{"id":455,"date":"2020-02-06T20:32:49","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T20:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.axcontrol.com\/blog\/?p=455"},"modified":"2023-09-25T14:47:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T14:47:23","slug":"what-is-lean-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.axcontrol.com\/blog\/2020\/what-is-lean-manufacturing\/06\/02\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Lean Manufacturing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Pexels
Lean helps all parts of your organization come together as an organized machine. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

History of Lean Manufacturing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“Lean Manufacturing” as a term has only been around for a little over 30 years. The term was originally coined by John Krafcik (now CEO of Waymo and former CEO of Hyundai Motor America) in his MIT master’s thesis entitled “Triumph of the Lean Production System.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definition: Lean Manufacturing<\/p>a practice or process
that seeks to minimize waste while maximizing value to the customer or client. <\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Krafcik may have created the term, lean manufacturing has been around for significantly longer. It can be traced back to the work of Eli Whitney, who was the first to successfully manufacture a product with interchangeable parts, and to time and motion studies by engineers like Frederick Taylor and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth applied to industrial workers of the early 20th century. Additionally, Henry Ford’s assembly line was also a leap forward in lean manufacturing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Toyoto Motor Company & Lean<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many feel the true cradle of lean manufacturing, however, was the Toyota Motor Company. When Toyota began producing cars in the years after World War II, it had to contend with low demand and limited financial resources. In order to strengthen its financial position, the company <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”<\/p>Albert Einstein<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

moved production to ‘build-to-order’ targeting, implementing the notion of “pull” instead of “push” or “just-in-time” manufacturing. They kept inventory as close to zero as possible and instead tried to produce cars as they were needed. This close-to-zero inventory is part of the modern lean philosophy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time Krafcik wrote his thesis for MIT in the 1980s, the Japanese production management principles leading to the basic elements of lean production may not have been widely accepted, but they were well-enough known worldwide to creep into popular culture references like director Ron Howard’d 1986 movie Gung Ho. A few years after Krafcik’s paper, James P. Womack and others at MIT published “The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production.” Suddenly–it seemed–everyone knew about lean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are There Limits to Lean in Manufacturing? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lean practices can apply to any type of manufacturing process. This includes <\/p>\n\n\n\n