WHAT IS LEAN?

Quality Glossary Definition: Lean

Lean is defined as a set of management practices to improve efficiency and effectiveness by

eliminating waste. The core principle of lean is to reduce and eliminate non-value adding activities
and waste.

LEAN MANUFACTURING
(PRODUCTION) VS. LEAN
ENTERPRISE
Lean manufacturing, or lean production, is a system of techniques and activities for running a
manufacturing or service operation. The techniques and activities differ according to the application
at hand but they have the same underlying principle: the elimination of all non-value-adding activities
and waste from the business.

Lean enterprise extends this concept through the entire value stream or supply chain: The leanest
factory cannot achieve its full potential if it has to work with non-lean suppliers and subcontractors.

Implementing Lean Example

WHAT ARE THE SEVEN TYPES OF
WASTE (MUDA) IN LEAN
MANUFACTURING?
Waste, or muda in Japanese, is defined as the performance of unnecessary work as a result of
errors, poor organization, or communication.

Quality professionals often debate whether or not there are seven or eight wastes of lean. The
eighth waste of lean is unique from the original seven because its elimination can directly benefit the
employees, as well as the employer.

The eight lean manufacturing mudas can be remembered using the acronym DOWNTIME.

1. Defects
2. Overproduction
3. Waiting
4. Non-utilized talent
5. Transportation
6. Inventory
7. Motion
8. Extra-processing

LEAN RESOURCES
You can also search articles, case studies, and publications for lean resources.

Related Topics
• Agile Enterprise Versus Lean Enterprise
• Five S (5S)
• Profitable Applications of Value Stream Mapping

Articles
Leaning Toward Green (Quality Progress) Lean practitioners have for many years called attention
to the conventional seven deadly wastes in actions taken to transform raw material into a finished
product. However, if they would use a broader perspective to include material and energy sources
used to create the product, more waste and cost savings could be realized.

The Value of a Lean Culture (Journal for Quality and Participation) Many organizations try to
recognize employee effort with incentive programs, but often this recognition achieves the opposite
of what is intended by not giving employees the opportunity to empower themselves. A shift to lean
culture is a great vehicle to make that happen.
A Systematic View (Lean & Six Sigma Review) In a kaizen blitz, an improvement team is isolated
until the problem-solving activities are complete or near completion. However, in many
organizations, it's not feasible to take key employees away from their daily activities for very long.
This is where Modular Kaizen comes into play.

Case Studies
Marie Kondo and the Art of Lean (Lean & Six Sigma Review) Lots of organizations face resistance
during lean project implementations, partly because with these improvement projects, underlying
change management must also be carried out to maintain the new systems. This is where Marie
Kondo and her KonMari method really shine, as the underlying principle is to change the mindset,
rather than simply decluttering once.

Establishing a Lean Initiative (Journal for Quality and Participation) Organizations of all types have
embraced lean practices and are developing their own programs for fostering education, training,
and application of the associated concepts and methods. This is the first installment of a two-article
series that presents the concepts and process that were used to establish the framework for a lean
program.

Pitch Perfect (Lean & Six Sigma Review) In order to keep customer satisfaction high, organizations
must be able to identify problems as they occur and deal with them appropriately, even making
changes to the system if necessary. This can be done by calculating process capability and using
capability analysis. These tools are used to ensure that products or services continuously meet
customer expectations and do not fall below those expectations.

Books
Lean Kaizen: A Simplified Approach to Process Improvements

The Joy of Lean

Lean Six Sigma in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

More lean books

Webcasts
Lean Six Sigma in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Michael L. George, Sr., CEO of AI
Technologies, using practical manufacturing examples and a case study, explains what artificial
intelligence is, why it’s important for analyzing big data and shedding light on dark data, and how it
can be applied to your lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement efforts to give you a substantial
competitive advantage.

Neuro-Lean: Becoming Resilient To Disruptive Technologies And Recessions Ankur

Chaturvedi, the author of "Thought Leadership: Theory of Zero Salary," discusses the impact of
Industry 4.0, and how organizations can leverage techniques such as neuro-lean to create a more
resilient workforce.