From this article you will learn:

• What is lean manufacturing
• What lean manufacturing tools are most in demand?
• How to implement lean manufacturing in an organization
• What are examples of successful implementation of the lean manufacturing concept abroad and in Russia?

The main task of the production system is the continuous formation of a “value stream” for consumers. Its basis is a competent combination of production processes, allowing production of products with minimal labor costs. Also, this approach has a positive effect on the economic indicators and performance of the company, including the cost of goods, profitability of work, profit, volumes of working capital, etc. All of the above positive changes are facilitated by lean production.

What is a lean manufacturing system?

Lean manufacturing (in English there are two designations: “lean manufacturing” and “lean production”) is a special concept of company management, in which the level of work is increased by reducing waste. Note that everything that negatively affects production efficiency is considered a loss. Their main types include:

• movements (unjustified actions of equipment, operators, provoking an increase in time spent and cost of goods);
• transportation (useless movements causing delays, damage, etc.);
• technology (shortcomings in technology due to which the product cannot meet all the requirements of the target audience);
• excess production (remaining unsold products, for which you also need to pay for accounting and storage);
• waiting (unfinished products in queue for processing, which also increases the final cost);
• defects (damage that causes additional costs);
• inventories (excess volume of finished goods).

The application of lean manufacturing is permissible both in the design process and in project management, during the manufacture of goods and even in the marketing of products.

The lean production system appeared in the 1980s - 1990s thanks to Japanese engineers Taiichi Ono and Shigeo Shingo (in fact, the first mentions of such an approach were already found in the middle of the 20th century, but only by the end of the century did a unified system take shape). Engineers sought to eliminate activities that did not add value to a product throughout its life cycle. This is not just about technology, it is an entire management concept that is maximally market-oriented. Its prerequisite is the interest of all company personnel in the process.

The practice of using (even individual components) has shown how effective and promising lean manufacturing is, so today this approach has found application in a variety of areas. Initially, it existed only at the Toyota, Honda, etc. factories, which is why the name was “Toyota Production System”. At the moment it is easy to meet in other areas, such as:

• medicine;
• trade;
• logistics;
• Banking services;
• education;
• oil production;
• construction;
• information Technology.

Regardless of the application, lean manufacturing makes it possible to achieve greater productivity with less waste. However, it is worth noting that this system must be adapted to the conditions of a particular company.

Enterprises whose work is based on the concept of lean manufacturing are also called “lean”. A number of characteristics distinguish them from all others:

• Workers are considered the main factor for the normal production process. It is the personnel who are given the role of creative force, while technology is only a way to solve a problem. It is believed that even the best technologies, plans and theories are unable to lead a company to success. Only people with creative and intellectual potential are capable of this.
• Production systems are aimed at eliminating the maximum share of losses and continuous improvement. Every team member is involved in these processes on a daily level: from ordinary workers to senior management.
• When making any decisions, management takes into account the prospects for further development, and not current material interests. Managers do not engage in unhelpful administration and command; excessively strict control and evaluation of employees using a large number of indicators are prohibited.

The primary task of management is to organize the work process, detect, solve and prevent problems in a timely manner. Let us note that in any specialist the ability to detect difficulties and overcome them is especially valued.

Implementing a lean manufacturing system is impossible without understanding its basic principles and having the skills to work with the tools used here. First of all, let's talk about principles.

How effective is the implementation of lean manufacturing at an enterprise?

Working using Lean methods can provide significant effects:

• increase in productivity by 3–10 times;
• reduction in downtime by 5–20 times;
• reduction of the production cycle by 10–100 times;
• reduction in volumes stored in warehouses by 2–5 times;
• reduction of waste by 5–50 times;
• 2–5 times faster release of new products.

The best examples of foreign and domestic practices in using lean manufacturing technology show the following results in different industries:

• Electronics industry: reducing the number of production steps from 31 to 9, speeding up product manufacturing from 9 to 1 day, freeing up a quarter of production space, saving $2 million in six months.
• Aviation industry: order fulfillment in 16 weeks instead of 16 months.
• Automotive industry: quality increase by 40%.
• Non-ferrous metallurgy: productivity increase by 35%.
• Overhaul of large-tonnage vessels: freeing up a quarter of production space, faster completion of one of the main operations - in 2 hours instead of 12, saving 400 thousand dollars in 15 days.
• Automotive assembly: freeing up 20% of production space, eliminating the need to build a new building, saving $2.5 million in one week.
• Pharmaceutical industry: Reduce waste from 6% to 1.2%, reduce energy consumption by 56%, save $200K each year.
• Consumer goods manufacturing: 55% increase in productivity, 25% reduction in production cycle, 35% reduction in inventory, savings of approximately $135,000 per week.

The Russian market is acutely experiencing a shortage of specialists with experience in optimization using lean manufacturing technology. The fact is that from a Lean perspective, optimization should be carried out by all team members. Such a large-scale approach entails the main difficulty - the specialist must have the skills of a teacher, manager, forecaster and analyst.

Basic principles and goals of lean manufacturing

The lean manufacturing concept divides enterprise activities into two types: operations and processes that add value to a product for a potential customer, and operations and processes that do not. Everything that is included in the second group is considered a loss, which means it must be eliminated.

Let's name the key goals of lean manufacturing:

• reduction of any costs, including labor;
• reduction of product production time;
• reduction of production and warehouse space;
• guarantee of delivery of the order to the client;
• maximum quality at a certain cost/minimum cost at a certain quality.

As we have already said, it will not be possible to implement lean manufacturing without understanding the principles of this system. They may seem simple enough, but the organization will have to spend a lot of effort to implement them.

Here are the basic principles of this system:

• Find out what the product is valuable from the point of view of its end user. The fact is that a company can perform many manipulations that do not bring value to the client. Only by knowing what the consumer wants will you understand which of your processes are valuable to him and which are useless in this sense.
• Highlight the necessary actions in the chain of work and abandon those that relate to losses. To do this, you need to describe everything in detail, from the stage of receiving an order to the delivery of the goods to the client. This way you will determine the range of opportunities for optimizing your work.
• Change the sequence of actions in the product manufacturing chain - ideally there should be a flow of work. There can be no waiting time, downtime or other losses between operations. You will likely have to redesign processes and start using new technologies. Remember: only those actions that increase the value of the product are acceptable.
• Do what the end consumer needs, that is, produce the products and volumes that your customers really need.
• Strive for excellence by continuously abandoning useless actions. One-time work on the lean production system is impossible - if you decide to implement this principle, you will have to constantly improve the processes in your company.

8 Lean Manufacturing Tools

• SMED(“change of die in one minute”) is a system for quickly reconfiguring equipment, in which one rule applies: replacing or reconfiguring a tool should take only a few minutes, or better yet, seconds.

This requirement can be met if:

1. divide all adjustment operations into external and internal;
2. convert internal to external;
3. replace the fasteners with functional clamps;
4. use additional devices.

• TPM, or Total Productive Maintenance– a methodology for effective maintenance of equipment with the involvement of the entire team. Through preventive maintenance and maintenance of equipment in working order, its most productive, economical use is achieved.

  The key task in TPM is to identify and eliminate hardware defects before they cause problems. To use this tool, preventative maintenance schedules are required, namely cleaning, lubrication, etc. As a result, the OEE, that is, the indicator of the overall efficiency of the equipment, rises.

• JIT, or Just-In-Time(“just on time”) is a method of careful use of materials and raw materials. All components necessary for a certain stage of production are delivered exactly on time, but not earlier. This way it is possible to avoid overcrowding of warehouses and the accumulation of unfinished goods.

What to consider when organizing a lean production system at an enterprise

When planning to implement lean manufacturing techniques in a company, it is better to start small. For example, focusing on a specific product, project or order and converting it to lean principles - this way you will evaluate the opportunities and benefits of this approach.

When reorganizing, you will have to completely abandon traditional ideas about the work process and its participants. It is better to choose the most serious of all losses and take on it. The positive outcome of such work will increase the confidence of your employees in the lean manufacturing method.

Those companies that cope best with the transition to lean mode are those that combine several streams at once and produce the final product assembled from them. This could be an assembly plant - it receives parts, assembles the car and sells it. If a transformation process is launched in such a company, it may subsequently spread to suppliers and distributors.

The main difficulty in forming a “lean” organization is often the condition of transparency of participants. A lean approach will bring maximum benefit only if all participants in the flow are visible. That is, you will have to disclose trade secrets and financial data, and companies often refuse this. To overcome mistrust, compliance with several conditions will allow:

• the value of each product family is determined jointly by flow participants;
• all firms in the stream should receive benefits corresponding to the volume of their investments;
• members of the flow must collectively and constantly check all areas of the flow to detect losses and eliminate them.

As practice shows, the largest investments occur in the initial stages of the flow (replacing mass production with the production of goods in small batches). And the main benefits go to companies at the last stage of the flow, that is, sellers. To avoid such injustice, companies must find compensation mechanisms, for example, jointly investing in new production facilities.

To start using lean manufacturing in an enterprise, certain conditions are required:

• What is needed is an “agent of change”, this is the name given to a person with sufficient authority who is ready for conflicts and the struggle to introduce new principles.
• The company as a whole, and not just the “change agent,” must have a basic understanding of the essence of lean manufacturing and its processes.
• Business must be in a crisis situation, because only companies in which everything is obviously bad are ready for radical changes.
• It is necessary to have a clear and complete understanding of the value streams in the enterprise.

To implement the flow method of organization, you will have to complete the following steps:

1. Divide production into cells by product families and form teams to work with each of them.
2. Create a unit that will be responsible for collecting and analyzing the experience of working groups. In this way, it will be possible to identify the most productive practices and teach them to other groups.
3. Plan and carry out activities through which traditional batch work will develop into a smooth flow, carry out technical reorganization. It is also necessary to identify those value creation processes that the organization is not able to influence at the moment (if any) and decide how to adapt to them.
4. Develop target indicators that will become key for the company: reduce inventory, work cycles, etc.

Staff are often wary of switching to Lean, because optimization usually entails staff reductions. Not wanting to lose people, some organizations are increasing production volumes of goods. This approach is justified due to the effect of frugality, that is, increasing the competitiveness and sales volumes of the company. But we recommend preparing a growth strategy in advance.

As sad as it may be, most often the staff has to be reduced. Cuts should also be made in terms of the gains and losses of lean manufacturing - first saying goodbye to employees who do not add value to the customer.

It is advisable to direct the resources freed up due to the introduction of new operating principles to new needs of the company, to stimulate demand or develop new areas.

A successful example of implementing lean manufacturing outside of Japan

A classic example of lean manufacturing outside of Japan is the story of Porsche. Its sales peak was in 1986, when the company sold 50,000 cars, but in 1992 it managed to sell only 14,000 units. At that time, the company used a traditional German approach: the main bets were placed on engineering excellence, and the company was distinguished by a complex and rigid management structure.

For quite a long time, falling sales were perceived by managers as a temporary market fluctuation, but when Porsche lost $40 million in 1991, a serious crisis became obvious. To save the company, Wendelin Wiedeking was brought in - at that time he was one of the leaders of the largest manufacturer of automobile parts. It was he who received the role of “change agent” in the transition to lean manufacturing.

Wiedeking decided to study and borrow the experience of Japanese manufacturers who managed to capture the middle price segment of the European market. In just two years, he visited Japan four times, where he met with specialists and studied in detail the operating principles of the largest automobile companies.

As a result, Porsche entered into an agreement with the Japanese Kaizen Institute (which teaches and implements lean manufacturing worldwide). Research has shown that large losses are associated with an inflexible design and production system, conservatism of engineers, and weak connections between the stages of the value stream. And, what is most surprising for the German brand, another reason for the crisis was the large share of defects in the final products, which were then eliminated by service centers.

Like any old German company, Porsche had difficulty accepting any change. Therefore, Wiedeking had to organize training in Japan for management, engineering and production personnel and invite experts from Kaizen to Germany.

Wiedeking proposed and implemented the following steps:

1. He reduced the number of management levels from six to four, simplifying the hierarchy of production specialists - they were divided into teams of 10 people, led by one foreman.
2. I created a “board of shame” for visual quality control - all detected defects were recorded here. It was also decided to encourage detection of defects in the early stages while their costs remain minimal. Each employee was explained that the company had to pay much more seriously for defects that reached the consumer than for defects identified at the formation stage. Most of the concern's employees were stunned by the true cost of their mistakes.
3. Organized a system for submitting proposals, thanks to which all employees could offer their own ideas for improving work. If a proposal actually improved quality and productivity, it was implemented and the authors of successful ideas were rewarded. Of course, such a system existed before the transition to lean methods (lean production), but then any proposal was met with hostility, and therefore made no sense.
4. Introduced his own quality control system into Porsche. For each team of workers, a list of planned indicators was developed, which could be seen by any employee of the company. This data consisted of the percentage of defects at each stage, the accuracy of the delivery time of parts to the next stage and discipline.

In addition to implementing the above steps, Porsche followed the recommendations of Kaizen specialists, whose main goals were to reduce inventories and organize the smooth movement of parts from processing raw materials to assembling the finished product. But working with its own production facilities was not the only stage for Porsche; the company decided to promote lean manufacturing technologies among its suppliers, requiring deliveries on a just-in-time basis. As a result, over two years, 30 of the 60 supplying factories seriously changed their approach to work.

Thanks to competent management and lean production, from 1991 to 1997, Porsche's key indicators underwent the following changes:

• the time from concept creation to production launch has been reduced from 7 to 3 years;
• the time from the start of welding work to the release of the car was reduced from 6 weeks to 3 days;
• inventory levels decreased by 6 times;
• the level of defects in supplied parts has decreased by 100 times, on the production line - by 4 times;
• labor costs for manufacturing products decreased by 3 times.

Porsche again achieved profitable results and was able to maintain its independence and its position in the market of expensive sports cars.

Examples of implementing lean manufacturing in Russia

The introduction of a lean production system in our country is a difficult task that requires a lot of energy. And one of the likely scenarios for the development of events is always failure in implementation. The main factor here is the mentality, which is radically different from the Japanese one. However, Russians, compared to the Japanese, have much greater creative potential, so management must approach any implementation creatively, instead of using dry diagrams, rules and ideal order.

Many large Russian companies are already applying the principles of lean manufacturing, due to which they can boast tangible advantages over their competitors. Thus, the GAZ group has been working according to the Lean system for 14 years and has achieved a reduction in the volume of work in progress by a third, an increase in labor productivity by 20–25% every year, a reduction in the time for equipment changeover to 100%, and a reduction in the production cycle by a third.

In 2013, RUSAL decided to take a more serious step and included suppliers in the lean production system - first of all, management was concerned about transport companies. The fact is that the lion's share of RUSAL's production costs is made up of logistics costs, so the chosen approach allowed us to save 15% on costs over five years.

The integrated use of lean methods by the KAMAZ association made it possible to reduce cycle times by 1.5 times, free up 11 thousand pieces of large-sized packaging, reduce inventories by 73 million rubles, and reduce production space by a third.

All of these companies spent 7–15 years to achieve success, but today their market positions remain unattainable by domestic competitors. Therefore, if you are just starting to work with lean methods, do not give up on your endeavors if there are no results in the first months or even years.

The best books about lean manufacturing

Much has been written about lean manufacturing and its flexible methodologies. Below are four books that can help you understand and start using this concept.

• James P. Womack, Daniel Jones. Lean Manufacturing: How to Eliminate Waste and Make Your Company Prosper.

The authors are among the founders and popularizers of Lean, so in this book you will find detailed theory and descriptions of practical steps. It also presents many examples from the practice of companies in various countries. We recommend this book specifically to practitioners.

• Taiichi Ono. Toyota production system.

Taiichi Ohno is the creator of the system at Toyota factories, which became the progenitor of Kanban, Lean and other methodologies. Here you will read about the structure of the system and the thirty-year history of the development and success of the brand. The book will be useful to both practitioners and people interested in the philosophy of lean manufacturing.

• The Productivity Press team presents the textbook, Worker-Less Manufacturing.

It details the types of losses that exist and how to identify them. The authors teach you to divide all processes into those that add and do not add value to the product, and then show you how to get rid of the latter. The textbook can become a reference book for managers, directors, and owners of enterprises, and it will be useful both together with “Lean” and on its own.

• Eric Rees. Business from scratch. Lean Startup.

The book will be of interest to beginners and more experienced entrepreneurs, as well as people who follow the trends of the modern economy. Eric Ries explains: business and all other areas are developing so rapidly that clear plans for several months are a thing of the past. They were replaced by the “lean startup”. We advise every business owner or anyone who is just thinking about starting their own business to familiarize themselves with this concept.

Lean

Lean(lean production, lean manufacturing - English) lean- “skinny, slender, without fat”; in Russia, the translation “lean” is used; there are also variants “harmonious”, “sparing”, “thrifty”, in addition there is a variant with transliteration - “lin”) - a management concept based on a steady desire to eliminate all types of losses. Lean manufacturing involves the involvement of each employee in the business optimization process and maximum customer focus.

Lean manufacturing is an interpretation of the ideas of the Toyota Production System by American researchers of the Toyota phenomenon.

Key Aspects of Lean Manufacturing

The starting point of lean manufacturing is customer value.

Value is the utility inherent in the product from the customer's point of view. Value is created by the manufacturer as a result of a series of sequential actions.

The heart of lean manufacturing is the process of eliminating waste.

Losses is any activity that consumes resources but does not create value for the consumer.

Losses in Japanese are called muda- a Japanese word that means waste, that is, any activity that consumes resources but does not create value. For example, the consumer does not need the finished product or its parts to be in stock. However, with a traditional management system, warehouse costs, as well as all costs associated with rework, defects, and other indirect costs are passed on to the consumer.

In accordance with the concept of lean manufacturing, all activities of an enterprise can be classified as follows: operations and processes that add value to the consumer, and operations and processes that do not add value to the consumer. Hence, anything that does not add value to the customer is classified as waste and must be eliminated.

Types of losses

• losses due to overproduction;
• loss of time due to waiting;
• losses due to unnecessary transportation;
• losses due to unnecessary processing steps;
• losses due to excess inventory;
• losses due to unnecessary movements;
• losses due to the release of defective products.

Jeffrey Liker, who along with Jim Womack and Daniel Jones actively researched the Toyota manufacturing experience, identified the 8th type of waste in the book “The Toyota Way”:

• unrealized creative potential of employees.

It is also customary to distinguish 2 more sources of losses - muri and mura, which mean “overload” and “unevenness”, respectively:

Mura- uneven performance of work, such as a fluctuating schedule of work caused not by fluctuations in end-user demand but rather by the nature of the production system, or an uneven pace of work to complete an operation, causing operators to rush and then wait. In many cases, managers can eliminate unevenness by leveling out planning and paying close attention to the pace of work.

Muri- overload of equipment or operators, which occurs when working at a higher speed or pace and with greater effort over a long period of time - compared to the design load (design, labor standards).

Basic principles

Jim Womack and Daniel Jones, in their book Lean: How to Eliminate Waste and Thrive Your Company, outline lean manufacturing as a five-step process:

1. Determine the value of a specific product.
2. Determine the value stream for this product.
3. Ensure the continuous flow of the product value stream.
4. Allow the consumer to pull the product.
5. Strive for perfection.

Other principles:

• Excellent quality (delivery on first presentation, zero defect system, detection and solution of problems at their source);
• Flexibility;
• Establishing long-term relationships with the customer (by sharing risks, costs and information).

Lean Manufacturing Tools

Taiichi Ohno wrote in his work that the Toyota production system rests on two “pillars” (often called the “pillars of TPS”): the jidoka system and the “just-in-time” system.

• Unit flow
• Total equipment care - Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) system
• Poka - yoke (“error protection”, “fool proof”) - a method of preventing errors - a special device or method due to which defects simply cannot appear.

Implementation algorithm (according to Jim Womack)

1. Find a change agent (you need a leader who can take responsibility);
2. Obtain the necessary knowledge on the Lean system (knowledge must be obtained from a reliable source);
3. Find or create a crisis (a good motive for introducing Lean is a crisis in an organization);
4. Map the entire value stream for each product family;
5. Start work in the main areas as quickly as possible (information about the results should be available to the organization’s personnel);
6. Strive to get results immediately;
7. Carry out continuous improvements using the Kaizen system (move from value creation processes on the shop floor to administrative processes).

Typical mistakes when implementing lean manufacturing

• Misunderstanding of the role of management when implementing a Lean system
• Building a “System” that does not have the necessary flexibility
• Starting implementation not from the “basics”
• Jobs change, but habits don't change
• Measure everything (collect data), but react to nothing
• “Paralytic analysis” (endless analysis of the situation, instead of continuous improvements)
• Do without support

Lean culture

Lean manufacturing is impossible without a lean culture. The main thing in Lean culture is the human factor, teamwork. This is greatly supported by the emotional intelligence (EQ) of employees. Lean culture also corresponds to a certain corporate culture.

Efficiency

Overall, the use of lean manufacturing principles can have significant effects. Prof. O. S. Vikhansky argues that the use of lean manufacturing tools and methods makes it possible to achieve a significant increase in the efficiency of the enterprise, labor productivity, improvement in the quality of products and increased competitiveness without significant capital investments.

Story

The father of lean manufacturing is considered to be Taiichi Ohno, who began working at Toyota Motor Corporation in 1943, integrating the best world practices. In the mid-1950s, he began to build a special production organization system called the Toyota Production System or Toyota Production System (TPS).

The Toyota system became known in the Western interpretation as Lean production, Lean manufacturing, Lean. The term lean was proposed by John Krafcik, one of the American consultants.

A significant contribution to the development of the theory of lean manufacturing was made by Taiichi Ono's colleague and assistant, Shigeo Shingo, who, among other things, created the SMED method.

The ideas of lean manufacturing were expressed by Henry Ford, but they were not accepted by business because they were significantly ahead of their time.

The first disseminator of the Kaizen philosophy throughout the world was Masaaki Imai. His first book, Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success, was published in 1986 and translated into 20 languages.

Lean manufacturing concepts were first applied to discrete manufacturing industries, most notably the automotive industry. The concept was then adapted to continuous production conditions. Gradually, lean ideas went beyond manufacturing, and the concept began to be applied in trade, services, utilities, healthcare (including pharmacies), the armed forces and the public sector.

In many countries, the spread of lean manufacturing is provided with government support. In a period of intense competition and an escalating crisis, enterprises around the world have no other way than, using the world's best management technologies, to create products and services that maximally satisfy customers in terms of quality and price.

Regular international and regional conferences contribute to the dissemination of Lean ideas. One of the largest platforms for the exchange of best practices in lean manufacturing in Russia is the Russian Lean Forums (since 2011 - Russian Forum “Development of Production Systems”), which have been held annually since 2006.

Examples of using

Lean card. The deployment of the lean production concept in Russia is presented on the Lean map - the world's first lean production map. The Lean map created by ICSI and the Leaninfo.ru Blog identifies enterprises that, according to available information, use lean production tools, as well as lean people - that is, people who are famous, have significant experience in lean production and are active in spreading lean ideas. The map is constantly updated, mainly thanks to user information. Upon application with confirmation, you can mark on the map any organization using lean manufacturing methods.

The world's largest companies successfully use Toyota's experience: Alcoa, Boeing, United Technologies (USA), Porsche (Germany), Instrum-rand (Russia) and many others.

Lean logistics (Lin logistics). The synthesis of logistics and lean concepts made it possible to create a pull system that unites all firms and enterprises involved in the value stream, in which partial replenishment of inventories in small batches occurs. Lean logistics uses the Total Logistics Cost (TLC) principle.

Lean manufacturing in medicine.. According to expert estimates, approximately 50% of the time of medical personnel is not spent directly on the patient. There will be a transition to personalized medicine, in which the patient receives help “at the right time and in the right place.” Medical facilities should be located so that the patient does not have to waste time on numerous trips and waits in other places. Now this leads to significant financial expenses for patients and a decrease in the effectiveness of treatment. In 2006, at the initiative of the Lean Enterprise Academy (UK), the first EU conference on the problem of introducing Lean in the healthcare sector was held.

Lean mail. In the Danish Postal Department, as part of Lean Manufacturing, a large-scale standardization of all services offered was carried out to increase labor productivity and speed up postal shipments. To identify and control postal services, “maps for the continuous creation of their value” have been introduced. An effective system of motivation for postal employees has been developed and implemented.

Lean office. Lean manufacturing methods are increasingly used not only in production, but also in offices (lean office), as well as in local and central government.

Lean House. The use of lean technology in everyday life makes it possible to make life environmentally friendly and reduce energy costs to a minimum level. The passive house is a typical example of lean living. A passive house, or rather an energy-efficient house, is a house in which heating costs are about 10% of normal energy consumption, which practically makes it energy independent. The heat loss of a Passive House is less than 15 W. hour/m² per year (for comparison, in an old house there is 300 W.hour/m² per year), and the need for minor heating of the house arises only at negative outside temperatures. At temperatures below minus 20, a passive house cools down by 1 degree per day.

Negative aspects of lean manufacturing

It should also be noted that the implementation of lean manufacturing also has certain negative aspects. In practice, quite a large number of companies practicing lean manufacturing, following Toyota, widely use so-called labor. temporary workers on short-term contracts who can easily be laid off if production volumes decline. For example, in 2004, Toyota employed 65,000 permanent workers and 10,000 temporary workers.

see also

• Toyota: 14 principles of doing business
• Lean Design

Notes

Literature

• Womack James P., Jones Daniel T. Lean manufacturing. How to get rid of losses and achieve prosperity for your company. - M.,: “Alpina Publisher”, 2011. ISBN 978-5-9614-1654-1
• Womack James P., Jones Daniel T., Rus Daniel. The machine that changed the world. - M.: Potpourri, 2007. ISBN 978-985-483-889-2
• Golokteev K., Matveev I. Production management: tools that work., St. Petersburg. : Peter, 2008. ISBN 978-5-91180-599-9
• Taiichi Ono. Toyota Production System: Moving away from Mass Production. - M: Publishing House ICSI, 2012. ISBN 978-5-903148-39-4
• Shigeo Shingo. Study of the Toyota production system from the point of view of production organization. - M: ICSI, 2010. ISBN 978-5-903148-35-6
• Pascal Dennis. Sirtaki in Japanese: about the Toyota production system and more ISBN 978-5-903148-04-2
• Yasuhiro Monden. Toyota management system. - M. Publishing house ICSI, 2007, ISBN 978-5-903148-19-6
• Liker Jeffrey. The Tao of Toyota: 14 principles of management of the world's leading company - M.,: Alpina Publisher, 2011. ISBN 978-5-9614-1590-2
• Shook John, Rother Michael. Learn to See Business Processes: The Practice of Value Stream Mapping (2nd edition). - M.,: “Alpina Publisher”, 2008. ISBN 978-5-9614-0621-4
• George L. Michael. Lean + Six Sigma. Combining Six Sigma quality with Lean speed. - M: Alpina Publisher, 2007 ISBN 978-5-9614-0636-8
• Mary Poppendieck, Tom Poppendieck. Lean software production: from idea to profit. - M.: Williams, 2010. ISBN 978-5-8459-1538-2
• Mark Graban. Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction (English) ISBN 978-1-4200-8380-4

Links

Specialized resources:

• Vestnik Lin - Newspaper and online magazine about lean manufacturing
• Lean manufacturing and lean technologies - Everything about lean manufacturing tools, Kaizen philosophy, experience and prospects of Lean in Russia
• Books on lean manufacturing - ICSI Publishing
• Blog "Kaizen" - materials on lean production
• A Practical Blog on Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement
• State advanced training courses in the field of lean manufacturing

Education:

• Russian Lean School is a complex of educational services, including certification courses, additional professional education, kaizen tours, trainings and seminars of leading foreign and Russian experts. Organization and conduct of excursions
• MBA-Production Systems - MBA-Production Systems program at the Higher School of Business of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. State diploma
• The Orgprom group of companies is a leading Russian provider providing a full range of services for the development of lean manufacturing
• - Institute of Lean-Practice. State diploma
• Lean and ISO certification - The relationship between ISO and Lean systems.

Unions, social movements, public organizations:

• Interregional public movement “Lin-forum. Lean Manufacturing Professionals" - brings together the efforts of all lean manufacturing enthusiasts. Has more than 900 members

Important articles and materials:

• Lean improvement and management balancing

To reduce costs, lean manufacturing principles are often used, which involve eliminating activities that do not add customer value. When optimizing a business, all employees must be clearly customer-oriented. Such a system of approach can not only change the situation for the better, but also establish a completely new way of life.

Historical data

The principles of lean production at the enterprise were founded in the middle of the last century by a Japanese engineer. A significant contribution to the development of the concept was made by his colleague, who created the fast changeover technology. The first of them knew ways to eliminate losses, and the second knew options for putting them into practice.

Later, American scientists studied the system and began to actively use it under their own name. At first, the concept was applied only in industries with discrete production. These include, for example, the automotive industry. However, gradually the principles were able to be adapted to process production. Later, the basic ideas began to be actively used in trade and other areas of life.

The main meaning of the concept

The starting point of lean manufacturing principles is to assess the value of a product for a specific consumer at each stage of its creation. The main goal of the concept is to create a situation in which continuous elimination of losses will be ensured. Actions that consume resources to one degree or another, but do not create values, are removed.

For example, the average consumer does not need the manufactured product or its elements to be stored in a warehouse. However, with a conventional management system, all costs associated with various indirect costs are passed on to the potential client. The concept involves dividing all enterprise activities into separate operations. Processes that do not add value are systematically eliminated from them.

Existing types of losses

The use of lean manufacturing principles should lead to the prevention of major losses. They should not only be eliminated, but also prevent the possibility of their occurrence in the future. The main task of management is to optimize the production process.

There are seven types of losses associated with the following points:

• overproduction;
• waiting time;
• the presence of unnecessary processing stages;
• manufacturing of defective products;
• making unnecessary movements;
• the existence of excess stocks;
• transportation.

Overproduction is considered the main problem. One of the easiest ways to increase profits is to increase productivity. At the same time, they often forget that the quantity of manufactured products is determined by demand. Sooner or later, manufactured goods accumulate in large volumes in the warehouse.

Review of the basic principles of lean manufacturing

The concept is aimed at organizing an optimal production process. One of the famous books provides information on how this can be achieved. 5 principles of lean manufacturing are taken into account in stages:

1. Determining the value of the manufactured product.
2. Establishing the flow of value formation of the manufactured product.
3. Ensuring process continuity.
4. Providing the consumer with the ability to pull the product.
5. Commitment to improvement.

This includes achieving high quality and forming long-term relationships with end consumers. This is achieved by sharing risks, monetary costs and information sources.

The pull principle in lean manufacturing involves supplying material resources to another process operation as needed. In this case, there is no strict schedule for the movement of material flows.

Basic methods of achievement

There are a number of tools through which the concept is brought to life:

1. Kanban is a system for organizing and supplying a production process. With its help, you can transfer the product to the next technological stage just in time. With this option, there is a balance between supply and consumer demand.
2. Kaizen is a special Japanese practice that emphasizes continuous improvement of technological processes. Not only production, but management is improving. Modernization affects workers and management, and does not require large material costs.
3. Poka-eke is a way to prevent mistakes. The method involves protecting items of use from careless human actions during the production process.
4. Rapid changeover is a method that involves reducing various costs and losses when re-equipping equipment. Initially, such a system found application in optimizing operations related to the replacement of dies and the subsequent readjustment of certain devices.
5. The principles of lean manufacturing 5S allow you to organize your workspace as efficiently as possible. The system presupposes a clear separation of things, their proper storage, standardization, strict adherence to established rules, and maintenance of cleanliness. The concept is aimed at reducing the number of accidents, improving the quality of products, creating a comfortable microclimate, improving labor productivity and unifying workplaces.
6. The total equipment maintenance system consists of a number of techniques that are necessary to ensure that the machine is always ready for operations. The overall effectiveness of the mechanisms used is calculated taking into account the degree of readiness, level of intensity and quality.
7. One-piece flow allows materials, services, and invoices to be processed as they are received. In some cases, the system may not be very profitable or physically impossible.

Implementation phases

There are special principles for implementing lean manufacturing. They can be divided into three main phases, which must be implemented in a certain sequence:

1. Demand research process. First you need to determine which category consumers belong to and what requirements they have. Of the tools used, the best ones are calculations of pitch, takt time, as well as buffer and insurance reserves.
2. The stage of achieving continuity of value flow. The phase involves taking certain measures to provide consumers with the necessary products in a timely manner and in the required quantities. To do this, ensuring balance in the loading of production lines, planning work areas and a number of other measures are carried out.
3. The smoothing phase allows you to achieve a balanced distribution of the volume of work carried out directly over certain time intervals (by day, month). At this stage, logisticians are involved and boards are used to consider new ideas.

Under what conditions can implementation be successful?

For the implementation of lean manufacturing principles in an enterprise to be successful, certain conditions must be met:

1. First of all, a plan for training and advanced training of employees should be established, taking into account the specifics of the business entity. All organizations have different resources, financial capabilities and needs. All people have different knowledge, skills and experiences. When planning the learning process, all this should be taken into account.
2. When implementing the concept, it is necessary to use a full range of tools and resources that are suitable for the majority of employees. Some people prefer to attend training courses, while others prefer to observe the activities of their colleagues.
3. Information should be obtained through benchmarking. The employee training stage involves the development of creative abilities. It is important to teach employees to go beyond the boundaries of a specific enterprise in order to effectively conduct business. They must be able to find options for applying fresh ideas in their own organization.

Manifestation in industries

The main principles of lean manufacturing are clearly visible in many industries. The concept allows you to increase the efficiency of the work process:

1. Lean healthcare is a set of measures that reduces the time spent on medical staff. This does not apply to direct patient care.
2. Lean construction is a special management strategy aimed at increasing the efficiency of construction of objects. Each stage is considered separately.
3. Lean logistics is a pull system that combines the entire network of suppliers participating in the value stream.

Final part

Competent implementation of the basic principles of lean production at an enterprise provides an opportunity to improve the efficiency of its work. Business can be optimized only through maximum focus on certain categories of consumers and the involvement of all employees in this process.

Lean ( lean production, lean manufacturing ), like many other concepts, are on everyone’s lips. What is it?

Lean manufacturing is an approach to managing and controlling the quality of manufactured products, which should ensure its continued competitiveness in the product market, as well as minimize costly investments in the manufacturing process.

Results of implementing lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is based on the application of special methods of the Toyota TPS system. The main ones include the following:

• regular visual inspection;
• accuracy and timeliness of execution of all instructions;
• kanban;
• operational readjustment of systems and other technologies.

The lean manufacturing system was founded and pioneered by scientists such as James Womack and Daniel Jones.
In fact, in a practical sense, such a methodology, whose authentic name is Lean Production, is a unique interpretation of Japanese technologies used in production management.

Lean manufacturing and implementation principles

The introduction of lean manufacturing is carried out by strictly following its basic principles:

• determining the value of a product;
• allocation of a thread for the process of its construction;
• ensuring continuity and uninterrupted operation of the product creation procedure;
• the consumer must “pull” the product;
• total commitment to excellence.

Based on the basic postulates of this concept, first you should construct a special value stream map, using the trajectory along which information (source material) moves within the framework of the process you need. After a complete analysis of all production activities is carried out, additional technical reserves will be identified that can be used to create value, and those stages that block the productivity of its production will be highlighted.

Lean manufacturing tools in the process of their use should bring the goal closer - to organize an uninterrupted flow of single goods. The concept is universal; it is applicable both to the design stage and to the procedure for accepting additional orders for products, or to the production process itself.
The organized flow of single products as a result provides the consumer with a set of all goods that meet his needs.

One of the conditions for adequate functioning of the uninterrupted production system is a significant reduction in the time period spent on readjusting working equipment. It is also impossible to create the correct economical production of goods without maximizing the speed of conversion of raw materials into a valuable consumer product, including bypassing the reduction of the existing level of production inventories.

Only at the moment when any production organization learns to correctly define value, design the flow of its creation, uninterruptedly add this value to the production product at each stage of the flow, and also allow the consumer to pull it out of the organization itself - only then will all direct participants in the process come to an unambiguous and indisputable conclusion: there is no limit to perfection, and production improvement can occur endlessly.

Lean manufacturing - what to focus on first

Manufacturers can put a limitless amount of effort into creating a truly ideal product - minimizing labor costs, reducing production space, reducing the cost of goods, and as a result, this can bring them as close as possible to what any consumer really strives for. Let us recall that excellence is the last and, in fact, the main principle in the concept of lean manufacturing.

In modern practice, this management technology for quality control of products is actively used by numerous Western enterprises. In order for efforts to implement lean manufacturing to achieve maximum results with minimal investments, I recommend starting with a general analysis of the situation at the enterprise using the tools of Eli Goldratt's theory of constraints. This will allow you to begin by limiting work to one of the most problematic areas, which is holding back the work of the entire enterprise.

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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 consumer requests and with fewer defects compared to products made using mass production technology. At the same time, the costs of labor, space, capital and time are reduced.

Lean-enterprise Lean Enterprise is a business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, supplier and customer relationships, using lean manufacturing principles, practices and tools to create clearly defined customer value (products 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 specific family of products operate under an agreement whereby they define the value of the product from the end customer's perspective, eliminate unproductive activities from the value stream, and implement activities that create value in a continuous flow as they are pulled. products by the client. The collaborating companies carry out the listed procedures continuously throughout the entire life cycle of a given product family.

The presented definition of a lean production system very succinctly expresses the essence of this concept. Let's try to reveal some provisions of this definition.

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

“Creating clearly defined customer value” involves understanding what is of value to the consumer. And here you cannot rely solely on your own knowledge. Work should be carried out to identify all components of consumer value, sometimes directly with the end consumer of the product/service. This is a guarantee that consumer requirements will be satisfied most fully and at the lowest cost (excessive work is eliminated).

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

"With less labor, in a smaller production area, with less capital and in less time"- in the lean manufacturing concept this means exclusion all types of losses(overproduction, excessive processing, waiting losses, transportation losses, personnel movements, losses due to defects/rework, etc.).

2. The concept of lean production is based on five principles that define guidelines for managers in the transition to lean production:

Determining Value each product family from the customer's point of view.

Definition of all value stream stages for each product family and eliminating, where possible, non-value-added activities.

Building operations that create value in strict sequence ensuring smooth movement of the product in the flow, directed to the client.

Upon completion of flow formation – creating the ability to “pull” clients of value from the previous stage.

Upon completion of value determination, identification of value streams, elimination of stages that cause losses, as well as formation of a pull system– repeating the entire process again as many times as necessary to achieve a state of perfection in which absolute value is created and there is no loss.

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

Push production – processing of products in large batches at maximum speed based on forecast demand, followed by moving the 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 (refund/replenishment system) – type a pull system.

Sequential pull system – type B pull system.

Mixed pulling system – type c pulling 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. Typically, when products are removed from a supermarket by a downstream process, the consumer, the latter sends information about the withdrawal upstream to the upstream process using a special card (kanban) or other means.

Each process is responsible for replenishing the stocks of its supermarket, so operational management and the search for objects of continuous improvement (kaizen) is not difficult. However, its use is complicated when there are a large number of types of products produced.

Sequential pull system It is advisable to use when there is a large range of products produced by one process, i.e. when it is difficult or practically impossible to maintain a stock of each type of product in the supermarket. Products are essentially made to order, keeping overall system inventory to a minimum. A consistent system requires maintaining short and predictable lead times; one must have a good understanding of the pattern of orders received from the client. The functioning of such a system requires very strong leadership.

Mixed pull system– involves a combination of the two listed systems. It is advisable to use it when the 80/20 rule applies, i.e. when a small proportion of product types (approximately 20%) account for the largest portion of daily output (approximately 80%).

All types of products are divided into groups according to production volume: large 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 - a supermarket pull system. With a mixed pull system, it may be more difficult to manage improvement and identify deviations.