Download The “Updated” Lean Manufacturing Handbook!

The Lean Manufacturing web tutorial is adapted from Continental Design & Engineering’s Lean Manufacturing Handbook. Digital copies of the complete workbook are available for download for your staff to assist in building your own “Lean Team.” Click here to read the Lean Manufacturing Handbook online, or simply complete this short form to download your own digital (PDF) version.

The Purpose of this Handbook

This booklet was written to give a simple explanation of Lean Manufacturing for anyone to understand. It is meant for engineers, purchasing agents, company clerks, newspaper reporters, schoolteachers, or anyone else who wants to find out about Lean.

It is by no means a complete text on Lean, but does include an addendum that will point the way to further Lean knowledge for anyone who is interested. Resources for Lean training and support are included in the booklet and where appropriate, Continental’s Lean services are outlined.

Lean is a large area of expertise, and no booklet could possibly cover it all, but it is my hope that you will gain an understanding of Lean principals and be motivated to find out even more about this quiet revolution that is transforming worldwide manufacturing.

What is Lean Manufacturing?

Lean Manufacturing is a manufacturing system and philosophy that was originally developed by Toyota and is now used by many manufacturers throughout the world. At Toyota the system is referred to as the Toyota Production System. Other manufacturers have adapted the system to meet their own needs and assigned a proprietary name to it, such as Delphi Automotive’s Delphi Manufacturing System. Therefore the term Lean Manufacturing is a more generic term and refers to the general principals and further developments of Lean.

The term Lean is very apt because in Lean Manufacturing the emphasis is to cut out the “fat” or waste in the manufacturing process. Waste is defined as anything that does not add value to the customer. It could also be defined as anything the customer is unwilling to pay for.

For example, if you order a shirt to be custom made, it may take 6 weeks. However the actual time the tailors or seamstresses are working on the shirt is only 5 hours. The rest of the time is taken up by such things as material ordering, waiting between processes and inefficient shipping practices. This extra time does not add value to you, the customer. As Lean Manufacturing principals are applied to the shirt-making process, one would see a reduction in delivery time from 6 to 5 to 4 weeks and even less. The ideal shirt-making operation would be streamlined to give you, the customer, what you want, when you want it at the lowest possible cost within the least amount of time.

Though they may not call it Lean, the “Eyeglasses in About an Hour” companies have applied many Lean principles to their operation. What used to take weeks is now done in about an hour, adding value to the customer. It is no surprise that these operations have opened up all over the country. What was once thought of as impossible speed of delivery is now commonplace. Applying Lean Manufacturing principles gives manufacturers these types of results on a routine basis.

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010, by admin and is filed under "Design & Engineering ". You can leave a response here, or send a Trackback from your own site.