The 7 Elements of Lean

by: Annie R. Cabico

• Lean thinking – about smooth process flow, doing
only those activities that add customer value and
eliminating all other activities that don’t.
The 7 Elements of Lean
• Waste reduction
• Lean supply chain Relationship
• Lean layouts
• Inventory and setup time reduction
• Small batch scheduling
• Continuous improvement
• Workforce commitment
Waste reduction
Waste reduction..

Eliminating waste is the primary concern of the

lean philosophy. Includes reducing excess
inventories, material movements, producing steps,
scrap losses, rejects and reworks.
7 Waste
• Over producing
• Waiting
• Transportation
• Over processing
• Excess inventory
• Excess movement
• Scrap and rework
• Over producing-Producing of unnecessary items to
maintain utilization
• Waiting-Excess idle machine and operator time;
materials experiencing excess wait time for
processing
• Transportation- Excess movement of materials
between processing steps; transportation items long
distances using multiple handling steps.
• 4. Over processing-Non-value-adding
manufacturing, handling, packaging or inspection
activities
• Excess inventory-Storage of excess raw materials,
work-in-process and finished goods
• Excess movement- Unnecessary movement of
employees to complete a task
• Scrap and rework- Scrap materials and product
rework activities due to poor quality materials or
processing
Five- S’s
-Came from Toyota and were Japanese words
relating to industrial housekeeping
-company use this to reduce waste in the production

• Sort
• Set in order
• Sweep
• Standardize
• Self discipline
Five- S’s : Sorting and Set in order/
Simplifying

• Their goal is to eliminate searching for parts and

tools
• Avoid unnecessary movements
• Avoid using the wrong tools or parts
Five- S’s : Sweep

• Refers to proper workplace cleaning and

maintenance
Five- S’s: Standardize

• Seeks to reduce processing variabilities by

eliminating nonstandard activities and resources
Five- S’s : Self-discipline

• Deals with forming and refining effective work

habits
+Safety
• To assess the safety of work condition and reduce
the risk profile of the work area
Lean Supply Chain
Relationship
Lean Supply Chain Relationship..

• Firms work with buyers and customers with

the mutual goal of eliminating waste,
improving speed and improving quality. Key
suppliers are considered partners, and close
customer relationship are sought.
Lean Supply Chain Relationship..

Begins when ..
focal firm, its supplier and customers begin TO
WORK TOGETHER to identify
• customer requirements
• remove waste
• reduce costs
• improve quality and;
• Customer service
Lean Supply Chain Relationship..

Example: Procter and Gamble (P&G) company

They hold an annual “Goldmine Day” where

suppliers can meet with each other with P&G to
share ideas and information
Lean layouts
Lean layouts..

• WIP (work in process) inventories are positioned

close to each process, and layouts are designed
where possible to reduce movements of people
and materials. Processes are positioned to allow
smooth flow of work through the facility.
Lean layouts..
Manufacturing Cells
Lean layouts..
Manufacturing Cells
Inventory and Setup
Time Reduction
Inventory and Setup Time Reduction

• Inventories are reduced by reducing production

batch sizes, setup times and safety stocks. Tends to
create or uncover processing problems, which are
then managed and controlled
Inventory and Setup Time Reduction..
How to reduce Inventory ?

• Reduce purchase order quantities and production

lot size
Inventory and Setup Time Reduction..
How to reduce setup time?

• Doing setup preparation work while the previous

production lot is still being processed
• Moving machine tools closer to the machine
• Improving tooling or die coupling
• Standardizing setup procedures
• Practicing setup various methods to reduce setup
time
• Purchasing machine that requires less setup time
Small Batch Scheduling
Small Batch Scheduling

• Firms produce frequent small batches of product,

with frequent product changes to enable a level of
production schedule. Smaller, more frequent
purchase orders are communicated to suppliers, and
more frequent deliveries are offered to customers.
Kanbas are used to pull WIP through the system.
Small Batch Scheduling
 Continuous
Improvement
Continuous Improvement

• As queues and lead times are reduced, problems

surface more quickly, causing the need for continual
attention to problem solving and process
improvement. With lower safety stocks , quality
levels must be high to avoid process shutdowns.
Attention to supplier quality levels is high.
Continuous Improvement..

• To make the lean system work better employees

continuously seek ways to reduce:

• Supplier delivery and quality problems

• Production area movement problems
• Visibility problems
• Machine breakdown problems
• Internal quality problems
Continuous Improvement..

• Quality improvement is certainly part of the

ongoing continuous improvement efforts in lean
system
Workforce Commitment
Workforce Commitment/ Empowerment

• Employees are cross-trained to add processing

flexibility and to increase the workforce ability to
solve problems. Employees are trained to provide
quality inspections as parts enter a process area.
Employee roles are expanded, and employees are
given top management support and resources to
identify and fix problems
Workforce Commitment/ Empowerment

• Example :
Scania engine plant in Sweden
The facility is idled every Wednesday at 8 am for 26
minutes so every work team can hold an improvement
meeting based on ideas on a whiteboard