Why lean manufacturing is vital to business success

Manufacturers are always looking for ways to reduce the cost of doing business. Lean manufacturing can help them do that. Lean manufacturing can help to reduce waste and take unnecessary steps out of the production process. These two steps alone can save a manufacturing business anywhere from thousands to even millions of dollars a year. In addition, the use the lean manufacturing will not only benefit the company using it but their customers, as well. The reason for this is that customers will get better value for the products they are purchasing. Lean manufacturing also helps employees feel more motivated to do their jobs and helps to make the working environment a much smoother and better place. Keep in mind that lean manufacturing is based on reducing the production time and getting the customers their order faster then they had anticipated. When this happens everyone wins!Because of all of these reasons and more, lean manufacturing is vital to business success-

Lean manufacturing can help to uncover problems within the production process. Every manufacturing business has at least a few small production problems and using lean manufacturing can help to uncover them. Then you can implement lean manufacturing strategies to come up with solutions to the problems that you have found. The basis of lean manufacturing is to eliminate anything that doesn't add value. This means that if it doesn't improve the product, meet the customer's needs, or add value to the business it should be removed. Best of all, many manufacturers have found that using lean manufacturing gives an advantage over their competition because their final product has a higher quality and is made for a lower price.

This is also an important method to implement in your company if you want to improve communication between all employees. If you do not have a clear communication channel between employees and management the manufacturing process is likely to suffer. Using lean manufacturing keep everyone informed about what is happening on the supply chain. This also allows for better problem solving since everyone has the right information.

Lean manufacturing can also help to reduce the excess waste that can be found in the production process. Many times orders are duplicated, lost, or misplaced and end up costing the business money to redo. This in turn leads to wasting money and time and only increases frustration among employees. Using lean manufacturing means setting up a work flow that is smooth and efficient. In addition, it facilitates better communication along the supply chain. This is crucial since the supply chain affects so many things within the production process that directly affect the profitability of any manufacturing company. Some of these things are-
- Production line set up
- Inventory control
- Shipping and other transportation
- Quality control
- Inspection and standards adherence
- All handling of materials
Using lean manufacturing can also mean making better of use of space. Wasted space is only a drag on the business' resources and should be avoided at all costs. Lean manufacturing shows how to maximize the use of all space within the company. In addition, it can help to improve delivery time, reduce the number of product defects, improve the handling of materials, and offer better solutions for storage. Lean manufacturing can also show the best times to run the machines that will maximize the production process. After lean manufacturing is correctly implemented you won't have to worry about paying employees to stand around while there is machine downtime.Finally, lean manufacturing show how to best utilize inventory control so that the production process is always moving at peak performance.