It may seem counterintuitive that adding headcount to your manufacturing roster, Lean jobs or otherwise, should actually save you money. But companies continue to implement Lean Manufacturing techniques because the techniques really work. If you want to improve your process, with results that you can see on your bottom line, hire a Lean Manufacturing expert.
Lean Manufacturing is a business philosophy, which strives to eliminate waste from the business process. The business process can include any process with defined steps, but it was traditionally a manufacturing tool. Toyota pioneered modern Lean Manufacturing, which they referred to as the Toyota Production System. But even the Toyota system piggybacked off a strategy developed by Henry Ford referred to as Just-In-Time Manufacturing. Today, Lean jobs are available across the manufacturing sector, because the Lean philosophy has spread like wildfire.
Lean Manufacturing is a strategy designed to improve performance by eliminating all waste from the business process. The paradigm defines waste as unnecessary time and resources. More specifically, it uses the acronym “TIMWOOD” to differentiate seven types of waste, which include: waste in transport, waste of inventory, waste of motion, waste of waiting, waste of overproduction, waste of overprocessing, and waste of defects/rework.
Transport includes the movement of product. Ideally, each step of the business process is sequential and geographically right next door. Conveyors, forklifts, and an administrative assistant walking paperwork to another office down the hall are all waste in transport.
Inventory refers to work in progress, and eliminating waste of inventory the backbone of the Just-In-Time philosophy. Ideally, product moves from one step to the next without any delay.
Motion involves movement of people. The administrative assistant above demonstrated waste in transport, because the paper was tied up in the relocation instead of being processed immediately. But the admin also demonstrated waste of motion by being unable to perform other tasks.
Waiting involves either product or people sitting idle. While the admin assistant walked the paper down the hall, the recipient waited for the paper to arrive. A stamp and stapler may have been waiting to process the paper, which means the tools were not fully utilized.
Overproduction refers to too much finished goods in stock. Overproduction requires up-front cost to make and storage costs, while not seeing revenue.
Overprocessing occurs when resources perform tasks that add no value. For example, the admin may have made a copy of the document for her files, which she will never reference again.
Defects are errors in the product, which must be corrected before further processing can occur. When employees must rework defects in the process, both the employees and the product are tied up in the rework process. The employees are unable to perform other tasks, and the products are unable to earn revenue.
In the end, you want to improve your bottom line. You can do this by eliminating waste in your business process, with the help of a Lean Manufacturing expert. Add Lean jobs to your roster, and watch your process improve.