Lean Production Systems
Lean production systems are at the heart of sustainable products and services. Lean production systems entail configuring the business to maximize the production of goods and services while minimizing the waste encountered. Lean production started with Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota with its Just-In-Time system, which has been studied globally for its intuitive nature. The organization could order just the required parts for a day’s production through the system, minimizing the required storage space. Lean production can be applied to both products and services with the end goal of maximizing production and minimizing waste. A lean layout depends heavily on a one-piece flow where employees work on one unit at a time before moving it up the production chain. Doing this allows room for value addition at all phases of production. To create and sustain a culture of lean production, the organization must first evaluate its internal components. The evaluation will reveal the inherent deficiencies in their operations. The organization can then implement lean production to address these deficiencies. The project manager implementing a lean production model must engage with the employees to ensure the success and viability of the organizational change. Organizations often perform performance measurements. Performance measurement is the process of developing indicators through which the organization can track and assess progress made in achieving predetermined goals. The data is used to make improvements and to assist in decision-making. Performance measurement should be done after implementing a lean production system to ensure that it is causing the intended effects.
Introduction to Lean Thinking
Lean thinking in organizations is a method of configuring the business to promote maximum efficiency while minimizing the quantity of waste that stems from normal operations. It is a method of creating value during the production of goods and services by ensuring only the requisite quantity of resources are adopted during production (Amaron et al., 2019). The method comes particularly from Toyota and other Japanese manufacturing companies. The Just-in-Time production method is an exemplification of lean thinking. The organization would only hold the required parts for production in a single day. The basis of doing this would be to reduce storage costs. A lean enterprise looks to create the utmost value for a consumer in all of its stages. The organization finds value through production and process development, fulfilling orders, and the product’s cycling via maintenance and upgrades. One challenge an organization may face when implementing lean thinking is a lack of strong management to oversee the process. Another challenge is negative employee attitudes towards the proposed change.
Lean Thinking Applied to Product Systems
The application of lean thinking to production systems aims to minimize costs and waste throughout the process (Yadav e al., 2019). The companies apply lean thinking in product systems by maximizing the entire value stream of the system from its design, distribution, delivery, and sales. When evaluating the use of lean thinking, organizations should consider streamlining the entire system to ensure nothing goes to waste. An example is Toyota’s use of the Just-In-Time system to reduce costs associated with storage space and workers used in the space.
Lean Thinking Applied to Service Systems
Lean thinking in service systems aims to maximize the consumer’s experience. It is also done to make services more cost-effective. Lean tools can be applied to service systems to reduce unnecessary activities such as the number of calls to be made to customer support. Lean systems in service industry mainly rely on the use of technology such as robots or artificial technology to streamline service delivery and make it more cost effective. The organization could achieve this through automation. Lean thinking can also be adopted to minimize errors, maximize the empowerment of employees, and increase cost efficiencies.
Lean Layouts
A lean layout comprises three parts that each serve a unique role in maximizing production and minimizing waste (Improta et al., 2018). The first element is the one-piece flow, where workers work on one unit or product at a time before passing it over to the next stage. It reduces time to waste and causes value-addition processes to be implemented at each stage. The second component is reducing the transportation of materials, and the third aspect is minimizing working and storage space. An example of an organization that uses this is Dakota Bodies, which builds truck bodies in South Dakota. It adopts lean layout to ensure that its spare parts are present without having to uses significant storage space. Dakota Bodies also uses one-piece flow where workers work on one unit of the truck at a time before moving on to the next.
How to Incorporate Lean Systems
The first stage is to evaluate the current status of the business and identify the areas where the organization is experiencing wastage in resources and other aspects. The organization can then identify the areas that require streamlining and draft a plan to start the process. The organization needs to engage actively with the employees to ensure that the changes made are sustainable (Improta et al., 2018). Creating lean cultures in product organizations is different from service organizations because it involves more automation in the latter. Lean systems in product organizations tend to focus on getting the best from employees and maximizing their efforts. In service organizations, it reduces the strain on employees to aid them in focusing on delivering services. In product organizations, this will be represented by reducing inventory and maximizing employee production while in service systems it will be presented by automation and the use of AI and robots to ease customer service. Lean production is different in domestic environments compared to global environments because of the degree of movement involved. In domestic environments there is less movement, while global relies more on transportation via ships and airplanes. Another action to be done to create lean cultures is streamlining both employees and systems for optimal production and service delivery. Informing the employees about the change is also essential in creating lean cultures. The employees are essential in creating the desired outcomes.
Creating Sustainable Supply Chains
Creating a sustainable supply chain involves moving from a linear supply chain to a circular one. The implication is that there will be more than one provider for different goods or the same goods (Bui et al., 2021). The second step is to limit fuel consumption and unnecessary mileage by opting for the nearest supplier with acceptable quality. The third step is to engage the suppliers and notify them of your expectations for their products based on quality demands.
Promoting Positive Social Change
Sustainable supply chains can promote positive social change through the reduction of waste. A sustainable supply chain should reduce waste because there is significantly less traveling involved meaning less fuel is spent in the supply and delivery of goods. Sustainable supply chains also involve engaging suppliers to ensure that materials are sourced ethically and are sustainable for future product development. Through these steps, sustainable supply chains could promote positive social change.
Measuring and Improving Performance
Performance measurement is the process of developing indicators through which the organization can track and assess progress made in achieving predetermined goals. The second aspect of this is that the organization uses the performance figures and metrics obtained from the performance measurement to assess the progress (Kamble et al., 2020). Performance measurement is one element of the management process involving planning for items, budgeting, budget implementation, and program evaluation. Performance measurement is important because it generates the measurements that an organization can use to assess its situation. The information obtained from this assessment is subsequently used in decision-making. One of the key decision-making areas in which performance measurement data is used is improving performance. The information provided in performance measurement serves as an indication of the status of the organization relative to its goals. By gathering the data, the organization can better assess how to improve on the various deficiencies found. Continuous improvement means that the performance of the organization should be measured at various times to ensure that the organization is making progress towards a lean culture. Organizations can include performance measurements by having periodic assessments of the organization from time to time. Further, the organization should use this data to ensure the presence of continuous improvement.
References
Amaro, P., Alves, A. C., & Sousa, R. M. (2019). Lean thinking: a transversal and global management philosophy to achieve sustainability benefits. Lean Engineering for Global Development, 1-31.
Bui, T. D., Tsai, F. M., Tseng, M. L., Tan, R. R., Yu, K. D. S., & Lim, M. K. (2021). Sustainable supply chain management towards disruption and organizational ambidexterity: A data driven analysis. Sustainable production and consumption, 26, 373-410.
Kamble, S. S., Gunasekaran, A., Ghadge, A., & Raut, R. (2020). A performance measurement system for industry 4.0 enabled smart manufacturing system in SMMEs-A review and empirical investigation. International journal of production economics, 229, 107853.
Improta, G., Romano, M., Di Cicco, M. V., Ferraro, A., Borrelli, A., Verdoliva, C.,… & Cesarelli, M. (2018). Lean thinking to improve emergency department throughput at AORN Cardarelli hospital. BMC health services research, 18(1), 1-9.
Yadav, V., Jain, R., Mittal, M. L., Panwar, A., & Lyons, A. C. (2019). The propagation of lean thinking in SMEs. Production planning & control, 30(10-12), 854-865.