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Japan knows a lot about the quality of its products and many of us are familiar with this. But where do they get such a desire to improve the quality of their products - is it just a matter of mentality? It is no secret that the Japanese have their own approaches to management. One such approach will be discussed further.

Lean (leanproduction) is an approach to managing an organization based on improving product quality while reducing costs. It sounds like something impossible, but practice shows that this can be achieved by observing some rules.

The concept of lean manufacturing was developed by Toyota engineer and entrepreneur Taiichi Ohno, together with his colleague Shigeo Shingo. Then it was adapted for American companies and was called Lean Production. The concept involves the involvement in the optimization process of each employee of the company and a complete focus on the consumer.

The main task of lean manufacturing is the continuous elimination of waste - only in this way can excellence be achieved, reduce the cost of the product and improve its quality. The Toyota Production System has the term muda, which means everything. possible losses, waste, garbage and costs.

There are production processes that are and are not of value to the consumer. According to the concept of lean manufacturing, it is necessary to systematically eliminate processes that do not represent value (but add prices to the product).

The good news is that any company has a huge opportunity to improve in any area.

Types of losses

So what are the losses? Taiichi Ohno proposed seven, but subsequently three more were added, albeit by American management researchers, and in the end there were exactly ten.

1. Overproduction. Too many items or not on time.
2. Expectation. When an unfinished product waits in line for processing, it adds value to the product.
3. Unnecessary transportation. It needs to be optimized for time and distance. Any transportation increases the risk of damage.
4. extra processing steps.
5. Extra stock. Stocks in warehouses freeze profits.
6. Unnecessary moves. This is a waste of time.
7. Release of defective products. In addition to financial costs, this also affects the image of the company.
8. Unrealized creative potential of employees.
9. Overloading workers or equipment(muri).
10. Irregularity of the operation(mura).

These ten types of losses need to be minimized, if not completely eliminated (and without allocating financial resources). This will help improve the quality and reduce the price of the product.

What actions do not increase value for the consumer, but increase the price? For example, paperwork, component ordering, packaging and storage, order processing, sales and promotion. If you remove all these points, it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of production. The task of the company is to reduce processes that do not bring value.

Lean Manufacturing Principles

They are quite simple, but require great organizational skills.

• Find out what creates the value of the product for the end consumer. Many activities and processes in the organization are completely unimportant to the consumer, so they should be disposed of.
• Define only the most necessary processes in the production of products, remove unnecessary ones and avoid any waste.
• Ensure a continuous flow of product creation.
• Do only what the consumer needs. The quantity and the products that he needs.
• Reduce unnecessary actions, strive for excellence.

Lean Tools

There are a lot of lean manufacturing tools, and some are very specific to a particular enterprise or business area. We have collected universal tools that will suit any organization.

• Just in time - allows you to produce products exactly on time and in the right quantity
• Kanban - the principle of "just in time" management, which helps to evenly distribute the workload among all employees
• Andon - a visual system that allows all employees to see the state of affairs in production

These tools are used in various fields of activity: construction, medicine, education, banking, logistics, trade.

The concept of lean manufacturing is still relatively young, but is constantly being improved. This is one of the main principles of kaizen - continuous improvement. Therefore, not only the organizational structure of the organization improves, but also the approach itself, the lean production itself. His success is undeniable, which is why the ideas of the concept are so popular all over the world.

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The main task of the production system is to constantly improve the so-called "value stream" for the target audience. Its basis is a rational combination of all processes. Thanks to this, products can be produced with minimal labor costs. In addition, this affects economic indicators, as well as the results of the organization's production and economic activities, including the cost of the product, and the profitability of production, and profit, and the amount of working capital, and volumes of work in progress.

At the same time, for many organizations the most important issue is the efficiency of production processes in terms of complexity and duration of the production cycle. The longer it is, the more additional productions are involved in it, the less efficient production is in general. In addition, you have to make a lot of efforts to coordinate the process and ensure smooth operation.

It is to solve this problem that many companies implement a lean production system into their activities, which allows them to optimize the production process, improve the quality of the product and reduce costs. This article is dedicated to him.

What is Lean Manufacturing?

Lean manufacturing (in English it has two names: “lean manufacturing” and “lean production”) is a special approach to enterprise management that allows you to improve the quality of work by reducing losses. Losses are anything that reduces the efficiency of work. The main types of losses are:

• Movements (unnecessary movements of equipment and operators resulting in increased time and cost)
• Transportation (excessive movements leading to delays, damage, etc.)
• Technology (technological flaws that do not allow to implement all consumer requirements in the product)
• Overproduction (unsold products requiring extra costs for accounting, storage, etc.)
• Waiting (unfinished products waiting in line for processing and increasing cost)
• Defects (any defects resulting in additional costs)
• Inventory (excess finished goods that add value)

The lean manufacturing system can be implemented in design, in production itself, and even in the process of marketing products.

This system was developed at the turn of the 1980s-1990s by Japanese engineers Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo (in general, its beginnings appeared in the middle of the twentieth century, but it was adapted only at its end). The goal of the engineers was to reduce non-value-adding activities throughout the product's life cycle. Thus, the system is not just a technology, but a whole management concept with the maximum orientation of production to the market and the interested participation of all company personnel.

The experience gained in implementing the system (sometimes its individual elements) in the work of various organizations has shown its effectiveness and prospects, and is currently used in a variety of industries. If initially the system was used only at Toyota, Honda, etc. automobile plants. (and was called Toyota Production System), today it is found in many other areas:

• The medicine
• Trade
• Logistics
• Banking services
• Education
• Oil production
• Construction
• Information Technology

Regardless of the area in which the lean manufacturing system is used, it can significantly increase work efficiency and reduce losses many times over, even if it requires some adaptation to a specific company. This video shows how the work of an organization can change with the use of Lean technologies.

By the way, enterprises that implement a lean production system in their activities are often called “lean”. They differ from any other enterprises in several important characteristics.

First, the basis of the production of these enterprises are people. They play the role of a creative force in the production process. Equipment and technology, in turn, are only a means to an end. The main message here is that no technology, strategy or theory can make a company successful, only people with their own creative and intellectual potential can lead it to high results.

Secondly, the production systems of these enterprises focus on the maximum elimination of waste and the continuous improvement of production processes. It is interesting that all employees of the organization, starting with ordinary workers and ending with top management, take part in the daily activities to ensure this.

And, thirdly, all decisions made by the management of these enterprises necessarily take into account the prospects further development, and the current material interests are not of decisive importance. Managers of organizations exclude from their activities unprofitable administration-command, unreasonably tight control, evaluation of employees through the most complex systems different indicators. Management functions to adequately organize the production process, detect, solve and prevent problems in a timely manner. The ability to recognize and resolve problems in your workplace is highly valued in any employee.

However, the introduction of lean production requires an obligatory understanding of the basic principles of this system and the ability to work with its tools. First, let's briefly talk about the principles.

Lean Manufacturing Principles

Despite the fact that the practical implementation of the principles of lean manufacturing requires quite serious efforts from the enterprise, they themselves are quite simple. There are five of them, and they can be formulated as follows:

1. Determine what forms the value of the product from the consumer's point of view. A variety of actions can be performed at an enterprise, and not all of them are important for the consumer. Only when a company knows exactly what the end customer needs is it able to determine which processes are delivering value and which are not.
2. Determine what actions are required in the production chain, and then eliminate waste. In order to optimize performance and identify waste, it is required to describe in detail every action from the moment an order is received to the moment the product is delivered to the consumer. Thanks to this, it is possible to establish with the help of which it is possible to improve production processes.
3. Redesign activities in the production chain so that they turn into a holistic workflow. The production process should be built in such a way that any losses (downtime, waiting, etc.) between operations are excluded. This may require new technologies or process redesign. It is important to remember that any process should include only those activities that add value to the final product, but do not increase its value.
4. Act in the interests of the consumer. It is desirable that the enterprise produces only the product and in such volume, which is necessary for the end consumer. This avoids unnecessary actions, unnecessary losses and costs.
5. Strive to improve by continually reducing unnecessary activities. It is necessary to apply and implement a lean manufacturing system more than once. The maximum effect will be only if the search for losses and their elimination are carried out regularly and systematically.

These five principles should be based on the implementation of a lean manufacturing system, and this applies to any area of ​​\u200b\u200bactivity, from design and project management to direct production and management. To increase labor productivity, find and reduce losses, optimize production, etc. Lean system tools help.

Lean Tools

Below we will look at the main tools of lean manufacturing:

• standardized work. They are a clear and maximally visualized algorithm for performing any specific work. This algorithm includes different standards, for example, standards for the duration of the production cycle, standards for the sequence of actions during one cycle, standards for the amount of materials for work, etc.
• SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die). This is a special technology for quick changeover of equipment. For changeover, as a rule, two categories of operations are used. The first is external operations, and they can be carried out without stopping the equipment (this includes the preparation of materials and tools, etc.). The second is internal operations, and for their implementation, the equipment must be stopped. The meaning of SMED is that the maximum number of internal operations is translated into external ones. This is achieved through organizational and technological innovations.
• Pull production. An approach to the organization of the production flow, which eliminates the losses associated with waiting (until the previous stage of work is completed) and overproduction. Here every operation technological process as if "pulls" the required volume of the product from the previous operation and then transfers it to the next one. This avoids the appearance of both surpluses of the product and its shortage.
• The system for submitting and considering proposals. According to it, any employee can offer their ideas to improve the workflow. All employees are provided with a clear mechanism for the implementation of their proposals. The system also includes methods to encourage employees to offer their ideas.
• Method "Breakthrough to the flow". It is used to level and improve the efficiency of the production flow. For this, fixed production cycles are created, in each of which the principles of standardized work are introduced.
• TPM (Total Productive Maintenance). General equipment maintenance system. When using it, the operation of the equipment is combined with its constant maintenance. Such constant monitoring and maintenance of equipment in good condition is provided by qualified employees. With the help of TPM, it is possible to reduce the level of losses associated with repair work, downtime and breakdowns, and ensure maximum efficiency throughout the entire life cycle of the equipment. Another plus is that the maintenance staff gets time for other tasks.
• The 5S system is a management technique that allows you to effectively organize your workspace. Under the abbreviation are the following concepts:
  • o Systematization (all items are in a specific place where there is easy access)
  • o Maintain order and cleanliness
  • o Sorting (documentation and/or items are arranged in the workplace based on the frequency of their use; this includes the elimination of anything that is no longer needed)
  • o Standardization (jobs are organized according to the same principle)
  • o Improvement (established standards and principles are continuously improved)

Other lean manufacturing tools include:

• (an approach to enterprise management based on continuous quality improvement)
• " " (approach to production management based on consumer demand)
• Kanban (project management system and goods and materials management system inside and outside the company)
• Andon (visual system feedback in production)
• Quality management tools (PDPC diagram, priority matrix, network diagram, matrix diagram, tree diagram, link diagram, affinity diagram, etc.)
• Quality control tools (control charts, control sheet, scatter plot, Pareto chart, stratification, histogram, etc.)
• Quality analysis and design tools (5 Whys method, House of Quality method, FMEA analysis, etc.)

In the same section, it is necessary to say separately about the method that is used to model and prevent errors in production processes and reduce losses associated with defects. This is the Poka-yoke method.

The Poka-yoke method consists in finding the causes of errors and developing technologies and methods to eliminate the possibility of their occurrence. It is based on the idea that if it is impossible to do the work by any means other than the right one, but the work itself is done, then it is done correctly, i.e. no mistakes.

Errors may appear in different reasons: negligence, inattention, misunderstanding, forgetfulness of a person, etc. Given the human factor, all these errors are natural and inevitable, and in order to find a way to prevent them, you should consider them from this angle.

Components of the Poka-yoke method:

• The prerequisites for error-free work are created
• Error-free work methods are introduced
• Occurring errors are systematically eliminated
• Precautions are being taken
• Simple technical systems that allow workers to avoid mistakes

This method is used in conjunction with other tools of the lean manufacturing system and ensures that the finished product will not have defects, and the production process will run smoothly.

All of these tools, when used together, affect labor efficiency, eliminate various types of losses, minimize the likelihood of emergencies and contribute to creating a favorable atmosphere in the workplace. In addition, the joint use of these tools allows them to reinforce each other, and make the Lean approach more flexible.

All this is the main reason why many organizations abroad and in Russia are implementing a lean production system into their activities. And now is the time to talk about real examples.

Lean Manufacturing Efficiency

According to the developers of the lean manufacturing system, its implementation can have a significant impact on many business processes. More specifically, then:

• The duration of the manufacturing cycle can be reduced by 10-100 times
• Marriage cases can be reduced by 5-50 times
• Downtime can be reduced by 5-20 times
• Performance can be increased by 3-10 times
• Warehouse stocks can be reduced by 2-5 times
• Deliveries of new products to the market can accelerate by 2-5 times

According to the Expert media holding, lean production began to be introduced in Russia only in 2004. And by 2007 (in just three years of practice), the system showed impressive results. And there is more than one example of this:

• Costs decreased by 30% in the areas of oil production, instrumentation, assembly of automotive components
• 30% freed up production areas in the field of instrumentation
• Work in progress in the field of oil production decreased by 50%
• 60% reduction in the production cycle in the areas of instrumentation and aviation industry
• The efficiency of non-ferrous metallurgy equipment increased by 45%.
• 25% freed up labor resources in the field of oil production
• Changeover time reduced by 70% in the iron and steel industry

According to the same Expert media holding, by 2017 the practice of using lean manufacturing in Russia and abroad led to the following results:

• 25% freed up production space in the electronics industry
• Production in the aviation industry accelerated 4 times
• 35% increase in productivity in non-ferrous metallurgy
• Waste in the pharmaceutical industry has been reduced by 5 times
• 55% increase in production, 25% reduction in production cycle, 35% reduction in inventories in the field of consumer goods production
• Production areas in the automotive industry freed up by 20%

Concerning specifically Russian companies, then Lean technologies in their work today are used by UC Rusal, LLC Expert Volga, EPO Signal, OJSC Khlebprom, VSMPO-AVISMA, PJSC KamAZ, LLC Oriflame Cosmetics, LLC TechnoNIKOL, PG "Group Gas", LLC "EuroChem" and dozens of other major organizations.

However, in the Russian market at present, experts note a shortage of professionals who are able to optimize production processes through the introduction of a lean production system. (By the way, those who master the Lean approach today will surely have a stable job, career growth, prospects and a secure future.)

findings

Lean manufacturing helps companies, without resorting to major investments and using mainly their internal reserves, to achieve tangible increases in labor productivity. But the Lean system is a special approach to production and all its components, offering not only to increase labor productivity and make production more efficient, but also to create favorable conditions for the formation of a corporate culture, where each employee participates in the company's success.

In a broader sense, the lean manufacturing system is a manufacturing paradigm for implementing innovative methods of enterprise management, increasing production efficiency, developing people and eliminating any kind of waste. And today, almost any company can deploy a Lean system on its base.

This question is asked by entrepreneurs in the industrial sector, the production of material goods. And the answer will be useful for the service sector, IT and social projects.

Lean Management (also called "lean manufacturing methodology"), like the philosophy of Kaizen and others, can be applied to every business and process. Because everything can be optimized. This is a way of thinking and productive action, and not just a tactic from a couple of algorithms.

Lean production is

There are many synonyms: lean manufacturing, lean management, lean thinking... even lean transformation. Thinking and transformation (in English, the word “transformation” itself can mean lean methodology on its own) as a philosophy and theory of doing business, production and management as a practice.

The words reflect the idea as well as just-in-time production, implemented by Toyota as the first ever example of the lean method and the continuous improvement of the assembly line production of cars. Taiichi Ohno is a lean engineer after World War II.

His postulates:

• waste disposal,
• stock reduction,
• productivity increase.

While Henry Ford on his production line supported resources “ahead of demand”, Toyota built partnerships with suppliers and, in fact, made cars to order.

Many industrial start-ups start with transformation, applying methods and tools from the start of production to last stage customer escort. A multi-year business can also shift from the old “regime” to a new way of thinking, although this requires perseverance and patience from the leaders. This path is more profitable in the long run.

It's amazing how the lean manufacturing system changes the hierarchy in the company structure. Instead of managers and staff, a community is formed multidisciplinary staff. All company resources, even human ones, are fully utilized, everyone can suggest an improvement, everyone can test their idea in practice, and everyone is responsible for the overall result. This flexibility allows you to make changes instantly, and therefore respond to customer requests, attacks by competitors and market unrest.

What is Lean Management

In a primitive way Lean or lean manufacturing is a methodology that eliminates all obstacles to production. Waste of time and resources spoils the result. If the process can be done faster, better and cheaper- it should be done right now.

The revision of work algorithms takes place in two stages:

1. Analysis. To understand whether the current order works well in the company, analyze all processes and draw up a diagram. Call center scripts, algorithm for accepting applications, logistics, work with returns in an online store; technical support scripts, processing requests in the bug tracker, rolling out updates in a product IT company. Write down the entire procedure identify bad spots yourself or use programs (any software for visualizing algorithms, bottlenecks, resources and time).
2. Alteration. If you find “vulnerabilities” such as coordination problems, lack of resources, or outdated bureaucratic processes, suggest an alternative. The alternative doesn't have to be, and doesn't even have to be, an innovation, a radical change, or a perfect solution. Just a way to do better. You can iterate through the options proposed by the team. Not just in my head, but in practice. No one knows in advance what will be useful in your project. The benefits and costs of each alternative are reviewed based on practice. The best way finally implemented.

And these two stages are constantly repeated. Lean manufacturing never gets done. It's endless improvement in the little things. With Lean, there are no big innovations, only continuous improvement in small steps.

For director

The main task of the manager is the profitability of the company. One way to achieve this will be to solve problems and reduce production costs, and the other is to focus on creating "values" for the client in a product or service. The most interesting thing is that by correctly determining the value for the client, you can direct the team’s efforts and material resources only to the important and reduce costs for the unimportant.

That is, Lean helps to save money without losing quality and to throw out ultimately useless processes from the company's work algorithm.

For example: a customer needs woodworking machines.

• What is really important for the buyer? Price, functionality and delivery are important to everyone. But there are clients price oriented(budget models of machines are cheaper) and quality oriented(machines that allow you to make complex and exclusive projects threaded). They all want to get the machine to the workshop quickly and accurately.
• What can be optimized or improved? Raise the quality to raise the price is justified. To choose licensed products with certification in a language known to the consumer, you can conduct briefings. Provide delivery with the help of a reliable logistics agency with which favorable conditions for cooperation have been established.
• What to remove? It is worth removing all the actions that interfere with the work. There is a car repair plant with geographically distributed workshops. Every day, his managers gather in the main building for a planning meeting to agree on a list of work. If you introduce a unified case management system, you can get rid of the daily loss of time from planning meetings, which is 7 hours for each shop manager per week.
• What to do and in what order to get loyal customers? In the eyes of the client, the purchase algorithm looks like this: first, accurately determine the model of the machine, then the method and address of delivery. Asking the client to log in and enter the address before choosing the product will not be pleasant for the client. If the address is entered after the online consultant in the pop-up window helped to choose the model, configuration and other nuances, the client already feels trust and is satisfied. Value for the customer is met, tasks are completed in time. The company also has an algorithm - you can not send an order until it is paid. This is fair and eliminates problems with disappointed expectations on both sides.

The goal of the director in the Lean methodology: to bring the process of production, sale and delivery of goods to the client to idealized perfection. At the same time, the focus is on the benefit of the client, not the company. The benefit of the company becomes a co-success by saving time and resources in production and increasing profits.

For staff

What is lean manufacturing for employees of a factory or an IT help center of a company? The right methodology saves raw materials, improves working conditions and helps workers earn more.

Lean in the enterprise must also be properly implemented. If you use the method thoughtlessly, then the manager can:

1. wanting to save money - buy low-quality components
2. rearrange the equipment in the workshop to reduce the distance between the conveyors, but forget about the length of the power cables
3. prescribe a calendar of experiments and prohibit unplanned creative
4. launch fines for breaking work tools, but do not check their quality and condition
5. add your choice.

The Lean methodology welcomes the constant exchange of ideas between employees.

If the methodology is accepted in the team, then any worker of the plant can offer the director his idea of ​​​​improving the work process. Because the employee who directly performs the workflow sees much better where and what can be improved in this process. With the constant introduction of such proposals, the plant, of course, increases its efficiency.

And the worker will be rewarded if the idea is useful. He will receive carte blanche for the implementation and practical testing of his idea. Trial and error is the only way to find the right path, and Lean recommends trying and improving constantly.

For example, a convenient mobile organizer will reduce the number of missed deadlines and increase the speed of the marketing and design departments. Implementing it in the company will save time, and therefore lean production.

For the company

Both the head of the company and the ordinary project executor create the value of the product for the client by their actions. All efforts are aimed at this only.

Benefit for the client does not arise in some moments- the fact of choosing a product, accepting an order, picking in a warehouse or delivery date.

Value is created by a stream of result-oriented processes:

• an online consultant helps you choose the size, model and color;
• when placing an order, you can choose the method of payment by credit card or cash to the courier;
• Comes with a warranty, replacement or return coupon, gift cards or an invitation to a thematic event;
• you can name the date and time of delivery, call the courier or select a specific network store for pickup.

The non-linearity of the work of the entire company allows you to simplify flows, change their algorithms in such a way as to gain savings, increase value at the same cost, or significantly reduce the percentage of marriage and returns.

In addition to the pure value and the absence of defective copies, it is important for the client customization product, especially in the consumer segment. If a company can rebuild its conveyor without significant losses, produce different or new models of goods, then it will definitely win in the competition. Even make prefabricated customized kits from basic parts or to provide exclusive sets to order - already a tangible superiority in the market.

Muda, mura, muri it

So in the Lean methodology they call waste or spending. Anything that needs to be removed. Anything that doesn't add value to the customer. Muda, mura, muri are Japanese words that have taken root in English business slang.

Waste, useless waste. consequences of mismanagement.

* Muda, which are added in some classifications.

- causes of muda. Irregularity and discrepancy of the load, overload.

Seasonal, regular, ad-driven consumer demand has its own rhythm, clock frequency (week, month, quarter). We analyze the ups and downs of demand, in-demand and unprofitable goods from model range. We predict, distribute the load and tasks.

- inexpediency. Unreasonable difficulties in work.

Mouri	In industry
Non-core work	Put the sales manager on the conveyor belt of the shop. Appoint a third wife as a gift as a factory director.	Performing tasks that are not related to the position held and developed skills. Send layout designer to call-center.
Poorly stocked workplace	One set of tools for 4 installers.	The trainee has a laptop, but it does not have an antivirus and specialized programs necessary for the work. The designer has an outdated pirate photoshop.
Fuzzy Instructions	Abstract order requirements, measurements by eye.	“Make the layout more cheerful, and the buttons are just wow!”
Lack of tools and equipment	One printer in the director's office, the accounting department constantly runs to print to him.	A programmer is hired with his own laptop and I oblige him to carry it to the office, since it is impossible to buy and equip him with a stationary.
Lack of proper maintenance / unreliable equipment	old conveyor belt, Maintenance overdue by six months to a year.	The sysadmin does not organize or sign cables in the server rack. The time for troubleshooting is multiplied several times.
Untrusted processes	Untested processing technologies for raw materials, abstractly proven accounting methods and dubious ideas in production.	Monkey testing as the only and sufficient way to test programs for bugs (errors).
Poor communication and connection	Poor audibility in the walkie-talkie on the territory of the workshop. Fighting with the director's secretary when it is important to urgently report an emergency. Bureaucracy.	2 mobile numbers, 8 messengers, 3 emails and 5 social networks to get approval for the task.

The essence of Lean Transformation is to remove all muda, muri, and mura. Understanding their cause-and-effect relationship, you can focus on the origins of the problems, so that later you do not remove every little thing.

Benefits of Lean Methodology

A skeptic will say, why is a lean transformation needed if you can simply apply a couple of standard instructions for combating marriage from GOSTs or reduce paper waste on bureaucracy in the enterprise? Lean methods as a tool are strong, but without understanding the philosophy and structure, it will not be possible to fully implement them.

It's like the university knew-passed-forgotten. After the exam, only “fuh!” will remain in my head. and there is nothing to put into practice. In the same way, once according to the instructions, having introduced a couple of algorithms that reduce costs or deadlines for completing tasks, lean manufacturing cannot be created. Lean is about constant change. Even once a year to carry out modernization does not mean to actually implement the methodology.

All essence in experience and practice. Only after personal experience, testing theories and collecting data can be analyzed and develop new stages of experiments. Set yourself such a cycle as the norm of the implementation of corrections, the fight against muda, mura and muri.

To initially launch a project using the lean methodology, you need to:

1. collect all the information about the future task,
2. segment it into subtasks, develop and test them separately,
3. calculate all deadlines and budgets based on the collected experience of competitors or your own past projects (rely only on real data instead of abstract theories

Lean Manufacturing Principles

Based on all the muda, mura and muri, there are exactly 10 principles of lean manufacturing:

1. Eliminate garbage
2. Minimize inventory
3. Maximize Flow
4. Production depends on consumer demand
5. Know customer requirements
6. Get it right the first time
7. Empower workers
8. Build a system with easy replacement of its parts
9. Build partnerships with suppliers
10. Create a culture of continuous improvement

There are also three basic business objectives. They guide the transformation of the entire company:

• Target. What customer problems does the company solve, the ultimate value for the consumer?
• Process. Criteria for evaluating each value stream? Checking algorithms and chain links, combating waste, inappropriateness and overload. Each step is valuable, real, affordable, adequate and flexible, and the flows and influences are uniform.
• People. How to allocate responsibility for each process and production flow? To assign a person not to a position, but to a process entrusted entirely? The Task Manager shapes value creation in terms of business goals and actively implements Lean Transformation.

For individual career development, the same basic three tasks look like this:

• What is goal my job?
• Process to generate the best results in the most efficient way?
• Who are those people with which I create value?

The concept of "kaizen" helps to answer these questions.

Kaizen Philosophy Principles - Continuous Improvement

Term kaizen- consists of two Japanese characters カイゼン: kai - changes and zen - good. Change for the better, continuous improvement, transformation for good... It is difficult to say whether this is a theoretical teaching of philosophers or a practical method of management. Kaizen is a symbiosis of both concepts, allowing subordinates to offer and quickly test their ideas to improve the work of the enterprise. Lean transformation comes from the practical part of kaizen, and is based on its philosophy.

Kaizen rests on five pillars:

1. Equitable interaction all levels (management, managers, workers) and direct communication between them
2. Individual discipline
3. Healthy moral condition team and each individual
4. Mugs quality
5. Offers on improvements to everything from the workplace and the assembly line to the way the company performs.

Read more about kaizen in the next article.

Lean Manufacturing Implementation Algorithm

According to James Womack, founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute and author of a number of books on transformation:

• Choose a leader - a responsible agent of change
• Get knowledge about lean and kaizen from a trusted source
• Find or create a crisis - a problem that needs to be solved immediately
• Experiment, practice, analyze the results immediately - do not get carried away with the development of a strategy (proven by the Wright brothers)
• Build real and desired value stream maps. They must be different
• Ensure results are transparent to all staff
• Reduce cycle time (flow acceleration)
• Implement kaizen and continuously develop the company (value creation on the shop floor moves to administrative changes)

Here's how to get started with lean manufacturing. Possible tools:

1. Value Stream Mapping
2. Pull production
3. Kaizen
4. Poka Yoke
5. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
6. Just In Time (JIT)
7. Visualization
8. U-cells

Examples of implementing lean manufacturing

The competitiveness of a company often depends on certain criteria. Fast delivery of delicious pizza will beat just delicious pizza. Car customization at an official car dealer is more interesting than the standard basic configuration. And detailed results of private medical tests are always better than scanty extracts from the district clinic.

You can provide an advantage over competitors (speed, customization, quality of research) by continuously improving the project management system, as many companies in the world do.

Successfully implemented lin:

• in the USA: Toyota, Alcoa, Boeing, Pella, Emerson Electric, Jacobs Equipment Company (Danaher)
• in Europe: Motoman Robotec, Unior, Iskra Asing, Volvo, Metso, Nuon
• in China: Lenovo, Suntory
• government and municipal departments in many countries.

Lean Apps & Tools

Implementing transformation in a modern company is easier than it was 30 years ago. There are many similar applications for Android and iOS that help you run an economical and quality-oriented business.

Lean tools are used to motivate staff, build relationships and communication between the shop floor and management, analyze the results of the implementation of new ideas and detect waste in the work of the enterprise. Testing and experimentation, development of a pipeline system or a bug tracker for programmers - all this is software for lean methodology.

Worksection is a Saas service that has full project management functionality, a Gantt chart and several types of reports.

Gantt Chartallows you to track the relationship, chronology and responsible for the tasks. Reports show overdue tasks and over budgets.

In the tasks section “by people”, the manager can see the amount of work for each person and who is idle. It is so easy to spot misallocation of human resources.

So the fight against muda, mura and muri becomes clear and simple.

You can create a separate “team proposal” project where you create tasks to implement ideas.

Set a deadline for two weeks or a month, test the idea, discuss the process in the comments and then analyze the result.
If the idea is good, implement it completely.

Oracle

More often, company owners use programs like Oracle or virtual services for project management.

Lean App

The most famous application - LeanApp for iOS - allows you to systematize and control all processes in the company.

Verdict

Companies are adopting lean manufacturing all over the world, but not all of them thrive on it. Many don't know how, don't understand the philosophy, or misapply learned instructions.

The essence of the methodology

1. waste disposal,
2. empowerment of employees,
3. stock reduction,
4. productivity increase.

The method is always individual, it depends on many factors - industry and market segment, target audience, product or service, priority and competitive difference of the company.

Start the fight against waste in the “narrowest” places of the workflow - where the error is critical.

Finding a crisis and solving it is much more effective than mindlessly implementing a Lean algorithm.

Lean manufacturing, basic concepts

Lean(Lean Production) - a system for organizing and managing product development, operations, relationships with suppliers and customers, in which products are manufactured in strict accordance with the needs of consumers and with fewer defects compared to products made using mass production technology. This reduces the cost of labor, space, capital and time.

lean-enterprise(Lean Enterprise) is a business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, relationships with suppliers and customers, using the principles, practices and tools of lean manufacturing to create well-defined customer value (goods and services with higher quality and fewer defects , with less labor, in a smaller production area, with less capital and in less time compared to the traditional mass production system).

Lean businesses involved in the production of a particular family of products operate on the basis of an agreement according to which they determine the value of products from the perspective of the end consumer, eliminate non-productive activities from the value stream, and perform activities that create value in the form of a continuous flow as they "pull" products by the client. The cooperating enterprises carry out the listed procedures continuously throughout the entire life cycle of this product family.

The presented definition of the system of lean manufacturing very concisely expresses the essence of this concept. Let's try to uncover some provisions of this definition.

An important principle of the concept of lean manufacturing is continuous improvement and participation in this process of the entire team.

"Creating well-defined customer value" involves understanding what is value for the consumer. And here you can not rely on only your own knowledge. Work should be carried out to identify all components of customer value, sometimes directly with the end consumer of the product / service. This is a guarantee that the requirements of the consumer will be satisfied most fully and at the lowest cost (excessive work is excluded).

If a company is engaged in lean manufacturing, then it puts the interests of the customer, buyer, client, partner and its own employees at the forefront, and everyone benefits from this. Therefore, the introduction of lean manufacturing is the best business card for presenting the company to partners and customers.

“With less labor, in less space, with less capital and in less time”- in the concept of lean manufacturing, this means an exception all kinds of losses(overproduction, over-processing, waiting losses, transportation losses, personnel movements, losses due to defects/rework, etc.).

2. The concept of lean manufacturing is based on five principles that guide managers in the transition to lean manufacturing:

Definition of value each product family from the customer's point of view.

Definition of all stages of the value stream for each product family and eliminating, to the extent possible, non-value-adding operations.

Aligning operations that create value in a strict sequence that ensures the smooth movement of the product in the stream, directed to the client.

At the end of the flow formation - creating the possibility of "pulling" value customers from the previous stage.

Once value has been determined, identifying value streams, eliminating stages that cause waste, and drawing system formation- repeating the whole process again as many times as necessary to achieve a state of perfection in which absolute value is created and there is no waste.

It is necessary to explain what is push production and pull production.

Push production - processing products in large batches at maximum speed based on forecasted demand, followed by the movement of products to the next production stage or warehouse, regardless of the actual pace of the next process or the needs of the customer (consumer). Within such a system, it is almost impossible to implement lean manufacturing tools.

Pull production- a method of production management in which subsequent operations signal their needs to previous operations.

There are three types of pull production:

Supermarket pull system (reimbursement/replenishment system) is type a pull system.

Sequential pull system - type c pull system.

Mixed pull system – type c pull system.

Supermarket pull system- the most popular. With it, at each production stage there is a warehouse - a supermarket, in which a certain volume of products manufactured at this stage is stored. At each stage, as many products are produced as were withdrawn from the supermarket. As a rule, when a product is withdrawn from a supermarket by a subsequent process - a consumer, the latter sends up to the previous process information about the withdrawal using a special card (kanban) or otherwise.

Each process is responsible for restocking its supermarket, so the operational management and search for objects of continuous improvement (kaizen) is not a big deal. However, its application is complicated in the presence of a large number of types of products.

Sequential pull system it is advisable to use with a large range of products produced by one process, i.e. when it is difficult or almost impossible to maintain a stock of each type of product in the supermarket. Products are essentially made-to-order, with total stock in the system kept to a minimum. A consistent system requires maintaining a short and predictable lead time, and a good understanding of the order flow from the customer. The operation of such a system requires very strong leadership.

Mixed Pull System- involves a combination of the two listed systems. It is advisable to apply it when the 80/20 rule is in effect, i.e. when a small proportion of product types (approximately 20%) makes up the largest part of the daily output (approximately 80%).

All kinds of products are divided into groups according to output volume: high volume, medium volume, low volume and rare orders. For the "rare orders" group, it is advisable to use a sequential pull system. For other groups - the pull system of the supermarket. With a mixed pull system, it may be more difficult to manage improvement and detect deviations.

Lean is a management system in which products are manufactured exactly according to customer requirements and with fewer defects compared to products made using mass production technology. This reduces the cost of labor, space, capital and time.

What exactly is the BP for?

• Increase return on capital by reducing inventory and reducing time from order to delivery.


• Ensuring business growth by delegating responsibility and releasing the owner or manager from current problems.


• decline and ensuring .


• Changing the attitude towards competition through a greater focus on customer requests, and not on comparing your offer with others on the market.


• Using the internal potential of employees and the enterprise by involving everyone in the process of solving problems.

Principles

1. Customer orientation

3. Organization of production cells

Live looks like this:

Purpose: to increase labor productivity. One person can achieve such perfection that he can service several pieces of equipment at once.

4. Reducing the duration of the release of the order

All we do is keep track of the time between the customer placing an order and getting paid for the work done. We shorten this period of time by eliminating waste that does not add value ( , 1988).

It is necessary to ensure that as little time as possible passes from the moment a client submits an application to the moment when he receives his order.

In this process, you need to focus on two concepts: cycle time and takt time.

Cycle time(duration of order release) is the duration of the product through the entire stream from start to finish.

Takt time is the frequency at which finished goods get off the line. The target takt time is determined by market demand (for example: we need 2 cars per day).

Mass production has a very short takt time (shoots like a machine gun), but a very long cycle time (each of the units is produced for a long time). in addition to freezing material assets in the form of work in progress, this also greatly reduces the rate of production of rare brands of products.

5. Flexibility

In mass production, equipment readjustment is extremely rare - the equipment produces parts in gigantic batches. Lean manufacturing tends to produce parts in small batches, so the equipment needs to be retooled frequently. That is why it has a very developed tool

6. Elimination of waste

In order to shorten the cycle time, waste is eliminated. Waste is anything that does not add value to the final product. Profit is increased by eliminating losses in production.

Types of losses:

1. Overproduction- all unsold products cluttering up the warehouse of finished products;


2. Excess inventory- Money spent on them, but they lie idle. They spoil, they get lost. Requires inventory. All these are extra costs;


3. Expectation- people, parts, products. Everything that is idle stands without movement in a queue somewhere;


4. Transportation- decrease in time and distance;


5. Extra movements during work operations- not optimized work of people with their hands. Extra work due to the imperfection of the tool.


6. Overprocessing- when we do what the client does not need;


7. Defects, marriage;


8. Unrealized potential of employees.

7. Intra-shop logistics

The value stream, as well as supply flows, should move in the same direction whenever possible, excluding return and crossing flows. The length of travel paths should also be as short as possible. To do this, use the "Spaghetti Diagram" tool, with which we analyze all movements, and then decide how to optimize them.

8. Everyone involved in the improvement process

In order to eliminate 8 types of losses, all employees of the company, headed by the first person, must constantly deal with this. is the key to success.

This is very helpful for getting involved:

This will require a waiver in favor of open acknowledgment of problems. Refusal to solve problems by replacing people or by "finding and punishing those responsible."

Otherwise, your improvement process will break down, causing your employees to .

How it looks in practice:

Or like this:

The key feature of improvement is continuity. You can not rebuild the enterprise, and then do not return to this issue. A project is something that has a beginning and an end. And the process of improvement should be a vector.

How often do you need to train to be an athlete? Constantly. How often do you need to improve your skills to be a professional? Constantly.

Also with production. The Japanese are ahead of the planet in this regard and have a cornerstone: continuous improvement. Non-stop for decades.

How the Japanese think of evil: daily work + improvement

How the Japanese Think Right: Daily Work = Improvement

Improvement must be continuous. You can’t do something healthy once and live to 100 years. The right way of life must be maintained throughout life continuously.

More about improvement:

Cultivation builds up a certain routine:

If you make transformations and do not return to this issue anymore, then this is what will happen:

Also:

9. Go to gemba (come and see)

The most important principle of improvement and involvement. It lies in the fact that the bosses should not be engaged in the development of the enterprise from the offices. They have to go to the workshop and watch how the work is done. Or go and look at the place where the marriage takes place. Look for the cause of it. The Japanese boss always goes to the front. Where value is created.

Arriving at the place of value creation (gembu), you need to look for the root causes of problems. Do not pull the tops, but dig to the very root. To do this, there is a method "5 Why?". 5 times or more in a row by asking the question "why?" to a worker on the site, you can find out "where the legs grow from." And take action. More:

This is about the value stream. In general, problems should be looked for not only in the gemba, but also in the administration.

10. Process Oriented, Not Result Oriented

We can be praised if you somehow deceived the system and got out of a momentary problem. I poked parts from some other order (which will be shipped in 2 days, not today), or manually got into the priority of the work of the metal parts manufacturing site to re-manufacture some parts lost on your order, which is shipped today.

The order was shipped with sin in half, and all such "fuh!" exhaled. Now we need to figure out why this happened on this order. How the manufactured parts were lost, and why the purchased ones did not arrive on time. But wait! We have just picked up parts from an order that will ship the day after tomorrow! Now we need to urgently think about how to ship it. In addition, we interfered with the priority of the metal section, and it is now working with a delay, and something urgently needs to be done about this too! Therefore, there is no time now to investigate why this happened. And then, yes, it did work. The result is there. And this is the most important thing! (No)

In lean manufacturing, it is necessary to constantly improve the process, and then it will already give a stable result.

More:

11. 5S system

5C is a system for organizing the workspace, establishing and maintaining order, cleanliness, discipline and creating safe working conditions. The 5C system helps to quickly get rid of rubbish accumulated in the workplace and in the office and eliminate its appearance in the future.

The system is needed for everyone's involvement, and 5S is very useful for increasing productivity. When we got rid of everything unnecessary, put all the items in their places, signed their places of storage and monitor cleanliness and order, this greatly rebuilds people's minds. Sets them up for improvement. Also, people who do not want to take part in this become very noticeable.

In Japan, no one has ever shied away from "improvement for the sake of improvement" without direct monetary gain. All this creates a philosophy, creates a spirit. Not everything is measured in money. There is also

More:

12. Refusal of mass control

Refusal to mass check products at the exit, as well as the refusal to put a QCD employee after each machine. Instead, the assignment of duties with verification to the workers themselves in the subsequent stages of the work. This is only possible in a culture of cultivation, where the perpetrators are not punished or fined, but simply try to find out what caused the marriage and eliminate the possibility of marriage in the future. For example, by introducing methods to protect against unintentional errors (Poka-yoke):

Then the workers will not be afraid to report defective parts to each other, and QCD employees will not be needed in such numbers.

This is better than checking all products at the very end, because in the end, much more resources have already been spent on it than if the marriage had been discovered at the earliest stages. Therefore, if a marriage occurs in one of the sections, the conveyor is stopped until they find out what is wrong. In order not to drive the marriage further. The Japanese were even the first to come up with a technology that stops equipment automatically when a marriage occurs.

13. Standardization + on-the-job training + supervision

Improvements are pointless if there are no standards in the workplace. Because if there is no standard - .

You need to standardize operations like this:

Once the standards are in place, the best practices should be replicated through training:

Then the implementation of the standards will need to be monitored: (parallel control structure)

14. Visualization

In order for engaged employees to improve processes, processes must be visual, understandable, and standardized. Everything should be visualized and transparent and marked. In muddy water, it is completely incomprehensible what is happening and how everything works, so there are no ideas how to improve it. No loss visible. The goal is for any person, having come to the site, to understand without asking questions how everything works here, how it should work and whether there are any violations.

The visualization looks like this:

15. Statistical Office

Lean manufacturing is based on analysis and facts in its decisions. Facts are statistics. Management must make decisions based on production statistics.

Discussed in detail in the book "7 Tools for Quality Management" by Hitoshi Kume

The main tool for identifying losses. Heavy artillery, so to speak. We can say that this is a huge photo of the working day of the whole process. We sketch everything that is done. We fix time, information flows, number of personnel in operations, downtime, defects and other important information. Based on all this, we make one big map, contemplating which we are looking for opportunities for improvement.

On the wall is an archaic method. It is possible in Excel.

I am sometimes asked what BOOK to read to understand lean manufacturing from scratch.

Honestly, until today I did not know a suitable book. That's why I had to write the note "Lean Manufacturing from Scratch" myself. And finally, a good book has appeared! Someone has tried. It has a well-developed structure and cool infographics. It is 100 times better than similar .

I already had a Lean From Scratch post and decided to attach this book to my post because the book says the same thing. Written just as simple, but more detailed. Therefore, who after this note wants to dig deeper, you can download the book from the link.