About Lean

Lean Enterprise is a business and production philosophy that espouses shortening the cycle-time between order placement and product delivery by eliminating waste. Successfully done, it increases productivity, eliminates rework, and improves quality and profitability. Toyota Motor Company initially developed this disciplined, process-focused production system, implementing the "Toyota Production System,” now known as “Lean Production” or “Lean Enterprise.”

“Lean” (the Lean Enterprise concept) was popularized in American manufacturing through a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study of the Japanese automotive industry described in The Machine That Changed the World, (Womack, Jones & Roos, 1990). This book describes how Japanese business methods use less human effort, capital investment, floor space, materials, and time in all aspects of operations. The competition between U.S. and Japanese automakers has led to the adoption of these principles by all U.S. auto manufacturers.

Lean is based on four core principles —Value, Value Stream Mapping, Pull Production, and Flow.

• Value is defined from the perspective of the customers – it is what they are  willing to purchase;
• Value Stream Mapping identifies both waste and value - documenting the steps necessary to convert raw materials into a salable product;
• Pull Production produces only what is needed, when it’s needed; and
• Value Flows after waste is eliminated and pull production is in place.

Lean’s primary benefits include increased productivity, reduced defects, reduced lead times, less inventory, and consistent on-time delivery. The manufacturing sector has adopted Lean processes. Within the last few years, Lean principles have been successfully applied to the office and other transactional areas.