LEAN MANUFACTURING

DEFINITION OF LEAN MANUFACTURING Doing more with less by employing 'lean thinking.' Lean manufacturing involves never ending efforts to eliminate or reduce ‘muda' (Japanese for waste or any activity that consumes resources without adding value) in design, manufacturing, distribution, and customer service processes. This was developed by the Toyota executive Taiichi Ohno (1912-90) during post-Second World War reconstruction period in Japan. We are now going to look at some of these methods at bit closer .

ADVANTAGES OF LEAN MANUFACTURING These methods strengthen production processes They reduce needless wasteful activities Also reduce wasting resources Lessens floor space in a manufacturing company Reduces the need for unnecessary machinery Improves delivery times

KAIZAN - DEFINITION This is a Japanese term for a gradual approach to ever higher standards in quality enhancement and waste reduction, through small but continual improvements involving everyone from the chief executive to the lowest level workers. The term continuous improvement is a more widely known general phrase known in companies and has been and continues to be used in different ways throughout the UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqCLfictBic

KAIZAN – KEY FEATURES The key features of this include: Improvements are based on many small changes rather than radical ones The ideas come the workers themselves so they are less likely to be so different and therefore easier to implement Any small changes are less likely to need major capital investment As the ideas come from the existing workforce there is no need to employ the services of any expensive consultants The existing workforce is the primary driving force so they readily take ownership and responsibility for their own work And it improves general workforce morale and teamwork.

POKA-YOKE - DEFINITION Japanese approach to 'mistake proofing' in all aspects of manufacturing, customer service, procurement, etc. It employs visual signals that make mistakes clearly stand out from the rest, or devices that stop an assembly line or process if a part or step is missed. The basic concept of this is avoiding the problems by correcting the process.

POKA-YOKE – KEY FEATURES It is used to create a system that prevents defects from occurring, and it used as a system to catch defects, which have just occurred and prevent them from continuing through the system. Poka-yoke causes: people and processes work right the first time it refers to techniques that make it impossible to make mistakes the techniques used can drive defects out of products and processes substantially improve quality and reliability.

POKA – YOKE VIDEO CLIPS WAREHOUSE PROOFING https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-HbxF82nDE USING A MANUFACTURING JIG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnJpIUv48Os

EXAMPLES OF POKA - YOKE

JUST IN TIME PRODUCTION This method used relies upon producing items to exactly what the customer wants, when they want it. The idea is that the supplier will hold no stock but will produce the batch of produced items, once they are produced (usually as soon as they can be), they will be immediately shipped to the customer. Products made can be that ever the customer asks for, the crucial criteria to satisfy is the time it takes to turn around producing them. The costs involved may be the delivery costs, but this is outweighed with the saving made in not having to store the items at the suppliers premises.

www. businessdictionary. com/definition/lean-manufacturing www.businessdictionary.com/definition/lean-manufacturing.html#ixzz43HFPpA00 www.businessdictionary.com/definition/kaizen.html#ixzz43HKhQCz1 http://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/kaizen http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/poka-yoke.html#ixzz43NKca1By http://iac.missouri.edu/webtool/TaskDocuments/production_improvement/pokayoke.html http://www.improsys.in/Benefits_of_Pokayoke.htm