Implementing lean manufacturing is one of the smartest moves that you can make. It will allow you a chance to work through some of the different aspects of your manufacturing, looking for wasted time, materials, and resources, so that you can cut out what is not needed and focus on making the most out of your process. This increases profits and customer satisfaction all in one. When you are ready to implement lean manufacturing into your company, there are four main principles that you need to consider including:
Pull
With this principle, rather than trying to produce as many items as possible, you will let the customer demand help you out. This demand is going to pull the goods and services through the process of manufacturing. This limits the amount of inventory that you need to keep track of and can limit waste in products being made that you do not need.
One-Piece Flow
When you are able to focus on one piece of the process at a time, you can minimize the amount of work in progress, the process interruptions, and the lead and wait times. At the same time, you will find that there is an increase in the flexibility and the quality that is being given to each product too.
Takt
This is going to be like the major heartbeat that comes with the Lean system. It is going to be the speed that you need to keep to help you manufacture your product to also meet demand. With takt in balance, it is easier to keep up with the work content and to achieve the continuous flow that your business wants. It also helps you to respond flexibly to some of the changes in the market when they come.
Zero Defects
Mistakes can happen, but a company that is practicing Lean is not going to pass on these defects. Any of the defects that are made in a previous step will need to be corrected before the product goes on and makes it to the customer. This can help provide a better product to the customer, giving them some of the best customer satisfaction in the industry too.
Lean manufacturing is designed to make your life easier and reduce the amount of waste that you have in your manufacturing. When it is done right, it can provide more value to your customers while helping you to get ahead and make more profits since you are no longer wasting all of your time and energy along the way. Take a look at the four main principles of lean manufacturing above to see how great this process can be for you.
