The core objective of lean manufacturing is to improve flow. Reducing cycle time —or improving flow—by eliminating waste creates a stable, efficient production system that dramatically reduces unit costs. In other words, manufacturers should focus on flow first, and productivity and cost savings will follow. This core principle is universal in operations, but its implementation has taken many forms across industries. Indeed, the tactics that work in one factory may look very different from those used in another. Henry Ford’s moving assembly line, Taiichi Ohno’s kanban system, and just-in-time inventory management are all examples of tactics used to compress lead times in different production settings.
By trying to replicate successful tactics from other industries, especially high-volume industries like automotive and electronics production, they may inadvertently violate the underlying principles of lean, applying mismatched tactics to their production systems, which have their own unique mix, variability, and complexity considerations.
This article explores how the tactics needed to improve flow and eliminate waste in this environment should look different—focused primarily on building a robust operating system capable of proactively and nimbly adapting to design, supply, and production variability.
To read the full article, download the PDF here.
