Smart Factory Glossar

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Lean Production / Lean Manufacturing – Smart Factory Glossary

Lean production or lean manufacturing is an approach to optimize production and to minimize any kind of waste. Lean production is also known as lean manufacturing. The term lean emphasizes that production processes should be as efficient as possible.

Lean production is a subfield of lean management. While lean management is an integrated approach focusing on the entire company, lean production is limited to avoiding waste in production. This means that all production activities will be eliminated that use resources without generating added value for the customer.

According to Taiichi Ohno, former production manager at Toyota and founder of lean production, the seven common types of waste are:

  • Overproduction: Manufacturing semi-finished products or finished products the customer does not require strains production.
  • Wait times: Stagnant or idle processes due to missing material, missing tools, or unsuitable resources lead to delays.
  • Transportation: Material movements from one department to the next do not add any value to the customer.
  • Inefficient processing: Complex processes and insufficient product design impede production processes.
  • Inventory: Inventories tie up capital, cause follow-up costs, and hide weak spots as production buffers.
  • Redundant motion: A lack of ergonomics at the workplace causes unnecessary motion in order to get the required tools and materials. 
  • Defects: Defects generate additional costs due to inspection, rework, and post-production.

These types of waste have later been supplemented by further issues, such as the inability to engage and motivate employees and waste due to information interfaces.

 

Why do Smart Factory and Lean Management belong together?

Turning into a smart factory involves much more than just digitalizing processes. First of all, processes in production and administration need to be streamlined. Only then does it make sense to digitalize production. Perfect Production GmbH employs a team of lean management experts supporting companies in the fields of lean production and digitalization.

Sources

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