Lean Production
Lean Production is the term applied in the United States to the Toyota Production System. The basic idea is to establish a business culture that concentrates on sustainable profitability and the creation of value for the customer.
Creating such a culture requires consistent values and principles, as well as changes to much of the behaviour within the organization. It is also necessary to change the focus of the work on what adds value to the product. This process of change is then carried out with the help of various standard methods of improvement in the Lean Production ”toolbox”.
Swerea SWECAST can help to create understanding within an organization for the relevant values and principles, and to select the appropriate methods for a successful process of change.
We can help with:
• Developing values and principles appropriate to a given business plan.
• Applying values and principles at the management level and throughout the entire organization.
In short, we can help to launch a process of change by implementing Lean Production in the organization as a whole.
Training activities
In cases where a process of change has already begun, we can provide training in such methods as:
• 5S. A systematic procedure for creating order in the workplace.
• Reduction of set-up times, to achieve more flexible production.
• Standard working procedures and instructions. If tasks are always performed in the same manner, it is easier to detect and correct deviations from correct procedure.
• Daily management. Facilitates planning and follow-up of daily activities.
• Improvement teams. These consider ways to implement a well-organized, long-term improvement programme.
• Goals and key figures. The basis for managing and evaluating the activities in question.
• Visualization. Visualizing a process increases the chances of detecting waste.
• Value flow analysis. Helps to determine lead-time for a given product, and what proportion of that time is value-producing.
• Lean leadership. A decisive factor in determining the success or failure of an improvement process.
• Work flows. An efficient work flow reduces lead-times and the risk of bottlenecks.
• Maintenance. Both preventive and routine daily maintenance are essential.
For a process of change to be successfully implemented, everyone at all levels of the organization must be actively involved.
For additional information, contact Lars-Gustaf Gustafsson, lars-gustaf.gustafsson@swerea.se