"Lean is the never-ending process of eliminating waste: finding every activity that does not create Value for the Customer and eliminating it."
Five Principles of Lean
- Specify Value: Define value from customers perspective and express value in terms of a specific product
- Map the Value Stream: Map all of the steps…value added & non-value added…that bring a product of service to the customer
- Establish Flow: The continuous movement of products, services and information throughout the manufacturing process
- Implement Pull: Nothing is done by the upstream process until the downstream customer signals the need
- Work to Perfection: Complete elimination of waste so all activities create value for the customer
Benefits of Lean
- Lean Reduces - Cost, Defects, Lead time, Inventory, Space, Waste
- Lean Improves - Productivity, Customer satisfaction, Profit, Customer responsiveness, Capacity, Quality, Cash flow, On time delivery
- Value Stream Mapping - To analyze & streamline flow of materials and information
- Kaizen - Philosophy on Continuous Improvement
- Muda - Eliminate waste and promoting efficiency
- Just-In-Time - Reducing in-process inventory and associated costs
- Theory of Constraints - Using Throughput, Operating Expense and Inventory as a measure to improve operating efficiency and achieve business objectives
- Heijunka - Technique to reduce waste by Sequencing and Production Leveling
- Jidoka - Stop at every abnormality; human intelligence built into machines
- 5S - Workplace Organization Methodology, especially a shared workplace
- Kanban - A simple, visual system for signaling Customer demand
- Poka-Yoke - A mechanism in Lean Manufacturing which helps an operator avoid mistakes through "mistake-proofing"
Lean HCL way
1. Lean Assessment
The necessary first step in Lean Manufacturing Journey. This assessment allows weighting of the nine key areas of manufacturing. We measure the Lean Index and benchmark processes against others. The assessment is followed with a report indicating:
- The current "leanness" of the organization
- The elements of strength that the organization can build on
- A complete action plan to fully integrate Lean Principles into the organization
2. Value Stream Mapping
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a method of visually mapping the flow of material and information as a product makes its way through the value stream. The basic idea is to first map your processes and then map the information flow that enables the processes to occur. VSMs are the blueprints for lean transformation and serve as a starting point to help in recognizing waste and identifying its causes.
3. Value Stream Engineering
While most organizations are able to produce "current-state" maps many struggle with the process for creating "future-state" maps and corresponding implementation plans. In this phase, we create a future state value stream map that identifies and quantifies the opportunities. This phase not only involves re-engineering of current processes to improve performance through the deployment of lean manufacturing technologies but also monitoring and stabilizing of processes and transition to process owners.