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1.0 Introduction
Lean manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste from all aspects of an organizations
operations, where waste is viewed as any use or loss of resources that does not lead directly to
creating the product or service a customer wants when they want it. In many industrial processes,
such non-value added activity can comprise more than 90 percent of a factorys total activity
Lean manufacturing or lean production are reasonably new terms that can be traced to Jim
Womack, Daniel Jones and Daniel Roos book, The Machine that changed the world [1991]. In
the book, the authors examined the manufacturing activities exemplified by the Toyota
Production System. Lean manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste. As the name
implies, lean is focused at cutting fat from production activities. It has also been successfully
applied to administrative and engineering activities as well. Although lean manufacturing is a
relatively new term, many of the tools used in lean can be traced back to Fredrick Taylor and the
Gilbreaths at the turn of the 20th century. What Lean has done is to package some well-respected
industrial/manufacturing engineering practices into a system that can work in virtually any
environment.

2.0 Brief History

Many people and developments have been instrumental in shaping Lean. Key moments are
described here.
1913
The first moving assembly line was built at Ford Motor Co. in Highland Park, Mich., USA. A
chassis was pulled slowly across the factory floor.
1924
Sakichi Toyoda invented the world's first automatic loom, which could change shuttles without
stopping operation. Years earlier he had invented a device that automatically stopped a loom if a
thread broke, preventing waste. The concept of jidoka automation with a human touch was
born.
1927
Kiichiro Toyoda, Sakichis son and the founder (and second president) of Toyota Motor Co.,
introduced a flow production method using a chain conveyor into the assembly line of a textile
plant and later into the body production line at the car company, which was established in 1937.
1949
Taiichi Ohno, who later became an executive vice president at Toyota, was put in charge of a
machining shop and experimented with setting up the equipment in various ways to produce

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needed items in a timely manner. After visits to Detroit, he created the basic framework for justin-time and empowered production workers to stop the assembly line if there was a problem.
1950
Eiji Toyoda, Sakichis nephew, traveled to the United States to study Fords production methods
and returned with ideas about how to redesign and innovate on Toyotas processes. Eiji later
became chairman of Toyota Motor Corp.
1956
Ohno, who with Eijis support became one of the chief architects of the Toyota Production
System, visited U.S. auto plants and supermarkets, where he conceived the kanban idea of using
visual controls.
1978
Ohno wrote the book, Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production.
1987
John Krafcik, a researcher in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) International
Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP), proposes a label of Lean for the combination of methods
pioneered at Toyota. A few years later, The Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean
Production was published, the culmination of MITs five-year IMVP study.
1988
Ohnos book was translated into English.
At Present
Lean is widely applied in manufacturing and transactional environments across many industries
in private, public and government sectors.

3.0 What is Lean Manufacturing?

James Womack, Daniel Jones, and Daniel Roos coined the term lean production in their 1990
book The Machine that Changed the World to describe the manufacturing paradigm established
by the Toyota Production System.6 In the 1950s, the Toyota Motor Company pioneered a
collection of advanced manufacturing methods that aimed to minimize the resources it takes for a
single product to flow through the entire production process. Inspired by the waste elimination
concepts developed by Henry Ford in the early 1900s, Toyota created an organizational culture
focused on the systematic identification and elimination of all waste from the production process.
In the lean context, waste was viewed as any activity that does not lead directly to creating the

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product or service a customer wants when they want it. In many industrial processes, such nonvalue added activity can comprise more than 90 percent of the total activity as a result of time
spent waiting, unnecessary touches of the product, overproduction, wasted movement, and
inefficient use of raw materials, energy, and other factors.7 Toyotas success from implementing
advanced manufacturing methods has lead hundreds of other companies across numerous
industry sectors to tailor these advanced production methods to address their operations.
Lean production typically represents a paradigm shift from conventional batch and queue,
functionally-aligned mass production to one-piece flow, product-aligned pull production. This
shift requires highly controlled processes operated in a well maintained, ordered, and clean
operational setting that incorporates principles of just-in-time production and employeeinvolved, system-wide, continual improvement. To accomplish this, companies employ a variety
of advanced manufacturing tools to lower the time intensity, material intensity, and capital
intensity of production.

4.0 The 3 Ms of Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a Japanese method focused on 3Ms. These Ms are: muda, the Japanese
word for waste, mura, the Japanese word for inconsistency, and muri, the Japanese word for
unreasonableness. Muda specifically focuses on activities to be eliminated. Within
manufacturing, there are categories of waste. Waste is broadly defined as anything that adds cost
to the product without adding value to it. Generally, muda (or waste) can be grouped into the
following categories:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Excess production and early production

Delays
Movement and transport
Poor process design
Inventory
Inefficient performance of a process
Making defective items

5.0 The 7 Wastes

One thing is certain: Waste is all around at work, at home and everywhere in between. As
applied to business, waste, or muda in Japanese, is any activity that adds no real value to the
product or service being created or delivered. The diligent ferreting out and elimination of waste
in how work is performed is a fundamental tenet of Lean, the operational excellence strategy that
was developed over many years and is widely used in business today.
Lean battles seven commonly recognized wastes: transportation, inventory, motion, waiting,
overproduction, overprocessing and defects. Following are explanations of these wastes, with
examples in manufacturing and transactional environments.

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Transportation
The waste of transportation occurs any time goods or materials are moved. To be fair, some form
of transportation will always be needed, but the act of simply moving things around the plant or
office adds no real value to the product or service.
In manufacturing, the most common form of transportation waste occurs when material is
transported across the plant with forklifts. Additionally, conveyor systems are nothing more than
elaborate and space consuming transportation waste creators.
In a transactional environment, transportation waste occurs when documents or folders are
transported around the office by person or internal courier.
Inventory
The waste of inventory is tricky because for producers of any type of goods or services some
inventory is needed. But inventory must be carefully controlled.
To illustrate the point, imagine this situation: Bob has spent his life savings on soap that he hopes
to sell for a profit. While this soap may indeed appear as an asset to his financial controller,
Bobs kids are getting hungry and until he actually sells some of this soap, they will have to be
content with peanut butter and noodles.
Motion
Motion is probably the most misunderstood waste of all. Often confused with the waste of
transportation, the waste of motion is any movement of people that does not add value to the
product or service. It is an extremely high productivity killer.
Examples of motion waste: Whenever assembly operators are forced to walk away from their
work area, or must reach and strain for a tool. Also, the 39 times a day office workers are forced
to get up from their desk and walk 32 paces to the shared printer (1,248 paces).
Waiting
Anytime people are queued up, the waste of waiting is happening. For example, Bob flew
overseas to sell some of his soap, only to arrive at customs where the line wrapped so far back he
couldnt even see the end.
Waiting is another productivity killer and is a major source of frustration for customers. It
doesnt matter if the waiting occurs in the manufacturing area, the doctors office or the airport.
Waiting stinks, so it should be eliminated altogether.
Over Production

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Often called the mother of all wastes, overproduction occurs when a company produces more
than its customer (internal or external) needs. This often happens in manufacturing when, in
order to absorb long changeovers; an operator produces 100 widgets even though the customer
ordered 25. Overproduction is also seen in non-manufacturing environments, such as restaurants
throwing away excess food, which can definitely impact the bottom line.
The reason this is the mother of all wastes is simple: The waste of overproduction gives birth to
other wastes. Excess goods created by overproduction need to be moved around and stored
(transportation and inventory), which takes people away from their work (motion).
Overproduction even creates waiting, as it often delays production of products that customers
actually want.
Over Processing
Perhaps the hardest waste to see and understand is overprocessing doing more than a customer
asks for.
For example, while a customer may indeed admire a lovely gold-plated finish to a product, they
simply want, and are only willing to pay for, a bronze finish. In this case, a company is throwing
away time and money by overprocessing with gold plating. Likewise, if a simple website
explaining what a company has to offer will serve the purpose and convert leads into an
acceptable level of sales, there is no need to spend $8,000 on the creation of the most amazing
site ever seen.
Defects
Last, but certainly not the least of the seven traditional wastes, is the waste of defects. Formally
defined, a defect is any work that is less than the level the customer has requested.
In manufacturing terms, defects occur when the product has something wrong with it, such as
when an electronic device wont turn on because of a short in the circuit board. An example of a
defect in a transactional environment: A procurement specialist, when entering a purchase order,
might type 1,000 when they actually meant to type 100.
The Eighth Waste-Skills
Sometimes in focusing on the elimination of the seven wastes, companies forget about the aspect
of Lean that is inherent in the philosophy as it was originally developed in Japan respect for
people. In other words, the recognition that a companys most important assets are its employees.
To that end, Lean practitioners sometimes add an eighth waste to the list skills.
This waste occurs when a company does not fully leverage the gifts and talents of its associates.
In fact, employees may even decide to leave a company for the simple reason that they do not

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feel as though they are being listened to or valued, and, as such, they feel like a number in a sea
of numbers.

6.0 Stages of Lean Application

Demand Stage
This stage refers to understanding the customer demand and incorporating it into the lean
process. It involves knowing exactly the number of parts or products that the company needs to
produce each day. There is an important concept called Takt time that can be used to define the
customer demand. The word Takt comes from the German word rhythm, therefore Takt time
determines the rhythm necessary to maintain customer demand. Takt time is calculated based in
the following formula:
Takt Time (TT) =

Available Production Time

Total DAily Quantity Required

Flow Stage
In order to meet customer demand the company needs to implement a flow manufacturing of
production to ensure that the customer will receive the right products on time and the right
amount.
Leveling Stage
The leveling stage refers to leveling production; it means to spread the work required to achieve
customer demand over a shift or a day.

7.0 Methods to Implement Lean Manufacturing

There are numerous methods and tools that organizations use to implement lean production
systems. The methods include:
1. Kaizen Rapid Improvement Process
2. 5S
3. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
4. Cellular Manufacturing / One-piece Flow Production Systems
5. Just-in-time Production / Kanban
6. Six Sigma
7. Pre-Production Planning (3P)

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8. Lean Enterprise Supplier Networks

9. Value Stream Mapping
While most of these lean methods are interrelated and can occur concurrently, their
implementation is often sequenced in the order they are presented below. Most organizations
begin by implementing lean techniques in a particular production area or at a pilot facility, and
then expand use of the methods over time. Companies typically tailor these methods to address
their own unique needs and circumstances, although the methods generally remain similar. In
doing so, they may develop their own terminology around the various methods.
KAIZEN
Lean production is founded on the idea of kaizen, or continual improvement. This philosophy
implies that small, incremental changes routinely applied and sustained over a long period result
in significant improvements. Kaizen, or rapid improvement processes, often are considered to be
the building block of all lean production methods, as it is a key method used to foster a culture
of continual improvement and waste elimination. Kaizen focuses on eliminating waste in the
targeted systems and processes of an organization, improving productivity, and achieving
sustained continual improvement. The kaizen strategy aims to involve workers from multiple
functions and levels in the organization in working together to address a problem or improve a
particular process. The team uses analytical techniques, such as Value Stream Mapping, to
quickly identify opportunities to eliminate waste in a targeted process. The team works to rapidly
implement chosen improvements (often within 72 hours of initiating the kaizen event), typically
focusing on ways that do not involve large capital outlays. Periodic follow-up events aim to
ensure that the improvements from the kaizen blitz are sustained over time. Kaizen can be used
as an implementation tool for most of the other lean methods.
5S
5S is a system to reduce waste and optimize productivity through maintaining an orderly
workplace and using visual cues to achieve more consistent operational results. It derives from
the belief that, in the daily workof a company, routines that maintain organization and orderliness
are essential to a smooth and efficient flow of activities. Implementation of this method cleans
up and organizes the workplace basically in its existing configuration, and it is typically the
starting point for shop-floor transformation. The 5S pillars, Sort (Seiri), Set in Order (Seiton),
Shine (Seiso), Standardize (Seiketsu), and Sustain (Shitsuke), provide a methodology for
organizing, cleaning, developing, and sustaining a productive work environment. 5S encourages
workers to improve the physical setting of their work and teaches them to reduce waste,
unplanned downtime, and in-process inventory. A typical 5S implementation would result in
significant reductions in the square footage of space needed for existing operations. It also would
result in the organization of tools and materials into labeled and color coded storage locations, as
well as kits that contain just what is needed to perform a task. 5S provides the foundation on

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which other lean methods, such as TPM, cellular manufacturing, just-in-time production, and six
sigma, can be introduced effectively.
TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE (TPM)
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) seeks to engage all levels and functions in an organization
to maximize the overall effectiveness of production equipment. This method further tunes up
existing processes and equipment by reducing mistakes and accidents. Whereas maintenance
departments are the traditional center of preventive maintenance programs, TPM seeks to involve
workers in all departments and levels, from the plant-floor to senior executives, to ensure
effective equipment operation. Autonomous maintenance, a key aspect of TPM, trains and
focuses workers to take care of the equipment and machines with which they work. TPM
addresses the entire production system lifecycle and builds a solid, plant-floor based system to
prevent accidents, defects, and breakdowns. TPM focuses on preventing breakdowns (preventive
maintenance), mistake-proofing equipment (or poka-yoke) to eliminate equipment
malfunctions and product defects, making maintenance easier (corrective maintenance),
designing and installing equipment that needs little or no maintenance (maintenance prevention),
and quickly repairing equipment after breakdowns occur (breakdown maintenance). TPMs goal
is the total elimination of all losses, including breakdowns, equipment setup and adjustment
losses, idling and minor stoppages, reduced speed, defects and rework, spills and process upset
conditions, and startup and yield losses. The ultimate goals of TPM are zero equipment
breakdowns and zero product defects, which lead to improved utilization of production assets
and plant capacity.
JIT / KANBAN
Just-in-time production, or JIT, and cellular manufacturing are closely related, as a cellular
production layout is typically a prerequisite for achieving just-in-time production. JIT leverages
the cellular manufacturing layout to reduce significantly inventory and work-inprocess (WIP).
JIT enables a company to produce the products its customers want, when they want them, in the
amount they want. JIT techniques work to level production, spreading production evenly over
time to foster a smooth flow between processes. Varying the mix of products produced on a
single line, often referred to as shish kebab production, provides an effective means for
producing the desired production mix in a smooth manner. JIT frequently relies on the use of
physical inventory control cues (or kanban), often in the form of reusable containers, to signal
the need to move or produce new raw materials or components from the previous process. Many
companies implementing lean production systems are also requiring suppliers to deliver
components using JIT. The company signals its suppliers, using computers or delivery of empty
containers, to supply more of a particular component when they are needed. The end result is
typically a significant reduction in waste associated with unnecessary inventory, WIP, packaging,
and overproduction.

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SIX SIGMA
Six Sigma was developed by Motorola in the 1990s, drawing on well-established statistical
quality control techniques and data analysis methods. The term sigma is a Greek alphabet letter
used to describe variability. A sigma quality level serves as an indicator of how often defects are
likely to occur in processes, parts, or products. A Six Sigma quality level equates to
approximately 3.4 defects per million opportunities, representing high quality and minimal
process variability. Six Sigma consists of a set of structured, data-driven methods for
systemically analyzing processes to reduce process variation, which are sometimes used to
support and guide organizational continual improvement activities. Six Sigmas toolbox of
statistical process control and analytical techniques are being used by some companies to assess
process quality and waste areas to which other lean methods can be applied as solutions. Six
Sigma is also being used to further drive productivity and quality improvements in lean
operations. Not all companies using Six Sigma methods, however, are implementing lean
manufacturing systems or using other lean methods. Six Sigma has evolved among some
companies to include methods for implementing and maintaining performance of process
improvements. The statistical tools of the Six Sigma system are designed to help an organization
correctly diagnose the root causes of performance gaps and variability, and apply the most
appropriate tools and solutions to address those gaps.
VALUE STREAM MAPPING
Value stream mapping, a lean manufacturing tool, which originated from the TPS, is known as
material and information flow mapping. This mapping tool uses the techniques of lean
manufacturing to analyze and evaluate certain work processes in a manufacturing operation. This
tool is used primarily to identify, demonstrate and decrease waste, as well as create flow in the
manufacturing process. VSMs can be created merely using paper and pencil; however more
advanced maps are created using Microsoft Visio as well as Microsoft Excel.
The creation of a VSM is divided into five basic steps: 1) Identify the product. 2) Create a
current VSM. 3) Evaluate the current map, identify problem areas. 4) Create a future state VSM.
5) Implement the final plan. The first step, identifying the product, consists of choosing which
specific product the VSM will focus on. After the product used has been chosen, an initial VSM
of the current process is created. Following the completion of the current map, the team
evaluates the process and the steps involved. All this information is then compiled on a map and
analysis is performed. On a typical VSM every step of the process is included. For each step,
parameters could include cycle time, TAKT time, work in progress (WIP), set up time, down
time, number of workers, and scrap rate. A VSM identifies where value is added in the
manufacturing process. It will also show all other steps where there is non-added value. After
analyzing and evaluating the current process of the product, the problem areas can be identified.
Once it is changed the current process to minimize problem areas completely, it can create a final

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state VSM. The last step of the value stream mapping process is to implement the new ideas,
which will in turn create a more efficient lean manufacturing process.

8.0 The Five Steps of Lean Implementation

The process used to implement lean manufacturing is a straightforward one. However it is
critical that lean is implemented in a logical manner. The steps associated in implementing lean
follow:
Step 1: Specify Value
Define value from the perspective of the final customer. Express value in terms of a specific
product, which meets the customer's needs at a specific price and at a specific time.
Step 2: Map
Identify the value stream, the set of all specific actions required to bring a specific product
through the three critical management tasks of any business: the problem-solving task, the
information management task, and the physical transformation task. Create a map of the Current
State and the Future State of the value stream. Identify and categorize waste in the Current State,
and eliminate it!
Step 3: Flow
Make the remaining steps in the value stream flow. Eliminate functional barriers and develop a
product-focused organization that dramatically improves lead-time.
Step 4: Pull
Let the customer pull products as needed, eliminating the need for a sales forecast.
Step 5: Perfection
There is no end to the process of reducing effort, time, space, cost, and mistakes. Return to the
first step and begin the next lean transformation, offering a product that is ever more nearly what
the customer wants.

9.0 Conclusion

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Inspired by the excellent performance of Toyota, many companies would be interested in looking
for more knowledge about Lean and the conditions required for implementation of the system in
their own organizations. Most firms are actively working on improving their operational
processes and develop their capabilities. The main purpose for everybody in the business world
is to respond quickly to the demands of their customers. To stay competitive on the market
managers today need to choose the best one of a great number of innovative tools and
techniques. The real challenge is the question concerning how to incorporate these tools into dayto-day activities of the company towards successful implementation of these improvement
programs in a long run.

10.0 References
https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/Eproject/Available/Eproject083107002611/unrestricted/Valuestreamm
apping.pdf
http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5066619.pdf
http://blog.gembaacademy.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/09/7_wastes_isixsigma_magazine_090
9.pdf
http://www.levantar.co.uk/images/uploads/What%20is%20Lean%20Manufacturing%20pdf.pdf
http://www.reman.org/pdf/leancasestudies.pdf
http://www.engr.psu.edu/cim/ie450/ie450ho1.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/lean/environment/pdf/leanreport.pdf
https://www.sfsa.org/meetings/spring12/Lean%20Manufacturing.pdf
http://pure.au.dk/portal-asb-student/files/9093/ak83188...pdf