lean manufacturing

Pulling it off

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    string(1593) "The term “lean production” refers to the set of tools and techniques used to streamline and improve a company’s production system. With its roots in the Toyota Production System, lean production aims to boost productivity while reducing waste. Companies that successfully embrace lean production methods can achieve impressive improvements in their performance. The superiority of a lean production system was first identified by Womack and Jones during their research on Japanese carmakers. Initially, it was believed that lean was only applicable to production, whereas today we know those principles can be applied in any sector.

With more and more organizations (not just manufacturing firms) turning to automation to try and solve every-day problems, lean production offers an approach that gives the operators and their work the dignity they deserve. This idea is best expressed by the concept of the andon, a cord hanging above lean production lines that operators can pull whenever they encounter a problem they can’t solve right way (this is the base of the fundamental lean principles of jidoka, “automation with a human touch”). Lean is clearly an alternative to reckless management that considers people as mere capital.

The main characteristics of a lean production system are the fact the different stages of production happen in a sequence without interruptions (known as flow) and that the pace of production is set by the customers (pull)."
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Case studiesOct 3, 2018
Aykut Can Yildiz
CASE STUDY – A Turkish producer of gas valves for kitchen appliances has discovered the power of the lean principles of pull and flow, reaching results beyond its imagination.

Helping Turkey to thrive with lean management

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FeaturesSep 27, 2018
Yalcin Ipbuken
GETTING TO KNOW US – Earlier this month, our editor visited Istanbul to learn about the work Lean Institute Turkey is doing to spread lean in Turkey and beyond. He sat down with the institute’s President for a chat.

Collaborating more closely with our suppliers

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FeaturesSep 25, 2018
Yi An Yung with Luc Parmentier and Cees van Gent
FEATURE – This Dutch company decided to start its lean journey by involving its suppliers in the improvement work. We hear from both customer and supplier.
Learn about the lean transformation of French playground maker Proludic

A playground for lean teamwork and collaboration

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FeaturesSep 5, 2018
Catherine Chabiron
FEATURE – Enabling its people to think autonomously about problems and fostering collaboration among departments is allowing a French company that makes and installs playgrounds to thrive.

Lean learning happens across sectors too

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FeaturesSep 3, 2018
Stela Maris Coelho and Carlos Frederico Pinto
FEATURE – The power of cross-pollination: learning from a manufacturing company has helped a cancer treatment center in Brazil to thrive in its lean transformation.

Keeping the spirit of care alive

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Case studiesAug 2, 2018
Peter Szarka
CASE STUDY – The author looks back at the impressive lean transformation of the Hungarian plant of Coloplast, a Danish company offering medical devices and services.

Managing the complexity of our oil & gas value streams

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FeaturesJul 19, 2018
Bela Kelemen
FEATURE – In this frank account, a senior executive discusses the challenges facing an oil and gas company as it tries to manage the complexity of its upstream and downstream supply chains.
Michael Ballé yamazumi chart

Michael Ballé on how a yamazumi chart enables standard work

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FeaturesJun 19, 2018
Michael Ballé
THE TOOLS CORNER – Standardizing the work is one of the fundamentals of lean thinking, but without a yamazumi chart visualizing it (and helping us to streamline it) this is impossible.
An interview with lean pioneer Freddy Ballé

An interview with lean thinking pioneer Freddy Ballé

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InterviewsMay 21, 2018
Catherine Chabiron
INTERVIEW – Having started to explore TPS in the mid-1970s, Freddy Ballé is one of the great pioneers of our movement. Here, he shares what he learned about Toyota over the past 40 years.
The post-Toyota future of lean in Australia

The post-Toyota future of the lean community in Australia

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InterviewsMay 16, 2018
Alister Lee
INTERVIEW – With the closure of Toyota’s operations in Altona, the land Down Under is left without its lean poster child. Alister Lee tells us who the community there should look to next.
space optimisation small batches 365

Small batches and clever use of space for great flexibility

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InterviewsMay 9, 2018
Unai Abrisqueta
THE LEAN BAKERY – In this episode of our video series, we visit 365's super-lean workshop, where small batches and a clever use of space allow for unprecedented levels of flexibility in manufacture.
Juan Antonio on 365 growth

How we grew using less resources than ever before

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InterviewsApr 18, 2018
Juan Antonio Tena
THE LEAN BAKERY – In the fourth episode in our video series, the CEO of 365 explains how lean showed him that his business could grow (exponentially) without using any extra resources.
SMED lean tools Michael Ballé

Michael Ballé’s short guide to successfully using SMED

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FeaturesApr 16, 2018
Michael Ballé
THE TOOLS CORNER – For the second article in our new series, the author offers a guide to the origins and use of one of lean's most important tools: SMED.
furniture lean manufacturing

A single experiment changed how we produce furniture

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FeaturesApr 13, 2018
Eivind Reke & Marcin Gaarden
FEATURE – Sometimes all you need to change minds is a successful experiment. This is how a Norwegian furniture manufacturer managed to transform the way it thinks about its sofa production.
Sipios avionics lean software development

Drawing inspiration from a factory’s kaizens and dojos

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FeaturesApr 11, 2018
Woody Rousseau
BUILDING BRIDGES – This month, a CTO explains how his software company borrowed the kaizen spirit – and the idea of a dojo – from an avionics factory and put it to good use.
inspiration lean books Nibbly Bits

This bakery found out how inspiring lean books can be

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FeaturesApr 5, 2018
Stephan Drees & Norman Faull
FEATURE – How reading lean books empowered people and transformed the managerial culture at an industrial bakery in the Western Cape Winelands in South Africa.
Womack production line

Lean has changed the production line forever

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Lean ProductionFeb 28, 2018
Jim Womack
WOMACK’S YOKOTEN – This month, the author looks at the production line, a century-old idea that still fascinates us, reflecting on how lean thinking has changed it.
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Here is the proof that kaizen leads to real innovation

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FeaturesFeb 22, 2018
Catherine Chabiron
NOTES FROM THE GEMBA – If you need proof that kaizen leads to real innovation, look no further than AIO. This French Tech company that reinvented itself as a karakuri kaizen coach.