LMTGN5001B

Participate in Production Planning Process

Lean Manufacturing
Laura Leanza
LEA14379800

Semester 2
2014
Table of Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3

History And Development Phases Of Lean ................................................................................................. 4

Development Stages Of The Theory .......................................................................................................... 5

Stage 1 Identify Waste ............................................................................................................................... 5
Stage 2 - Analyse The Waste And Find The Root Cause ................................................................................ 5
Stage 3 Solve The Root Cause And Repeat The Cycle ................................................................................ 5

The Theory And Lean Tools ....................................................................................................................... 6

Concepts that have evolved from the lean method: .................................................................................. 7

The Key Principles Of This Approach ........................................................................................................ 10

Lean Tools To Adopt And Implement In The Business Operation ............................................................. 11

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 12

References .............................................................................................................................................. 13

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. 14

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Introduction

The following report is based on an approach to manufacturing known as Lean Manufacturing. It is known
globally to change a businesses production system in a positive transformation on the behaviours and
financial outcomes. Lean thinking deals with focusing on the production side of things to minimise waste
and improve the efficiency of a businesses processes.

The purpose is to explain to a medium sized Australian owned and managed garment business, into what
benefits Lean manufacturing will adopt if applied within the workplace. In addition, the following will cover
the main points giving knowledge about Lean Manufacturing. This will include the history and development
phases of Lean, the development stages, several of the lean tools and concepts, and the key principles of
this approach. It will also state two of the lean tools that are suggested to be applied in a medium sized
garment business.

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History And Development Phases Of Lean

It has been known in history as an approach to speed, simplifying and improving business processes in
every area. It goes as far back to the 16th century, however, Eli Whitney had first began to introduce the
idea of lean manufacturing in the 18th century when he manufactured 10,000 muskets for the U.S Army. 1
It became strongly known in 1908 when Henry Ford introduced the Model T and developed the ideas
behind lean manufacturing. He introduced the lean process in his production line through his design of
interchangeable parts on the Model T. With his innovative idea, he enabled flow production producing cars
at a faster and more effective rate using an assembly line. In 1926 Ford added product variety in his cars,
and introduced the term mass production which meant Ford was able to produce the cars with the
materials needed through the use of conveyor belts. Henry Fords introductory to producing machinery in
an inventive way, it lead to an increase in mass production in the 20th century to a higher level. 2
In 1930, W. Edwards Deming created a process of undertaking a continuous improvement known as the
Plan Do Check Act cycle. After World War 2, Japans innovation came about through Demings teachings to
Japanese businesses about the continuous improvement process.

Ford was best known for using the lean manufacturing system, and was successful with it and it came to
other automakers responding to the need of interchangeable parts and incorporating the lean thinking. In
the 1960s, Kiichiro Toyoda thought of the idea to focus on simple innovations and provide continuity in
process flow and a wide variety of product offerings.3 This idea came from Fords original thinking, and lead
to the invention of Toyota Production System. The Toyota Company gradually developed a management
system based on lean principles. Taiichi Ohno lead the process of turning the Toyota production system, he
developed the Just-in-time production in 1956 through encountering supermarkets and the way they
supplied products in an efficient and timely manner. He found this through the Just-in-time process
focusing on customer demand and not entirely on what needs to be produced. 4 In the 1990s, Lean
production was written about in the book The Machine that changed the World. Today, lean has
continued to increase and businesses are now using it in the service sector, which develop services from a
customer perspective and reducing running costs. The Lean process is used to simplify work processes and
structures and continues to assist businesses in improving their work structure (See appendix A).

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Development Stages Of The Theory

The lean manufacturing process has three key stages:

Stage 1 Identify Waste

This is a fundamental stage, every business will most likely have a good process running, however waste
always exists and the process can be improved. Lean thinking involves on continuous improvement, known
as Kaizen lean tool. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a key tool to help find the existing waste. It shows the
state of the process flow in putting together materials to bring the product or service to the consumers. It
provides opportunities for improvement in the future state by highlighting the waste.

It firstly beings with identifying the cause of waste in an organisation, which is usually caused by the
tendency of overproduction; producing large batches too soon before it is required by the customer. This
can be because of manufacturers not knowing exactly when to produce the product, or unsure if they will
be able to make it when it is needed and therefore they build things ahead of time.

Stage 2 - Analyse The Waste And Find The Root Cause

For each waste identified at the first stage, the cause is found by using a Root Cause Analysis. This tool is a
problem solving procedure that focuses on fixing the problem instead of applying quick fixes that will only
resolve the problem for a short time. Therefore, using this tool will assist in applying the correct action to
eliminate the problem.

Stage 3 Solve The Root Cause And Repeat The Cycle

Simply means using the appropriate problem-solving method to fix the issue to create more efficiency and
improvement in the manufacturing process.