First let me break down the Lean History
- Henry Ford and his management team create and implement the “assembly line” and “synchronized production”.
- The foundation of lean is the Toyota Production System developed in the 40’s and used extensively in the auto industry for 25+ years
- Lean tools and methodologies were popularized in the US as the heart “The Machine that Changed the World” by Womack (1990).
- Ford, Pratt & Whitney, and IBM are some of the companies that began adapting lean to their companies.
- In 1996, Larry Bossidy brought lean into Allied Signal and by 1998 it was integrated into Six Sigma.
- Parts of lean were introduced to DuPont in early 1990s as CFM (Continuous Flow Manufacturing)
Lean Definition
- The process of producing what is needed, when it is needed, in exactly the right quantities, with perfect quality, in the least amount of time.
- It relies on the premise of increasing profits through the relentless focus on the elimination of waste!
Why Lean
- Waste elimination is the foundation of the lean enterprise
- Continuous elimination of waste through out all processes and products
- Produce what is needed without excess inventory in the least amount of time
- As a business, we need to regard delays in time as opportunity for improvement
- Large stocks of inventory are delays of time which produces dead money
Your mission
- To learn how to implement lean practices
- Learn how to identify waste at your job
- Identify the cost savings/cost avoidance
- Learn how to execute on a quick lean project