Nowadays in the highly competitive market, most of the companies are finding ways to improve their product more cheaper costs with better quality. And it is really necessary if you really want to stand in the market with your products.
For improvement in the products for quality and costs concern, you have to improve the manufacturing processes, I believe you also know that. That is why lean engineering is appreciated being popular in the manufacturing industry.
What is Lean Engineering?
Lean engineering is an approach that focuses on maximizing value and minimizing waste during the product development process.
This mechanism manages all the processes to make it easier for identify and eliminate non-value-added activities. However, it is also very important that the processes should use minimum resources to provide desirable outcomes as final product.
Lean engineering provides two side benefits – At one side it may help to produce high-quality products, and second side it will be organize the process too well that processes will be generate minimum waste with low costs.
Lean engineering has several key principles, and tools that make the processes more valuable. These principles are very helpful to manufacturers for the development of processes.
Here as below these principles are given in details:
Principles of Lean Engineering
Value
The value word is actually describing the value of product, service, or processes from the customer point of view. At the first principle of lean engineering, the manufacturer should determine what creates the value of the product from the point of view of the customers.
Remember that each process or activity that is performed in the manufacturing are not important for customer, but we have to ensure that which process, or activity enhance the value of the product.
It means that try to design the Process development processes that outcomes meet the customer’s requirements.
Hence, in case any feature, process, activity, or movement which is really not adding value to the product or service should be removed.
Usually, when you expect to identify what exactly a customer needs? or customer values? You can create value stream mapping that is the perfect solution for it.
This tool may help you to draw the map flow of each process that covers product development to delivery to the customer.
Using this tool, you can analyze each step on the value steam where you can identify processes that add value, and also those that do not add values.
At end, you can easily identify and eliminate the processes, activities, steps, or anything which is non-valuable for customer point of view. As result the cost of processes will be automatically reduced.
Flow
When you really understand what exactly customers expect from your manufacturing as output products, then this is time to create a smooth workflow of the entire or partial Process development processes.
Here at this stage, you have to restructure work flow such a way that it becomes easier to identify and eliminate any losses (downtime, waste, etc.).
This may require some useful tools and new technologies or even process redesigns. Keep note that the processes should be include only those processes or activities that add value to the final product, but do not increase the costs.
Pull
An approach to the organization of the production flow, which eliminates the losses associated with waiting (until the previous stage of work is completed) and overproduction.
Here, each operation of the technological process as it were, “pulls” the required volume of the product from the previous operation and then transmits to the next.
This avoids the appearance of both surplus products and its shortage.
Standardize
What to do standardize? – Process development procedures, Work instructions, Specific task, visual aids, methods etc.
Usually, when the management believes that the processes and work methods are capable and efficient. The management can make these processes, procedures and work methods standardized.
The standardized processes may help to eliminate variation in the processes which can perform inefficiencies and defects.
Continuous Improvement
Once you standardize the processes or set of documents, now it’s time to improve it. Strive to improve by constantly reducing unnecessary actions.
It is necessary to apply and implement the system of lean engineering more than once.
It is really necessary to understand what exactly improves and what things that necessary for the Process development.
The maximum effect will be only if the search for losses and their elimination is carried out regularly and systematically.
The constant improvement in processes requires identifying and eliminating new challenges.
Tools of Lean Engineering
Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
It is obvious that the Process development contain so many processes, activities and tasks that require running in the facility. It can be difficult to understand the complex system of the processes and its flow.
Hence, value stream mapping is designed specifically to understand the processes.
The VSM is a tool used to identify the all the processes, tasks, and activities – that may include value added, and non-value added.
Obviously, the map visualizes the process flow where you can identify inefficient things. Simplified pictures provide valuable vision that makes it easier to eliminate losses in manufacturing.
Kanban System
The Kanban system is a visual management tool. It is useful for improvement in the workflow, as well helps to reduce lead times. Kanban mostly uses visual signals to indicate that status of each task in the process. Hence, you can quickly identify the opportunity for improvements.
Just-in-Time (JIT) Manufacturing
This is one of the important principles of lean engineering that helps to prevent the excessive stock of finished goods as well raw materials too.
At this stage you have to ensure that what exactly customer expect, and what quantity they need. According to customer requirements, Process development will be producing the quantity and features that exactly require.
No more, no little.
With this principle you can avoid unnecessary actions, losses, and costs as well.
Standard Work Procedures
The standard work procedures are actually set of procedures that outlines details to guide the workmen in manufacturing.
How standard work procedures are made?
- It can be actually base of the long-time practices of manpower working on particular process.
- The top management discuss with all the people at all levels of manufacturing.
- And understand that a single process can achieve better product quality, more production in less time, and less cost.
- Management then implements such processes.
- These processes are monitored for a long time.
- After long monitoring if the process is found to be successful then the details of it will be discussed by the management team with all the employees connected to the production area.
- It will then standardize such processes which remain in operation forever.
- These procedures are explained from the beginning to any new employee who is appointed to the job.
- Means only such process will be considered valid for work.
Process Mapping
Process mapping is a visual tool used to map all steps of manufacturing processes. Specifically, it is used to “identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks and non-value-added activities” of production processes. By using this, companies can optimize the product development process.
Benefits of Lean Engineering
- Improve efficiency. The biggest advantage of this is that it eliminates waste in processes, thereby reducing lead times. Optimized processes mean improved efficiency.
- Reduce costs. Efficiency will improve when we eliminate waste in processes. As a result the cost incurred on processes will automatically decrease.
- Improve quality. By eliminating redundant processes, unnecessary tasks, and activities, the manufacturer can focus on quality.
- Faster time to market. While the main objectives of lean engineering are emphasis on reducing lead time, it is obvious that improving efficiency makes it easier to bring products to market faster.
Conclusion
Most of the people have a question that why should we apply lean engineering in manufacturing unit? So, it should be understood that lean engineering helps us to achieve a tangible increase in labor productivity without resorting to serious investments and mainly without using their internal reserves.
This is a special approach to production and all its components, which helps not only to increase labor productivity, and to make production more efficient, but also to create favourable conditions for the formation of corporate culture.