Lean Techniques

Lean Technique #1 Kaizen The purpose of KAIZEN is to improve work processes in a variety of ways. Kaizen is a generic Japanese word for improvement or making things better. The word Kaizen means “Continuous Improvement.” It comes from the Japanese words “kai” which means “change” or “to correct” and “zen” which means “good.”

Lean Technique #2 Poka-Yoke The purpose of Poka-Yoke is to prevent the occurrence of mistakes or defects. It uses a wide variety of devices to prevent mistakes. An example is an automotive gasoline tank cap having an attachment that prevents the cap from being lost. It involves making defects impossible and employs visual signals that make mistakes clearly stand out from the rest.

Lean Technique #3 5S Of all the Lean Techniques, 5S is the one that is focused on organizing. The purpose of 5S is to reduce wasteful time and motion at a micro-level. It is an organized approach to housekeeping that ensures tools, parts and other objects are in known, optimum locations. Actually, it is a framework to create and maintain your workplace. 5S Stands for: Sort, Set-in-order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. The act of sorting means that all unnecessary tools and other items are removed from the workplace. Set-in-order means that all necessary items are placed in locations that minimize waste of motion. For example, tools that are used frequently are placed close to the work station while tools that are used less often are placed in storage further away from the work station. Shine means that the workplace is kept in a clean and orderly manner. Next, standardize means that all processes in a workstation are standardized. Finally, Sustain means that the workers that use the workstation maintain the standard that has been set in place.   5S is a cyclical methodology: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain the cycle. This results in continuous improvement.

Lean Technique #4 KANBAN The purpose of KANBAN is to schedule production and minimize work-in-process while encouraging improvement in many areas. KANBAN establishes a small stock point (usually at the producing WorkCentre) that sends a signal when items are withdrawn by a downstream process. The producing WorkCentre replaces the items removed. Kanban literally means signboard or billboard in Japanese. Kanban utilizes visual display cards to signal the movement of material between steps of a product process. It is a scheduling system for Lean and Just-in-Time.

Lean Technique #5 Just In Time Just in Time is simply a production strategy that strives to improve a business’s Return on Investment (RoI) by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. Just-in-time is actually a manufacturing philosophy that leads to “Producing the necessary units, in the necessary quantities at the necessary time with the required quality”.

Lean Technique #6 Jidoka The purpose of Jidoka is to prevent problems on one station of a production line from building inventory and also to create urgency to find permanent solutions. Jidoka is the practice of stopping an integrated assembly or production line when any workstation encounters problems. Such stoppages create a crisis atmosphere that encourages immediate and permanent solutions. Jidoka means “automation with a human touch”. It implements a supervisory function in a production line and stops the process as soon as a defect is encountered. The process does not start until the root cause of the defect has been eliminated. Jidoka relies on 4 simple principles to ensure that a company would deliver defect-free products: 1. Discover an abnormality 2. Stop the process 3. Fix the immediate problem 4. Investigate and solve the root cause.

Lean Technique #7 Takt time The purpose of Takt time is to balance the output of sequential production processes and prevent inventory buildups and shortages. It is the average time required between output units at a particular process coordinated with final customer requirements. Takt time is one of the Lean techniques in the Lean Toolbox. It is the frequency at which a product or service must be completed in order to meet customer needs. The formula for Takt time is: TAKT Time = Available Time / Required Output

Lean technique #8 Heijunka Heijunka is the leveling of production by both volume and product mix. This system does not build products according to the actual flow of customer orders. Heijunka takes the total volume of orders in a period and levels them out so the same amount and mix are being made each day. It means Production leveling/smoothing. It is a technique to reduce waste that occurs due to fluctuating customer demand.

Lean techniques are used to create processes that have no non-value-add parts. Any part of a process that does not add value to the consumer is eliminated using Lean techniques. Applying Lean techniques is a strict and disciplined approach to modifying and maintaining processes that add 100% value to the client and do not waste any costs with non-value-adding steps. This has a positive effect on RoI. Following Lean techniques is a must for anyone who is responsible for a process. There will always be some sort of waste in a process and using Lean techniques will help to eliminate waste.