dealing with problems.

Experts also note that lean manufacturing principles are very simple and practical. However, the success of lean manufacturing adoption and implementation depends and principally relies on the effective and religious implementation of the simple and easy to do strategic principles.

Lean manufacturing and companies

Companies around the world, in all aspects and in all industries, are now addressing lean manufacturing issues and concerns, one way or another. The fact that all companies need to reduce operation costs and expenses make up to the companies ever- enduring efforts and initiatives to adopt lean manufacturing principles.

There are numerous companies that fall and file for bankruptcy every now and then. The corporate world is alarmed because even the staunchest and most stable companies in the past decades are beginning to show signs and indications of deterioration and weakness nowadays.

It can be because the world economy is so challenged by the greatest problem that has bugged the economy of the world---rising and higher oil prices. Lea manufacturing is becoming very popular among all companies because of that.

Lean manufacturing principally aims to help companies by targeting or initiating ways, measures and practices that alleviate and reduce wasteful practices and behaviors in the work environment.

Lean manufacturing is also helping companies around the world to cope up with the real and emerging challenges in the real world when prices and costs are so volatile and influential to modern living and economies.

There are seven waste, wasteful practices and unproductive processes that lean manufacturing aims principally to erase or alleviate.

First, lean manufacturing aims to scrap over production among companies. Over production leads to lowering and declining prices of products and merchandise that would eventually lead to a company loss.

Second, lean manufacturing aims to reduce and cut over processing inside all companies. Over processing makes expenses higher by putting up additional costs and expenses for processing materials and labor costs. Time is also wasted by that.

Third, lean manufacturing maximizes transportation. You know that transportation is facilitated by automotive and cars. These in turn, burn up oil and petroleum that are currently priced at unreasonable levels.

Fourth, lean manufacturing makes motion productive. By eliminating wastes and setting aside big and space-consuming equipment in the work place, laborers are able to move freely, enabling them to eventually speed up production and do more outputs.

Fifth, lean manufacturing prevents piling up of inventories. In some industries, piled up inventories are positive, but in almost all, or the majority of manufacturing firms, inventories should be kept controlled because prices of the goods are affected by piled up inventories.

Lean manufacturing makes up operations streamlined and more efficient. Thus, for the sixth spot, lean manufacturing principles help make companies alleviate and prevent waiting time.

Lastly, because the environment is cleared from all obstacles and disturbance, lean manufacturing helps companies avoid the production of goods with scraps and defects.

Companies producing merchandise and outputs with scraps and defects not only suffer from losses from the production of such substandard products, they also lose customers because their credibility are destroyed and tainted.

Companies that successfully implement lean manufacturing principles

There are more and more companies around the world that successfully implement lean manufacturing techniques and principles in their daily operation.

It should be noted that companies that use lean manufacturing with success are characterized by one and a single unifying feature--- all of them are profitable and strong.

Companies that use lean manufacturing with success are also notably very competitive amid intense and rising competition in the corporate world.

Understanding what lean manufacturing is does not take rocket science, nor does it take a conference of ten experts to bear down to the basic concepts. Simply put, lean manufacturing is the achievement of the greatest efficiency and profitability for a company by eliminating the wasteful methods and activities that are commonly present in corporate regimes.

At first glance, some firms are intimated with the thought of adopting lean manufacturing because of its fancy sounding name. But, if truth be told, it's actually easier than seems. What you just need to have is the dedication and the discipline to see things through and make change happen.

First up, let us identify what the top seven wastes companies identified as the reasons for the production delays, gargantuan costs and, eventually, bankruptcy filings and hostile takeovers.

1) overproduction
2) transportation
3) motion (processes that don't need to be conducted)
4) inventory
5) processing
6) waiting time
7) defects

These are the key reasons why most firms often fail. For instance, with defects, instead of focusing on achieving the best quality output at the shortest period of time, some firms waste effort and energy into looking at and fixing equipment and method defects and problems. If the kinks had been addressed in the first place and the problem nipped at the bud, such an unnecessary activity would be eliminated.

Definitions of popular lean manufacturing terms

If a company wants to fully understand what lean manufacturing is, it should first familiarize itself with some of the prominent technical terms linked to it. Don't let these words scare you off.

Cellular manufacturing

This involves the linking manual and machine operation to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective combination that would extract maximum value from a certain activity and method, while reducing wastes at the same time. Cellular manufacturing is usually U-shaped and flows in a single pattern.

Kanban System

This is a pull method that makes use of color-coded cards attached to parts to be able to ensure the smooth flow of the production process. A 'pull method' simply means the customer's interest is foremost, instead of you as the manufacturer dictating what the consumer should have.

Value

This is what the customers is willing to pay for. It is the responsibility of the lean manufacturing strategy to deliver what the customer wants exactly.

Pull system

This involves the replacement only of goods that have been used up or depleted.

Takt time

This is identified by the customers' rate of demand. The takt time is what sets the production pace and matches it with how badly consumers need the product delivered to them. It is often referred to as the heartbeat of lean manufacturing systems.

Lean manufacturing is a holistic and effective set of approaches, principles and business strategies that aims to maximize productivity by minimizing unnecessary, unproductive and wasteful practices, tasks, activities and behaviors in the work place.

The modern work place is bugged by many issues, with labor relations and labor concerns affecting both employee and employer relations and of course, the production of companies.

Because the times are ever so trying and challenging with all kinds of crises affecting the society, the political landscape and the working industry as a whole, firms around the world complain and suffer from declining profitability and narrowing margins.

The issue of labor relations are becoming so common worldwide, with all sorts of companies in all sectors and industries launching and introducing job cuts, streamlining efforts and restructuring efforts left and right and every now and then.

Thus, productivity, both in the company and the employees' ends should be significantly boosted and improved to ensure the survival of businesses and of course, laborers.

Lean manufacturing

All companies from around the world are recognizing the value of implementing and adopting various and effective techniques to improve and help their businesses survive amid all crises.

The Japanese are the pioneers in introducing innovative and practical techniques, strategies and methodologies in business improvement. From the industrialization era in the 1980s to the modern and dotcom era of the 1990s up to the present, they never falter.

Experts could not really pin point the origin of lean manufacturing principles and concept as a whole, but analysts see lean manufacturing as somehow related and interconnected to the Japanese 5S working guide.

Basically 5S eliminates unnecessary and interrupting situations by ensuring that cleanliness, orderliness and systematic processes are in place in the workplace.

Lean manufacturing is somehow similar to that.

Learning more about lean manufacturing

There are various platforms and means on how people, especially managers, employers and work personnel, can significantly and efficiently learn and absorb lean manufacturing techniques.

There are various consultancy and training firms that offer long courses and mostly, short or crash courses about lean manufacturing.

It is important to note, however, that most training offerings for lean manufacturing are also costly, with the justification that savings and cost reductions to be generated from its implementation will surely make up for the training costs.

Lean manufacturing trainings are somehow viewed by modern companies as one of the business aspects and areas where investments should really be poured in.

Online, there are also a number of online sites that offer online trainings, but rarely can you find free training for lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing training has surely become a profitable and money-generating business itself.

Free trainings

It is not only rare, but to say, impossible, for you to find online sites offering free training on lean manufacturing.

Indeed, some companies and experts on lean manufacturing have realized that their expertise and knowledge about the principles are becoming so in demand. Thus, it opens opportunities for earning and generating additional income.

Because it is important to know lean manufacturing strategies and techniques so companies can improve efficiency and production, free training and courses on lean manufacturing has become a dream that can totally be unachievable.

However, because free training for lean manufacturing will not be available online and in personal consulting and training venues, companies resort to invest on it by sending key personnel to costly and paid lean manufacturing training.

After that, these key personnel are expected to relay the message and the whole lean manufacturing training, of course, to the whole staff.

That is basically a practice adopted by companies trying to save on costs and operational investments.

Through that, lean manufacturing training is somehow being made free.

Lean manufacturing free training, an impossible dream?

Because most companies around the planet are struggling and striving to survive in these trying times, free training on lean manufacturing has hope.

Because most experts and lean manufacturing proponents are capitalizing on their knowledge, making free training on lean manufacturing an impossible dream, governments are expected to get in.

Because governments around the world aim to protect their constituents by ensuring people have jobs, they would strive to help local companies especially nowadays when businesses are on the brink of collapsing.

That is why some governments are expected to subsidize training on lean manufacturing and make them free for all companies to learn and implement.

For sure, that would not be far from happening.

Everyone wants to have a good physique and a healthy condition. When the entire body is working efficiently, the individual said to be strong and resistant to diseases. Training the body and toning the muscles can achieve this.

This analogy works in the business organization system. All departments work like the different parts of the body.  When one is efficient and the others are lagging, the entire unit is not working at the optimum level. Lean manufacturing techniques can firm up the company by reducing wastes and making the organization better

Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy that concentrates on eliminating wastes and dividing the resources of the company into departments and business projects that requires the most immediate attention. The lean manufacturing techniques gives the company the opportunity to harness the best possible mix of all the best their organization can offer.

The first step in lean manufacturing techniques is to hire a lean manufacturing techniques consultant. Just like in a gym, a person hires a trainer to teach them the proper way to exercise, tone and sculpt their bodies. In the same way, companies must hire a lean manufacturing techniques consultant to guide them on how to achieve zero waste in the workplace.

Depending on the lean manufacturing techniques consultant and services that they offer, the standard process of training involves teaching the staff, employees and managers in a classroom setting. The concepts of lean manufacturing must be clear to these people in order for them to fully appreciate the benefits of streamlining their systems.

Lean manufacturing techniques involves analyzing the problematic parts of the organization, including the production department, making an assessment of the most inexpensive yet effective solution an implementing it to the organization.

Lean manufacturing techniques programs

There are different types of lean manufacturing techniques programs available to businesses. Some of these are:

1. 5S - This is a simple and highly effective set of lean manufacturing techniques techniques that removes waste from the work environment through a better workplace organization, general cleanliness and effective visual communication.

The 5S means: Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. The 5S lean manufacturing techniques program clearly positions the methods within the framework of the principles of lean manufacturing and the improvement of values in the organization.

The core of this 5S lean manufacturing techniques program is that to achieve an easy flow of products or services in the company in small groups, cleanliness and a followed set of procedures is needed.

2. Hoshin Kanri - This type of lean manufacturing techniques makes an aligned team. It makes employees feel part of the development of the system. Because of this, the smaller units of the corporation help higher management achieve goals more effectively as new kaizens are identified and implemented, all consistent with the vision and strategy.

3. Kaizen - This type of lean manufacturing techniques is applied as a part of the system level approach to improvement. Kaizen events, also known as Kaizen Blitz, is a focused, more intense short-term projects that are made to improve the process of a certain department.

Kaizen events takes companies away from the traditional lengthy projects where valuable time and money is spent more on planning rather than making actual changes in the company.

4. Kanban - This is a type of lean manufacturing techniques focuses on the pull system of an organization. Kanban represents the visual aspect of the physical storage locations in the retail business.

Kanban and Supermarkets work hand in hand to establish and maintain the interactive relationship of the products from the customer back to the producer and to the supplier/s. Lean manufacturing techniques explain the kanban scheduling systems that makes a more efficient way of stocking the goods from the warehouse to the point of purchase.

5. Set-Up Reduction (also known as Single Minute Exchange of Die or SMED) - This is a lean manufacturing techniques system that is often ignored. When the company doesn't have standard or set of procedures to follow on the start of any working activity, time is wasted. Lean manufacturing techniques flexes this attribute by effectively allowing employees to get used to a system and then do it frequently for more efficiency.

There are only a few of the lean manufacturing techniques program available to any business. Six Sigma training, value stream mapping, lean assessment, lean accounting and standardization of work are among others.

Get a leaner and more effective company by undergoing lean manufacturing techniques. You will have no regrets with the number of benefits this training system can do for your organization.

Principles of lean manufacturing heavily focus on the reduction or elimination of waste during the operation of a manufacturing business. It is so important to reduce waste that it even has its own term in principles of lean manufacturing, "Muda" which also means waste in Japanese.

There are seven types of waste these principles of lean manufacturing are dedicated to eliminate, namely:

1. Defects - Having to repair or refurbish the defected product and the time and effort it takes.

2. Processing - Having different add-ons that the customer does not need.

3. Motion - The movement of people during production.

4. Inventory - Having to store the product.

5. Over Production - Producing more than what is demanded in the market.

6. Transportation - Unnecessary transportation of products or materials from one location to another

7. Waiting - Idle time of people because of bottlenecks in the manufacturing system.

In minimizing these wastes, the principles of lean manufacturing employ strategies that focus on improving the production process. These are:

1.Value - The price of the product is solely based on the customer's expectation. This means that as one of the principles of lean manufacturing, it must be value for money and must meet his or her requirements at a designated time. What manufacturers do to change the raw materials to the finished product is not of relative importance to the customer.

These principles of lean manufacturing are one of the hardest to achieve because of competition that the company has to optimize its operations and identifies the different tasks that add value and those that don't add value.

2.Continues Improvement - As one of the principles of lean manufacturing, this involve mapping out the whole business process. From analyzing the business process to reviewing the most efficient points, as one of the principles of lean manufacturing, this changes how the business is handled from the very foundations.

As part of the principles of lean manufacturing, it is crucial to gain optimized levels of performance from time, delivery, to resource management and of course, profit.

3. Customer Focus - Every manufacturing firm always has the customer first before profit. As part of the principles of lean manufacturing, customer focus makes sure that customer satisfaction is reached, feedbacks are heard and the necessary changes implemented to satisfy the customer base as a whole

4. Perfection - One of the principles of lean manufacturing takes into mind that there are lots of ways of using company assets efficiently. This principle focuses on the reduction of operating costs while meeting customer's expectation.

To be able to carry out all the principles of lean manufacturing in a business, the consultant has to be able to:

1. Motivate People - Motivate people for the new changes that the principles of lean manufacturing has done to the company. This can be done through training of the personnel and recruitment of people with the needed skills for the job.

2. Employee Involvement - Giving the normal workers the right to decision making will give them a sense of involvement and value to the company is essential to follow the principles of lean manufacturing. Having different activities that will bring out the best in each person.

3. Sharing of Information and Experience - Having experienced co-workers give information to the newer ones on how to get the desired results while carrying out the specific task serves the principles of lean manufacturing.

4. Empowering Key Employees - Identifying the workers that have leadership and giving them different tasks or responsibilities through training or other company activities like team building seminars.

5. Conducive Environment - To carry out the principles of lean manufacturing , having the right environment that is strict and lenient at the same time is important. People must understand that if they make mistakes, the steps to correct them is clearly stated.

6. Compensation and Benefits - Having the right evaluation for each person with no biases is important in principles of lean manufacturing. Focusing on the results instead of the number of activities or tasks done is important in the principles of lean manufacturing.

7. Execute different projects all over the business - After successfully having one project that carries out the principles of lean manufacturing succeed in one sector of the business, it should be extended throughout the whole company one step at a time.

Lean manufacturing espouses the 'no waste' philosophy in managing the workplace and production processes. It does not know any company size. Whether it's a major corporation or a small group of five housewives with a cookie business, successful lean manufacturing techniques lies in its implementation and the discipline of those participating in it.

Experts say that lean manufacturing tools first gained popularity in Japan -- a country best known for its highly unique and innovative approaches to a variety of things and methods, even with problem-solving strategies.

The success of lean manufacturing is determined by how implementing companies deal with and initiate ways to achieve maximum benefits from the resources available to them without having to spend too much. Success is also driven by the reduction and eventual elimination of the so-called wastes of corporate environments.

These wastes have been identified as: transportation (the movement of goods more than what is minimally needed), motion (employees working more than what is minimally required), defects (the efforts linked with inspecting and fixing problems), processing (conducting more work than what is actually needed), overproduction (leading to wasteful stockpiles) and inventory.

It is a fact that all firms need to reduce costs, what with rising energy prices and intensifying competition. Reading business journals, you can see that firms are filing for bankruptcy left and right, citing mismanagement as the most common cause of the Chapter 11 filings. Even the most stable companies have fallen prey to these. This is why lean manufacturing is starting to become the overhaul method of choice for firms wanting to get back on track.

The tricky part about implementing lean manufacturing tools is that most of the wastes identified are invisible, making their reduction and eventual eradication challenging. But with careful planning, lean manufacturing tools should be a walk in the park for your company

The following five lean manufacturing tools are what serve as guidelines for firms that want to maximize value out of their organization.

The Right Way, The First Time

Trial and error methods are simply a waste of resources and time. If enough effort is placed in carefully planning a certain manufacturing process, then there wouldn't be the need to start all over again, or settle with mediocre situations.

Go Away, Waste

Lean manufacturing principles focus on eliminating waste from the company. This means taking out unnecessary departments or redundant positions, or eradicating processes that just cause delay.

If it means terminating jobs, then do so. Lean manufacturing espouses that all resources, land, persons and capital, are used in the best and most efficient way they can be used.

In Constant Search for the Best Quality

Every company should always reach for the highest value that can be achieved. All the effort will be futile and major waste if this isn't done so.

No Pushing

Consumers should be given the freedom to decide what they want. As a manufacturer, you should impose trends or products to your clients. Rather, you should always be on the lookout for what will make your consumers happy.

Exercise Flexibility

Lean manufacturing tools do not support stiff and linear thinking. If something needs to be improved and changed along the way, then do so at once, instead of contending with the original plan that has been eventually found to be resource and time-wasteful along the way.

Before we move on, let us first answer the issue raised by this article by identifying what the top seven wastes companies identified as the reasons for the production delays, gargantuan costs and, eventually, bankruptcy filings and hostile takeovers are.

1) overproduction
2) transportation
3) motion (processes that don't need to be conducted)
4) inventory
5) processing
6) waiting time
7) scrap and defects

Understanding what lean manufacturing is does not take rocket science to bear down to the basic concepts. Simply put, lean manufacturing is the achievement of the greatest efficiency and profitability for a company by eliminating the wasteful methods and activities that are commonly present in corporate regimes.

At first glance, some firms are intimated with the thought of adopting lean manufacturing because of its fancy sounding name. But, if truth be told, it's actually easier than seems. What you just need to have is the dedication and the discipline to see things through and make change happen.

These are the primary reasons why most firms often fail. For instance, with defects, instead of focusing on achieving the best quality output at the shortest period of time, some firms waste effort and energy into looking at and fixing equipment and method defects and problems. If the kinks had been addressed in the first place and the problem nipped at the bud, such an unnecessary activity would be eliminated.

To further sate your palate for a better understanding of lean manufacturing terms:

If a company wants to fully understand what lean manufacturing is, it should first familiarize itself with some of the prominent technical terms linked to it. Don't let these words scare you off.

Kanban System

This is a pull method that makes use of color-coded cards attached to parts to be able to ensure the smooth flow of the production process. A 'pull method' simply means the customer's interest is foremost, instead of you as the manufacturer dictating what the consumer should have.

Cellular manufacturing

This involves the linking manual and machine operation to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective combination that would extract maximum value from a certain activity and method, while reducing wastes at the same time. Cellular manufacturing is usually U-shaped and flows in a single pattern.

Value

This is what the customers is willing to pay for. It is the responsibility of the lean manufacturing strategy to deliver what the customer wants exactly.

Takt time

This is identified by the customers' rate of demand. The takt time is what sets the production pace and matches it with how badly consumers need the product delivered to them. It is often referred to as the heartbeat of lean manufacturing systems.

Pull system

This involves the replacement only of goods that have been used up or depleted.