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Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing – ‘Learn by Doing’
What is lean?
Lean is the antidote to waste and is about doing more with less. It makes work more satisfying and generates immediate feedback.
As opposed to re-engineering and restructuring (with the inevitable job losses which have been so popular in some sectors of commerce and industry), lean provides a way to create new work.
Lean focuses on (and specifies) value as perceived by the customer. It then lines up these value creating activities in the best possible order, and at the same time eliminates activities that don’t add value.
The aim is then to carry out these value-adding activities when requested and without interruption thus creating the “holy grail of flow”; in which the design and the product advance smoothly at the pull of the customer, rather than the pull of the producer. Of greatest importance, lean does not finish there, as processes need to be continually improved and reviewed in the pursuit of perfection.
These pictures show a reorganised workplace before and after FIRA intervention. The reorganisation shown resulted in an increase in productivity by 11%.
Before After
The Lean Business
It is important to emphasise that lean is not just about manufacturing. It applies to all business activities including retailing.
It is a way to do more with less effort, equipment, time, paper and space, whilst coming closer and closer to giving customers exactly what they want. This should be applied throughout a business, especially the non-manufacturing functions.
The principles can be studied, the tools and techniques can be taught, and best practice can be visited and critiqued. Changes can be implemented but rarely sustained without the cultural transformation required by all. The single and most challenging issue is to have a common approach for everyone in an organisation and, ultimately, everyone in its supply chain.
In effect EVERYONE needs to be involved in a lean transformation for true success to be achieved.
The Lean Toolkit
FIRA engineers follow a unique approach to introduce Lean manufacturing into the business by using a ‘Learn by Doing’ approach. This approach will involve participation by a hand-picked team in the company, some initial training then straight into the practical application of the training to transform an area of the business. The method can then be duplicated by in-house trainers for other areas of the business.
5C workplace organisation
7 Wastes
Standardised work
Visual management
Set up improvement
Problem solving
For more information about Lean Manufacturing please contact Bruce Lovell on 01438 777700 or email blovell@fira.co.uk
