Lean Manufacturing

 Lean principles are derived from the Japanese manufacturing industry. The goal of lean is cost reduction by the elimination of waste, which is muda in Japanese. At Toyota, they practice lean via the Toyota Production System (TPS), which is similar to how most companies practice lean. Throughout the United States, lean manufacturing is a collection of methods or tools in a toolbox used to eliminate waste. These tools typically include pull production (kanban), just in time inventory, 5S, continuous improvement, set-up reduction, visual controls, perfect first time quality, production leveling, poka-yoke (error proofing), long-term relationships with suppliers, single piece flow, automation with a human touch, and cellular manufacturing. When we implement lean, we are focused on implementing techniques that help us get the right things to the right place at the right time in the right quantity to achieve perfect work flow, while minimizing waste and being flexible and able to change.

The Vision Manufacturing Consultants have led many lean transformations in facilities throughout the world. Whether your company is ready to get started with lean or wishes to progress to the next level, Vision Manufacturing Consulting will work with you to implement essential lean tools. We recommend learning and applying the lean tools and the lean skills so your company enjoys progress while your employees get excited about new skills and learn. There are indeed significant financial benefits to implementing lean in your organization, but please realize that getting your employees engaged and excited through the implementation of lean will have the most effect on your company. Additionally, can you really afford not to implement lean when your competitors likely are? Our experience is that there will be a 5X to 10X return on the investment, if your financial personnel measure the savings thoroughly including increased revenue, reduced existing costs, reduced headcounts, reduced overtime, avoiding compliance issues, increasing employee satisfaction and increasing customer satisfaction. Let Vision Manufacturing Consulting get you on the road to realizing your lean return on investment. Let’s build that lean vision and that lean “before” and “after” together.