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This Guest paper was retrieved for publication with permission, from the greycampus website. It is copyright to Ankit Rastogi © 2018.
Published here June 2019 |
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Introduction to Some Important Lean Tools
- Value Stream Mapping (VSM): As already discussed, VSM helps to identify process wastes and causes of these wastes.
- Kaizen: This is a continuous improvement approach focusing on small, small improvements. It involves the commitment towards process improvements of people at lower levels in the organization, facilitated by subordinates and supported by management.
- Just in Time (JIT): This is a pull approach to meet customer demands as and when it arises from a customer.
- Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED): This improves equipment changeover time. It works on the principle of reducing changeover time to within ten minutes.
- Poke Yoke: This is a mistake-proofing device used to alert operators on defects or failures during assembly.
- Jidoka (Autonomation): Also known as "intelligent automation". It stops the assembly or production line if a defect occurs.
- Heijunka: This introduces the concept of Line Balancing. The aim is to evenly distribute the work load by balancing production lines.
- Gemba (Go & See): The aim here is to go to the actual place of work, observe with care the process and executions in real time. Record the observations and then analyze them to find opportunities for improvement and/or find process pitfalls.
- Kanban: This is a signal system to manage inventory level. Kanban boards can be displayed and managed to see the current inventory level on a real time basis. It also alerts management's the attention to excessive inventory. Excessive inventory ties up working capital and blocks it from being used productively.
Now let's understand the Six Sigma management approach.
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The Five Principles of Lean
