Lean Thinking – Concept and Principles

Concept of  Lean Thinking Lean Thinking originated from manufacturing methods used by Japanese automotive manufacturers, especially from Toyota.  Lean thinking is basically about getting the right things, to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity while minimizing waste and waiting time and being flexible and open to change. A term coined by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones in their book “Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation”  to describe an exceptionally focused, efficient, agile and  successful organisation. Lean thinking provides a way to specify value, sequence value-creating actions in the best way, conduct these activities without interruption whenever someone requests them, and perform them more and more effectively.   Lean thinking means doing more and more with less and less resources while providing customers with exactly what they want. “Becoming ‘lean’ is a process of eliminating waste with the goal of Continue reading

How to Eliminate Waste in Manufacturing?

What is Waste in Manufacturing Term? Waste Squander disposal is a standout amongst the best approaches to expand the gainfulness of any business. Forms either add esteem or waste to the creation of a decent or administration. The seven squanders started in Japan, where waste is known as “Muda.” “The seven squanders” is an apparatus to additionally order “Muda” and was initially created by Toyota’s Chief Engineer Taiichi Ohno as the center of the Toyota Production System, otherwise called Lean Manufacturing. To wipe out waste, it is imperative to see precisely what waste is and where it exists. While items altogether contrast between industrial facilities, the regular squanders found in assembling conditions are very comparative. For each waste, there is a technique to lessen or take out its impact on an organization, consequently enhancing general execution and quality. We’ve all heard the expression, “you can’t make something out of nothing.” Continue reading

Concept of Agile Manufacturing

The Agile Manufacturing was presented in the first time at the publication in the USA of a report entitled 21st Century Manufacturing Enterprise Strategy. So, it has been introduced as a method of increasing competitive advantage in response to increasingly competitive global markets. Agile concept focuses on the fast response to changeable of customer demand. The key component in agile manufacturing is flexibility. The agile manufacturing methods can be adjusted and consolidated into companies of any size to ensure the growth and success. The changeable of customer and technological requirements that make the manufacturers develop agile supply chain capabilities in order to be competitive. So, many companies use the flexibility and agility to respond the customers’ requirement and markets demand in real time. The new concept of agility manufacturing need to secure competitive advantage from the production process that can be both efficient and responsive. Agility can be defined as Continue reading

Types of Plant Layouts

Moore defined plant layout as, “The plan of or the act of planning, an optimum arrangement of facilities, including personnel, operating equipment, storage space, materials handling equipment and all other supporting services along with the design of the best structure to accommodate these facilities”. There are three basic types of plant layouts and these correspond to the three types of processing systems. Product layouts are most conducive to continuous processing, process layouts are used for intermittent processing and fixed position layouts are used when projects require layouts. 1. Product Layout Product layout is used to achieve a smooth and rapid flow of large volumes of products or customers through a system. This is made possible by highly standardized products or services which require highly standardized, repetitive processing operations. A job is divided into a series of standardized tasks, permitting specialization of both labor and equipment. The large volumes handled by Continue reading