If lean manufacturing is implemented to a tee, you can sustain-or maybe even raise-the current levels of salary. Plus, with the implementation of these concepts, you can do away with your worries about fixed costs as well.
Many product manufacturers have cut down their production cost by incorporating lean principles at their workplaces. Every leading production house has carried out numerous lean manufacturing assessments that help it to make the most of its available resources.
The origins of the lean concept
In the middle of the 20th century, Toyota-the Japanese automaker-introduced lean manufacturing. To eliminate diverse waste types, the automaker introduced three broad categories-mura, Muda and muri. (The lean principles were built from these three concepts only.)
- Muda-it primarily refers to the seven waste forms.
- Muri-it includes the modifications (in a production process) to get rid of the identified wastes
- Mura-it comprises the steps that have to be taken (proactively or in response to a completed process) for eliminating unforeseen wastes
The seven waste types
Analyzing the working of lean principles begins by knowing muda (the seven waste forms) that is generally found while product manufacturing is underway.
Overproduction
This specific waste is of two types. First-if there is a manufactured product that is (or must be) sold at low rates, it can easily distress the company’s bottom line. Second-if there is a product that is manufactured before its buying needs arise, resources must be earmarked to store the merchandise.
Inventory
Having an excess of inventory requires the additional money that is spent on storing it.
Conveyance
If you will unnecessarily move apart during a manufacturing process, you are likely to damage it and delay the entire production process too.
Correction
This, by and large, refers to the correction made in a work that has already been done. By doing so, you can incur heavy costs because you will have to check the production process from the beginning.
Motion
The term “motion” consists of all the body movements that are made by a worker during the manufacturing process. Motions sometimes include the body movements that cause stress and lead to possible injuries as well.
Processing
If you are confused about the product’s working or the wants of the customers, that confusion can result in the waste generation.
Waiting
Any delay that is encountered in the manufacturing process can waste a lot of time; this can increase the worker’s downtime, too.
Benefits of being lean
A product manufacturer will benefit the most from implementing the lean principles; by doing so, the manufacturer will be able to cut down these waste types easily and quickly.
Apart from product manufacturers, every second service-oriented enterprise is also leveraging the expertise of lean manufacturing consultants to generate value from its internal processes. Some of the most cherished benefits of going lean are:
- Flexibility
- Waste elimination
- Greater productivity
- Enhanced quality
- Reduced operational cost
Which is why it has now become important to implement lean in the workplace. Owing to their expertise, these lean manufacturing consultancies empower any company-regardless of its nature-to deploy lean principles at its workshop.