Lean Production - introduction

Lean production is a Japanese approach to management that focuses on cutting out waste, whilst ensuring quality. This approach can be applied to all aspects of a business – from design, through production to distribution.

Lean production aims to cut costs by making the business more efficient and responsive to market needs.

This approach sets out to cut out all activities that do not add value to the production process, such as holding of stock, repairing faulty product and unnecessary movement of people and product around the plant.

The most important aspects of lean production for current UK A-level specifications are as follows:

• Just in time production (JIT)

• Cell production

• Kaizen (Continuous improvement)

• Quality Circles

• Total Quality Management (TQM) and zero defect production - see notes on quality management

• Time based management

• Simultaneous engineering