Steps to Reduce Waste with Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a way to strategically optimise and simplify the way an enterprise works, and its environment. It is also an effective way of reducing and managing existing waste within an enterprise.

But how can manufacturers effectively maximise lean manufacturing in order to reduce waste in their companies? How can they recognise the onset of waste? And what are some measures manufacturers can take to decrease waste within their production facilities and organisations?

Here are some steps you can take to ensure that your company or workplace is reducing waste effectively and embracing lean manufacturing.

Understand the Value of Your End Product

You want to reduce waste and be as efficient as possible, but in order to do this, you need to first place value on your end product. It comes down to a basic rule: know your customers and identify their greatest need.

That way, you ensure you are creating quality products that your customers are willing to pay for, while minimising the resources wasted during the process of producing it.

Identify Waste

Managers need to be trained in how to deal with problematic employees. Their training should tackle how to make better decisions, how to lead as well as follow instructions, and how to stay updated as well as improved on every level. Your managers should be willing to make changes, learn new programs, use new machines that are cost effective, and improve their understanding of the workplace and your products.

Training, however, doesn’t stop at the management level. It should then extend to all employees.

For example, train your employees on how to improve their interactions with customers so they can bring in more quality to your company overall.

Classify the Types of Waste

If the big picture is too overwhelming, break down your waste into smaller categories:

1. Inventory Waste: List only what you need and make sure that overhead costs don’t include items that are outdated or of no use to you any longer.
2. Overproduction Waste: It can be easy to overestimate production numbers. Identifying overproduction waste may be a process of trial and error, but you’ll get to your goals in time.
3. Waste of Time and Manpower: When big mistakes are made, resources are wasted. To make sure your workers are reaching their full potential, invest in quality training programmes that build efficiency within your teams and result in higher employee retention rates.
4. In-House Machine Waste and Production Process Waste: Part of the training mentioned above should encompass specialised programmes to teach employees how to use the machines efficiently, saving cost and time and adding value to the product.
5. Defect Waste:  Learn to identify common mistakes and make everyone aware of them so that the mistakes do not occur consistently. This gets everyone on the same page and following a set standard of quality production and creation.

Identify Workplace Waste

Part of reducing waste during the manufacturing process is being able to better identify problems and solve them quickly, or before they have a chance to damage production on a larger scale.

Perfect Tune-ups

Small, consistent, and continuous checks, as well as minor improvements, will lead to a greater end product. Make sure all machines get regular tune-ups, big fixes, and upgrades if and when necessary. It is possible to achieve improvement by taking little steps at a time while making greater progress overall.

Create Your Manufacturing Workflow

Visualising the step-by-step process of lean manufacturing can help to create an accessible workflow in your manufacturing environment. You will have to analyse all the waste points listed above, and create a working plan based on that analysis.

One of the main principles of lean manufacturing is to establish a continuous and synchronised production flow. Ask yourself and your employees: what is the root cause of such-and-such a problem? What practical steps are we taking to reduce, minimise, and eventually eliminate these waste factors?

Train Your Employees

By answering the questions above, you may realise that certain employees are responsible for the wasted time, money, and even an accelerated depreciation of equipment. So this next step must tackle workplace efficiency.

In order to deal with workplace waste or wasteful employees, you must invest in training strategies that help educate your employees about the types of waste that everyone should watch out for. Training sessions can also help boost employee satisfaction and value.

Create Inventories

One core value of lean manufacturing is proper inventory management. Professionals suggest just-in-time inventories, a process of only stocking resources and tools in the time you need them, rather than beforehand. In-depth analysis of inventory needs will reduce manufacturing waste at the very beginning.

Ensure Lasting Workplace Efficiency Through Lean Management

Are all these changes really necessary? It may seem daunting at first, but the end goal is to eliminate most of the hiccup phases. Your goal should be continuous improvement of your manufacturing process.

Envision yourself and your company eliminating the need to make irregular changes every so often. Move ahead with a clear goal in mind: that of making sustainable change — no matter how small — and this will result in high-value end products. It’s the only way to thrive, grow, and function as a successful enterprise.