Lean Manufacturing: Lean Manufacturing, or Lean Production, Is A Production Method Derived From Toyota's

Lean manufacturing
Lean manufacturing, or lean production, is a production method derived from Toyota's

1930 operating model "The Toyota Way" (Toyota Production System, TPS). The term
"Lean" was coined in 1988 by John Krafcik, and defined in 1996 by James Womack and
Daniel Jones to consist of five key principles; 'Precisely specify value by specific product,
identify the value stream for each product, make value flow without interruptions, let
customer pull value from the producer, and pursue perfection.' (Womack and Jones 1996
p10)
History
Insights relating to value streams, efficiency (reduction of "waste"), continuous improvement and
standardised products can most likely be traced back to the beginning of mankind. However,
Fredrick Taylor and Henry Ford documented their observations relating to these topics, and Shigeo
Shingo and Taiichi Ohno applied their enhanced thoughts on the subject at Toyota in the 1930s.
The resulting methods were researched from the mid-20th century and dubbed "Lean" by John
Krafcik in 1988, and then were defined in The Machine that Changed the World (Womack, Jones
and Roos 1990) and further detailed by James Womack and Daniel Jones in Lean Thinking (1996).
Shigeo Shingo takes part of Frederick

Taylor's views in 1910
American industrialists recognized the threat of cheap offshore labor to American workers
during the 1910s, and explicitly stated the goal of what is now called lean manufacturing as
a countermeasure. Henry Towne, past President of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, wrote in the Foreword to Frederick Winslow Taylor's Shop Management (1911),
"We are justly proud of the high wage rates which prevail throughout our country, and
jealous of any interference with them by the products of the cheaper labor of other
countries. To maintain this condition, to strengthen our control of home markets, and,
above all, to broaden our opportunities in foreign markets where we must compete with the
products of other industrial nations, we should welcome and encourage every influence
tending to increase the efficiency of our productive processes."[1]
Continuous production improvement and incentives for such were documented in Taylor's
Principles of Scientific Management (1911):
 "... whenever a workman proposes an improvement, it should be the policy of the

management to make a careful analysis of the new method, and if necessary conduct
a series of experiments to determine accurately the relative merit of the new
suggestion and of the old standard. And whenever the new method is found to be
markedly superior to the old, it should be adopted as the standard for the whole
establishment."
 "...after a workman has had the price per piece of the work he is doing lowered two
or three times as a result of his having worked harder and increased his output, he is
likely entirely to lose sight of his employer's side of the case and become imbued
with a grim determination to have no more cuts if soldiering [marking time, just
doing what he is told] can prevent it."
Shingo cites reading Principles of Scientific Management in 1931 and being "greatly
impressed to make the study and practice of scientific management his life's work".
Toyota's Production Systems (TPS) is born

in the 1930s
Shingo and Ohno were key to the design of Toyota's manufacturing process. Previously a
textile company, Toyota moved into building automobiles in 1934. Kiichiro Toyoda,
founder of Toyota Motor Corporation, directed the engine casting work and discovered
many problems in their manufacturing, with wasted resources on repair of poor-quality
castings. Toyota engaged in intense study of each stage of the process. In 1936, when
Toyota won its first truck contract with the Japanese government, the processes
encountered new problems, to which Toyota responded by developing "Kaizen"
improvement teams (see The Toyota Way).
Ohno at Toyota brought the concepts together, building on the existing internal schools of
thought, and spreading their breadth and use into what has become the Toyota Production
System (TPS). It is principally from the TPS (referred to in the 1980s as just-in-time
manufacturing or JIT), but now including many other sources, that lean production is
developing.
Levels of demand in the postwar economy of Japan were low; as a result, the focus of mass
production on lowest cost per item via economies of scale had little application. Having
visited and seen supermarkets in the United States, Ohno recognised that scheduling of
work should not be driven by sales or production targets but by actual sales. Given the
financial situation during this period, over-production had to be avoided, and thus the
notion of "pull" (or "build-to-order" rather than target-driven "push") came to underpin
production scheduling.
Implementing the method
Senpai and Kohai 'coaching' claimed to have been used to implement The Toyota Way and
rumoured as useful to also implement Lean.[clarification needed][citation needed]
 According to Dombrowski, an organization implementing Lean needs its own Lean plan as
developed by the "Lean Leadership". This should enable Lean teams to provide
suggestions for their managers who then makes the actual decisions about what to
implement. Coaching is recommended when an organization starts off with Lean to impart
knowledge and skills to shop-floor staff. Improvement metrics are required for informed
decision-making.[8]
 Spearman states: Lean philosophy and culture is as important as tools and methodologies.
Management should not decide on solutions without understanding the true problem by
consulting shop floor personnel.[9]
 Pederson: The solution to a specific problem for a specific company may not have
generalised application. The solution must fit the problem. [10]
 Douglas: Value stream mapping (VSM) and 5S are the most common approaches
companies take on their first steps to Lean. Lean can be focused on specific processes, or
cover the entire supply chain. Front-line workers should be involved in VSM activities.
Implementing a series of small improvements incrementally along the supply chain can

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Lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing, or lean production, is a production method derived from Toyota's

Shigeo Shingo takes part of Frederick

 "... whenever a workman proposes an improvement, it should be the policy of the

Toyota's Production Systems (TPS) is born

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