Some Aspects of Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing production system considers the expenditure for any goals other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful. Only operation adds value to the product and other functions such as inspection, transportation, and delays of a permanent or temporary nature are waste and should be eliminated. The beginning of lean manufacturing can be seen in Just In Time (JIT). It was first implemented in Ford automobile in the form of line assembly. Lean manufacturing is based on pull system. In the pull system parts are produced when they are pulled by the process before that. Lean manufacturing defines the value of a product or a service with the customer point of view not on the basis of type of technology and amount of labour. In the lean manufacturing the organization is treated as a single unit. Team work is more important than individual effort. The implementation of lean manufacturing reduces lead time, reduces work in progress (WIP), saves floor space, increases productivity, improves quality and reduces overall cost. In this paper various aspects of lean manufacturing have been examined and discussed.