Welcome, to this course on, Introduction to Lean.
"Lean" is the set of management practices, based on the Toyota Production System. The
phrase "Lean Production", was coined by a group of M I T researchers, who wrote the
book, The Machine That Changed the World. Lean system gives people, the skills, and
a shared way of thinking, to drive out waste. The single goal of the organization, is to
produce, and deliver the best product, at the lowest cost, and as fast as possible.
In Lean, this is achieved by empowered teams, with long term commitment, continuously looking
for reducing variation, eliminating wastes, and keep things moving.
The Toyota Production System, has five guiding principles, which when implemented, will result
in a transformed organization. Principal number one. Value must be defined
by the customer. Specifying this value, is therefore the first step, in a Lean Transformation.
Principal number two. Identify all the steps in the value stream, and eliminating the steps
that do not create value. Principal number three. Make the value-creating
steps occur in tight sequence, so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer. This
requires the organization to move from a batch manufacturing philosophy, to one of continuous
flow, aiming at single piece processing. Principal number four. Using the Pull philosophy,
each operation only pulls product, from its prior operation, when real demand exists at
the downstream operation. Principal number five. The above four steps
are repeated, until a state of perfection is reached, in which perfect value is created
with no waste.
This slide summarizes, the five principals of lean transformation, discussed in the previous
slide. Value can only be defined, by the ultimate
customer. Lean, is all about delivering the value demanded by the customers, No more,
No less. Once the customer value has been specified,
various processes which are needed to deliver it, are mapped. Value stream mapping, is a
lean manufacturing technique, used to analyze and design, the flow of materials and information,
required to bring a product or service, to the customer.
In a value stream map, you will find three types of processes. Value added work, incidental
work, and non-value added work. The intent of value stream mapping, is to identify the
non value added work, and eliminate them. The next slide defines, these three types
of works. An activity is considered to be value added,
if and only if, these three conditions are met. One, The customer must be willing to
pay for the activity. Two, The activity must transform the product,
making it closer to the end product. And the last condition, The activity must be done
right the first time. Incidental works, do not add value, but seem
to be unavoidable. However non value added work such as, waiting, transport, over processing,
inventory, motion, and defects must be eliminated from the value stream.
This principal, requires the organization, to move from a batch manufacturing philosophy,
to one of continuous flow, aiming at single piece processing. This will in turn, require
eliminating setup times, and ensuring reliable and predictable processes.
Deliver only what is wanted by your customer, and only when they want it.
This will lead to lower inventories of finished goods, and work in progress.
This principle requires, the organization to move from production based on demand forecast
,to production based on actual customer demand. This will result in many positive changes
in the organization, ranging from reduced cycle time, reductions in inventory, improved
internal cooperation, and improved customer service levels.
Principle no. 5, is to create a culture of continuous improvement. The organization should
continuously strive to become better. Every day. This is achieved by systematically, and
continuously removing the root causes of poor quality, with the ultimate goal of achieving
Zero defects.