Lean Articles

Standardized Work as a Lean Process Improvement

Standardized work is used as a tool for preserving quality, productivity and safety at high levels. It is described as work in which the order of job essentials has been planned efficiently that are followed by workers on constant basis. Standardized work is a procedure in which kaizen is the goal and we are [...]

Manufacturing Changeover Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED)

One of the essential elements of Lean involves a system of fast changeover. When the changeover time of equipment is quicker the downtime is less. One must consider that “Downtime” is the description of the eight deadly waste of a manufacturing setting. The basic tool to quick changeover system is known as single minute [...]

How to Calculate Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is simply how much your machine is working effectively within a given time frame. It is a best practice to identify the percentage of planned production time that is productive. There is a lot of confusion out there about the words efficiency and effectiveness. We have to make a clear [...]

Two Bin System Inventory Management

A two bin system is a simple, visually-based method for stocking and replacing items that is used. It is common on assembly and moving production lines where elements units are added to the merchandise. One bin is the working bin, where items for manufacture and sale are taken from. When the first container gets [...]

Benefits of One Piece Flow and How It Is Implemented

In “One piece flow” production, the product transfers from one phase to the next phase with one piece at a time. This approach is different from lot production where a number of units are prepared at an agreed stage and then every unit is moved to the next level at the same time. One [...]

Different Types of Mind Maps Commonly Used

Mind maps are a convenient and easy way of brainstorming your thoughts and ideas fundamentally. It provides a visual structure for your thoughts and ideas and makes them easy to analyze and remember. Mind maps are diagrammatic representation of chores, confabulations, conceptions or features that are connected to single concept. A framework is built [...]

What Are Visual Management Systems

Visual Management Systems also known as VMS is basically a technique executed to share data and information with the help of visual signals instead of texts or verbal instructions. The system is designed to enable quick and better comprehension of the data by everyone to increase clarity and efficiency in the organization. The visual [...]

How to Create a Spaghetti Diagram Used Within Lean

By the name of spaghetti diagram, only spaghetti comes to mind which is straight, thin and hard if uncooked. Cooked spaghetti are flexible, soft and moldable. So, yes this diagram is made of the elastic and moldable pattern. Cooked spaghetti looks messy in a dish; it can also bend and playing crisscross the same [...]

The Six Big Losses in Lean Explained

In the light of TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) program one of the key objectives is to decrease or get rid of what is known as the "Six Big Losses" that indicates the most common causes in productivity failures within manufacturing. Its framework comprises of the losses that fall in [...]

How Lean Milk Run Is Used to Cut Wastes

The concept of “Lean manufacturing or lean production”, or basically "lean", means an organized process for waste minimization ("Muda") without losing productivity in a manufacturing system. Lean tools and processes can be very effective in our way to guzzling waste from the operations of our supply chain. What Is Lean Milk Run The term [...]

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