Lean production is an approach that focuses on eliminating waste to ensure quality. It involves doing simple things well, continuous improvement, and involving employees. The goal is to cut costs by reducing various types of waste like overproduction, waiting times, unnecessary transport and motion. Key aspects of lean production include just-in-time delivery from suppliers, cell production, simultaneous engineering, time-based management and continuous improvement through kaizen. Effective lean production requires good supplier relations, skilled employees and a culture of quality and change.

1. Lean Production

2. What is lean production? An approach to management that focuses on cutting out waste , whilst ensuring quality. This approach can be applied to all aspects of a business – from design, through production to distribution.

4. Why cut out waste? Waste = Cost

5. The waste hierarchy

6. Examples of waste in business Type of waste Description Over-production Making more than is needed – leads to excess stocks Waiting time Equipment and people standing idle waiting for a production process to be completed or resources to arrive Transport Moving resources (people, materials) around unnecessarily Stocks Often held as an acceptable buffer, but should not be excessive Motion A worker who appears busy but is not actually adding any value Defects Output that does not reach the required quality standard – often a significant cost to an uncompetitive business

9. Time-based management An general approach that recognises the importance of time and seeks to reduce the level of wasted time in the production processes of a business

12. Simultaneous engineering An approach to project management that helps firms develop and launch new products more quickly. All parts of the project are planned together. Everything is considered simultaneously (together, in parallel) rather than separately (in series)

14. Cell production A form of team working where production processes are split into cells. Each cell is responsible for a complete unit of work

17. Just-in-time Just-in-time (“JIT”) aims to ensure that inputs into the production process only arrive when they are needed

19. Benefits and drawbacks of JIT Advantages Disadvantages Lower stock holding means a reduction in storage space which saves rent and insurance costs There is little room for mistakes as minimal stock is kept for re-working faulty product As stock is only obtained when it is needed, less working capital is tied up in stock Production is highly reliant on suppliers and if stock is not delivered on time, the whole production schedule can be delayed Less likelihood of stock perishing, becoming obsolete or out of date There is no spare finished product available to meet unexpected orders, because all product is made to meet actual orders Less time spent on checking and re-working production as the emphasis is on getting the work right first time A need for complex, specialist stock systems

20. Kaizen Kaizen (or ‘ continuous improvement ’) is an approach of constantly introducing small incremental changes in a business in order to improve quality and/or efficiency

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