Lean Production

Lean production is an approach to production which aims to produce the highest level of output with the lowest level of input. This is possible only when a business efficiently reduces wastage. Therefore, by reducing wastage, a business will be able to reduce their cost of production and improve quality

Techniques of Lean Production

1. Kaizen
2. Just in Time Production
3. Cell Production

Kaizen

Kaizen refers to significant or insignificant changes in the production process which will reduce lead time.

Lead time is the time difference between two activities.

Advantages

• The business will improve in all departments as Kaizen is not focused on the product or the production process, rather it focuses on improving the overall business
• Kaizen helps reduce boredom and monotony by giving them different working patterns,environments and different benefits.
• Kaizen helps a business develop a competetive advantage

Disadvantages

• Constant improvement can be expensive to design and implement
• Following Kaizen is difficult as it demands fixed improvement

Just in Time

Just in Time is a technique of lean production which focuses on reducing the cost of production by eliminating warehouses. In this concept, there will be no warehouse to store the stock of finished goods or raw materials. When orders are received, suppliers will be contacted to deliver raw materials.After delivery, the production will start. Under this system, the location of the factory is going to be near the suppliers which will save transport time.

Cell Production

Cell production involves making a group of efficient and inefficient workers who will work together in order to produce products from scratch. This inspires teamwork and inefficient workers will learn from the efficient workers.

Advantages

• It develops team spirit which motivates workers to work more efficiently and learn from observing other workers
• The system is flexible where one worker can replace another worker if they need to make changes
• Communication improves due to teamwork

Disadvantages

• Conflicts may arise
• Inefficient workers may hamper productivity

Multi-skilled workers are those that specialize in more than one task. As a result, they can be used whenever a company has a temporary shortage of particular workers.