Operations management help on: Lean manufacturing & production process

1. Executive SummaryThis report has been designed in order to highlight the various aspects of Lean manufacturing & production process. The report starts with the definition of lean manufacturing & production. The main target attached with lean manufacturing refers to the elimination of the resources. This takes into consideration the working from the perspective of the consumers. Major purpose of lean manufacturing or production is to preserve value by working less. It refers to a belief with which has been derived from Toyota Production System (TPS). In the year 1990, TPS launched with the concept Lean manufacturing. TPS is majorly known for its focus to reduce the levels of wastage as well as improve the value provide to the customers.

The report also takes into consideration the five main principles of lean manufacturing & production. The five main principles are identification of the customers with a specified value, identification of the value stream, elimination of the waste, act in response to the customers pull & pursue perfection. The techniques which have been discussed in this report are standardization, simple & specified pathways, continuous improvement, better relationship with the customers & better communication.

The report ends with the various positive as well as negative aspects of lean manufacturing & production. One of the main benefits of lean production is to reduce the production time. When the organizations would decrease their manufacturing time, the operational cost would be reduced automatically. The use of energy along with labor wages would also turn down. Lean manufacturing would also help in the substantial growth along with rise in the earnings earned by the company. The negative aspect of lean manufacturing & production are customer dissatisfaction, lack of acceptance, cost of implementation, supply problem & cost of failures.

1. IntroductionLean manufacturing or lean production refers to a practice which takes into consideration the expenditure of the resources in order to take up the goals rather than creating a value for the same. The main target attached with lean manufacturing refers to the elimination of the resources. This takes into consideration the working from the perspective of the consumers. Consumer shall be treated as the king & the one who consumes the product or takes up the service. In this case value provide to the consumer plays one of the crucial roles. This is because; it refers to a process which would help to create value for the consumers who are willing to pay a specified amount for a particular good or a service.

Major purpose of lean manufacturing or production is to preserve value by working less. It refers to a belief with which has been derived from Toyota Production System (TPS). In the year 1990, TPS launched with the concept Lean manufacturing. TPS is majorly known for its focus to reduce the levels of wastage as well as improve the value provide to the customers. TPS try to formulate various strategies which would help them to achieve high levels of consumer satisfaction. The growth in case of Toyota has been seen with respect to lean production which focuses upon providing high values to the customers (Mohanty, Yadav & Jain, 2007).Lean production refers to a variation within the theme of efficiency which would be based upon optimizing the flow. It refers to an instance which would help to increase the efficiency, effectiveness as well as decrease the overall waste within an organization. This method helps to use the various methods as well as accept the pre-existing ideas. Lean manufacturing or production has been defined as a much refined way with which would take into consideration building of the leaders such as Ford, Toyota, etc. This helps to learn from its mistakes & increase the overall effectiveness, efficiency of the same (NHS Institute, 2012).

The term “Lean” within an organization or a manufacturing unit describes clearly the various beliefs & philosophy which takes into consideration the various tools, techniques, assets, human resource, productivity as well as optimize the time by providing high class products & services to its customers. Accepting “Lean” manufacturing services refers to the commitment over the entire process as well as gathers a tremendous learning which would help to implement all the different types of practices & principles within the organization.

The term lean production or manufacturing mainly refers to the Toyota Production System i.e. TPS as it was established by the same. Within the Toyota Corporation there are four main people to be thanked for developing such type of a system. The four people to thank are Sakichi Toyota (founder of Toyota), Kiichiro Toyoda, Ejji Toyoda (MD) and Taiichi Ohno.

1. Principles to Lean management:

Lean manufacturing or lean production refers to a practice which takes into consideration the expenditure of the resources in order to take up the goals rather than creating a value for the same. Major purpose of lean manufacturing or production is to preserve value by working less. The term “Lean” within an organization or a manufacturing unit describes clearly the various beliefs & philosophy which takes into consideration the various tools, techniques, assets, human resource, productivity as well as optimize the time by providing high class products & services to its customers.Lean manufacturing refers to a concept which takes into consideration high levels of production with half amount of effort. An increase in the overall effectiveness & efficiency within the organization is practiced with the help of effective use of the various resources involved, teamwork, formal communication & a continuous improvement in the overall regime of the enterprise (NHS Institute, 2012).

Some of the principles in Lean manufacturing or production have been discussed in this section of the report. They are as under:

Þ    Identification of the customers with a specified value:

The first & the main point in lean production would be to specify as well as identify the total amount of efforts, time which has been invested by the customers. This helps to add value to the end customer as well. By defining the term value as well as specifying the customers would help to either remove the non value activities or eliminate high levels of waste within the enterprise (NHS Institute, 2012).

Þ    Identification of the value stream:

The second principle in Lean production of manufacturing would be set all the activities all over the organization by involving in providing various products & services. This helps to see the various processes involved which would deliver the required levels of value to its customers. Once the first step is accomplished, the next step i.e. delivering of the desired goods & services would be done in the best possible manner (NHS Institute, 2012).

Þ    Elimination of the waste:The third principle takes into consideration the elimination of wastes. It is seen that, approximately 5% of the wastage within the entire process gives rise to 45% of service environment. Elimination of the waste would provide its customers with one of the best product or service (NHS Institute, 2012). This means that, proper flow shall be followed & an un interrupted service or a product would be offered to its customers.

Þ    Act in response to the customers pull:

The fourth principle in Lean manufacturing or production would refer to better understanding regarding the demand of the service as well as create a process towards which fair response could be achieved. This also takes into consideration the fact that, we produce only such type of products which are demanded by our customers (Joseph, 2010).

Þ    Pursue perfection:

The last principle of lean production or manufacturing takes into consideration the creation of pull & start up with the individual process. This would help to gain as well as become significant when all the steps are linked together. This takes into consideration the overall perfection of the various assets as well as adds value to the end customer (Cardiff University, 2011).

By following the five principles, the concept of Lean manufacturing would be a hit & would be able to achieve the major goal of the organization. It must be taken into consideration that, all the principles shall be motivated to attain the overall goal of the organization.  This process would be quite helpful to ensure that all the processes would help to deliver the best quality products to its customers. This would help to maintain high levels of service as well as grow with the changing environment & help to attain sustainable competitive advantage.

1. Techniques:

4.1 Standardization:

Some of the techniques which have been used during Lean production or manufacturing have been discussed in this section of the report.  Standardization refers to one of the techniques which have helped to build blocks in lean manufacturing or process in TPS. Managers at Toyota has recognized that with lack of work content, timings & outflows the outcomes gathered would be more in variation as compared to those who have high levels of learning regarding a particular content, etc (Joseph, 2010). With the help of lean manufacturing & production process, there would be high levels of improvement as well as better learning within the enterprise. This would help to create a link between the works accomplished & work yet to accomplish. Hence, the routine work would require standardization in the procedures which would help to maintain the quality as well as keep up the effectiveness as well as the levels of efficiency.

At Toyota or any automobile industry, the main focus would be to reduce the cost of production by eliminating the various other cost of production such as the irrelevant cost of stock or inventory, workers, etc. With the help of standard operations, various different goals such as high levels of productivity, maintaining a balance amongst all the processes, reduction in the variability of the operations, maintaining minimum levels of work in process, etc (Joseph, 2010). It has been seen that, people at Toyota are being trained in this sense & they practice the work in the most independent manner. Such type of an approach would be quite helpful to gather information & upgrade the knowledge as well as increase the levels of efficiency. At Toyota, the standard of the automobile shall not be decreased whereas the production workers have been asked to set a target to upgrade the performance thereby leading to a rise in the overall standards.

In order to seek the problems, Toyota uses a visual system which would help to immediately seek the workers as well as the supervisors to correct the problem in the most appropriate manner. This also determines as to how the specifications of the changes could be done so as to improve the overall performance of the same (Cardiff University, 2011).

Toyota has been successfully seen as one of the most standardized organization taking into consideration the entire development process. In case of Toyota, the various procedures such as blueprint, designing the feedbacks & maintaining the production reports have been quite standardized. Standardization in case of communication has been seen with respect to the development process (Joseph, 2010).

4.2 Simple and specified pathways:The most simple & specified pathways shall be used in Lean manufacturing or production. This would help to practice that – proper work flow shall be practiced within the organization at a very low cost with the best of the quality. Process flow shall be practiced i.e. right number of people shall be allocated to right number of people. The process flow will not only help to connect the final assemble line but also take into consideration all the process within the organization. Proper assembly line would help to reduce the production time (Cardiff University, 2011).

It has been seen that, in Toyota there are no loop holes which would complicate the entire flow of goods & services. This has helped to manage the entire supply chain of Toyota as well as increase the levels of productivity along with better efficiency and effectiveness in the entire production process. This shows that, how the entire production line is connected with one another (Wood, 2011).

The system implemented at Toyota would help in order to eliminate the levels of over production which has been caused due to high costs & stock level in regards to workers, facilities & space required to manage the entire inventory.  In order to achieve this, Toyota has been practicing Kanban systems which have helped in order to produce the goods just in time. This has helped the organization to ensure that, the various pathways have been set up to provide unrestricted levels of production. The motto which has been worked upon by Toyota is the “simplicity of the original structure & use various simple paths to produce a product” (Cardiff University, 2011).

4.3 Continuous Improvement:Standardization, socialization, simplification of the path & learning refers to some of the most important blocks which would help to specify the base for improvement within the organization. A continuous reoccurrence of such type of principles would not create a system for improvement within any organization (Wood, 2011).

The basic philosophy of such type of an operating system would help as well as improve the entire working system at Toyota. At Toyota fair training as to how to improve without expecting from the various experiences is done (Krafcik, 1988). This is where the principle of continuous improvement shall be undertaken. One of the distinctive characteristics of Toyota is to have continuous improvement with respect to the various methods, guidance, etc. At Toyota, the people working within the organization has been considered to as coaches, facilitators, etc of the entire system. Toyota mainly teaches the people working within the organization various skills which would help them to solve the problems as well as redesign the work. In order to make changes, fair knowledge regarding the hypothesis would be done which would help to explore different opportunities. This would help to improve the levels of workforce. It is estimated that, people working with Toyota would clearly state their expectations & the various changes which would be implemented with fair planning (Wood, 2011).

4.4 Supplier Customer Relationship:

It has been seen at Toyota that, supplier customer relationship between people would be direct & unambiguous. This technique majorly take into consideration the quantity of goods along with the ways it is produced shall be in accordance to the needs of the customer. This also takes into consideration a specified time within which the need of the customer would be met. This creates a fair relationship between the supplier & the customer. This tries to create fair association between all those people who are engaged within the production of the good or service (Krafcik, 1988).

The relationship between the suppliers in Toyota is quite tight. This means that, proper understanding as well as in depth clarifications of the goals is done within this technique. This would help to create a link & proper communication with the suppliers, etc. Fulfillment of the targets is done in such a manner which would help to enforce the goals of the enterprise. It has been seen that, Toyota maintains clear relationship with the suppliers & figure out the various ways with which the requirements of the customers would be met. Toyota takes into consideration fixation of targets & fair milestones according to which each & every target would be met (Pettersen, 2007). Meeting the requirements of the customers is quite crucial & an important task.  The suppliers of Toyota know exactly what is to be done & determine the various creative boundaries based upon which all the targets would be achieved in a stipulated time. Toyota has been using best of its efforts with which the supplier would be able to achieve its target. Toyota would be able to match up its orders by taking into consideration the various facts such as price, performance, etc. Toyota has been taking into regards targets as a method which would help to coordinate & play different types of roles while determining the different types of relationship (Krafcik, 1988).

4.5 Coordination through communication:Coordination with the help of communication would be able to develop innovation within an organization. This would be possible with the help of coordination amongst the various groups & individuals. Coordination along with fair communication between all the parties involved would refer to one of the most crucial elements to succeed for any organization. The two main principles which have been used by Toyota & any other manufacturers are coordination & fair communication (Matthias, 2007). The best way to communicate& coordinate within an organization is to talk face to face & work upon the various types of functional areas. It has been seen that the various other forms of communication such a writing reports, preparing memos does not have any important information which might be possible to solve various problems.

This states that, direct meetings along with the members & various functional groups would help to encourage face to face communication. This type of communication would help to sort out different types of issues that might arise within the organization. Though, meetings have been referred to as one of the most costly methods of communication but it helps to obtain fair understanding as well as add focus upon a particular thing (Pettersen, 2007).

In order to suffice the meetings, Toyota has started using written forms of communication. The main reason to switch was that the lengthy frequency of the meetings used to waste the time of the officials & they could not come to a specified conclusion. With the help of written forms of communication, firstly fair diagnosis of the problem was done, in depth information with various recommendations were given to the officials or the top levels of management. This written document was distributed amongst various parties & people were required to give fair feedback on the same (Mohanty, Yadav & Jain, 2007). The Lean Manufacturing Process has been described in the following portion of the report. The manufacturing process consists of the various steps which would be taken into consideration while producing the steering wheel for Toyota Cars, etc. The lean manufacturing process which has been described in the flowchart below should follow the following steps which would help them to be further leaned without hampering the results. They are as under:

Þ    Design a simple manufacturing system: The manufacturing system shall be based upon demand flow manufacturing. The major benefits of designing a simple manufacturing system would be to decrease the cycle time, have high levels of productivity, less inventory levels & practice increased utilization of the capital.

Þ    Always try & improve the existing system: The entire manufacturing process shall improve which would help to further improve the effectiveness & efficiency levels of the organization. Further improvement in the manufacturing system would help in order to eliminate the cost of the non valued activities. Use of the new techniques would help in order to eliminate the wastage, reduce & integrate the various activities to improve all the materials.

Þ    Continuous Improvement: Continuous improvement refers to one of the most important aspects which would help any company to attain its organizational goals. Continuous improvement within the entire manufacturing process would help in order to reduce the levels of wastage & improve the overall functionality, product performance & customer service of the same.

The various pre-planning elements such as checking & finalizing of the designs, practicing lean manufacturing & administration would be done within the entire manufacturing process. The next step in the production planning process would be to take into consideration the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process would take into consideration the following aspects such as Toyota Production System (TPS), Just in Time, Cutting process (to cut the leather or rubber in such a manner which would suit the hands of the driver while driving the car) molding process & practice continuous improvement within the entire manufacturing process. The last process which should be taken into consideration refers to the supply operation. The supply operation would be either vertical supply operation or multi supply operations. In case of vertical supply operations the raw materials are carried from one point & made available at another point. In case of multi supply operations, the raw materials are loaded from one pint & then carried to another for designing purposes.

1. Positive & negative attributes

5.1 Positive Aspects:

Some of the positive aspects attached with lean production or manufacturing have been discussed in this section of the report. This type of manufacturing would help to enhance the productivity as well as the business performance of the organization. Such type of production would also help to improve the cost, quality, staff as well as the time of delivery. Lean manufacturing refers to the different types of techniques, methods which have been used by a particular company (Wood, 2011). The sole reason of implementing such type of process within an enterprise would to decrease unproductiveness thereby leading to decrease in the actions as well as behavior amongst the operating environment.

Lean manufacturing plays one of the most important roles in the overall establishment of the organization. This manufacturing process has helped to expose large amounts of waste material which would provide high levels of enrichment, elimination as well as identify various actions in management, style, supply chain, etc. With large number of competitors, the business men would achieve various methods in order to enhance as well as increase the levels of sales & production (Womack & Daniel, 2003). Lean manufacturing has been used in the organizations not to decrease the cost of production of the organization but, to restore & increase the extensive competitiveness within the enterprise. It majorly aims at restoring the levels of production, motion, inventories; eliminate the defects in the product offerings, etc (Wood, 2011).

One of the main benefits of lean production is to reduce the production time. When the organizations would decrease their manufacturing time, the operational cost would be reduced automatically. The use of energy along with labor wages would also turn down. Lean manufacturing would also help in the substantial growth along with rise in the earnings earned by the company. Apart from reducing the levels of cost, the productivity of the organization would also increase. The primary concern of lean manufacturing or production is that, there would be high levels of relationship with profit (Pettersen, 2007).

With the reduction in the unproductive cost & increase in the levels of production the demands of the client would be taken up in a much elaborative form. It majorly takes into consideration, the satisfaction level attached with the clients. Lean manufacturing or production would help to operate as well as act more functional which would enhance the product & services of the organization (Mohanty, Yadav & Jain, 2007).

It is also stated that, the main success for a company is to have an accurate management. With the help of lean manufacturing or production high levels of training would be done. It is noticed that, it is quite easy for the small companies to apply & implement lean manufacturing within their organization. Whereas, if the enterprise is fairly large then various consideration shall be kept in mind while accomplishing the lean manufacturing process within the enterprise. This would help the enterprise to expand its operations & achieve high levels of success in the years to come (NHS Institute, 2012).

5.2 Negative Aspects:

Some of the negative aspects which have been attached with Lean manufacturing or production have been discussed in this part of the report. They are as under:

Þ    Customer dissatisfaction: It is seen that, the manufacturing process is entirely dependent upon the efficiency of the suppliers. Therefore, any type of disruption in the supply chain would lead to high levels of problems as well as affect the customers adversely. Delay in deliveries would be referred to as one of the most appropriate problem in the eyes of the marketers (customers).

Þ    Lack of acceptance: Lean manufacturing has been referred to as a process which would help to complete the renovate the entire manufacturing process. This might lead to high levels of stress as well as rejections from the employees. In case of lean manufacturing, fair support would be required from the employees. This would help to maintain the quality required & increase the overall efficiency & effectiveness (Matthias, 2007).

Þ    Cost of implementation: The implementation of lean manufacturing has been termed to be one of the most costly means. Training the employees as well as acquiring experience in lean manufacturing would be able to add as an expense. Purchasing machinery which would help to increase the effectiveness & efficiency would refer to as a long term expense for the organization (ITC, 2004).

Þ    Supply problems: Lean manufacturing or production depends upon the capacity to manufacture the goods or services. Problems such as strikes, lockouts, delay in transportation, delivery to the customers will lead to the creation of heavy losses for the organization (Krafcik, 1988). These problems would lead to slow down in the overall manufacturing process & decline in the capacity of suppliers. For example, if there is shipping issues then the customer would get the deli every of defective goods. This would lead to the deterioration of the relationships with the suppliers. The customer would receive low quality of goods & services. Hence, it would be required that fair relationship with the suppliers should be developed. This would help to develop strong relationship between the same (Joseph, 2010).

Þ    Cost of failure: The cost of failure in case of lean manufacturing or production would not prove to be quite successful. By offering the customers low quality of goods & services, deterioration of the relationships with the suppliers would occur. Hence, the cost of failure attached is quite high as the company might lose high levels of customers. This might lead to the failure of the business (Cardiff University, 2011).

Conclusion

Hence, it could be concluded that lean manufacturing would be referred to as a production process which would help to decrease the amounts of wastage. Major purpose of lean manufacturing or production is to preserve value by working less. It refers to a belief with which has been derived from Toyota Production System (TPS). TPS is majorly known for its focus to reduce the levels of wastage as well as improve the value provide to the customers. TPS try to formulate various strategies which would help them to achieve high levels of consumer satisfaction. The various techniques which would be used in order to cover up all the negative aspects of lean manufacturing or production would be standardization, simple and specified pathways, continuous improvement, coordination through communication & maintain supplier customer relationship.

If you want Operations management Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing help.

Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.

To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com