Managing techniques for manufacturing plants

Lean Manufacturing is quickly becoming a well known technique for managing manufacturing plants. Many business have experience success with managing their companies by using the techniques that can be implemented through Lean manufacturing.

Lean manufacturing is the production of goods using less of everything in comparison to mass production; less waste, less human effort, less manufacturing space, less investment in tools, and less time to develop the new product. Derived from the "war manpower commission" that led to the Toyota Production System. Its focus is to reduce waste within the company but has some key perspective on how this is done. Lean manufacturing techniques are based on five things to make it a success:
 Value
 Value Stream
 Flow
 Pull
 Perfection

This article will outline some of the key tools and techniques for Lean manufacturing in manufacturing plants.

1. Quality Function Deployment (QFD). This is a helpful tool to help with quality planning. It is used to identify the outputs required by a customer, and then trace the outputs to causal inputs. The causal inputs can be controlled within the organization. Quality Function Deployment can be used to help identify which manufacturing processes are key drivers of product and service.
2. Poka Yoke (fool proofing). This is an extremely cost effective way to prevent the production of defective products. The three main types of Poka Yoke are Contact Type, Constant Number Type, and Performance Sequence Type. If you are looking to find a better way to produce less defects within your manufacturing plant then this is a great tool.
3. Machine Capability Studies. This is also an important preventative approach to implementing lean manufacturing within your manufacturing plant. Techniques are used to establish statistical variability of an output parameter from a machine in steady state conditions. If the tolerances are within the steady state limits of variability, then the machine is considered "capable."
4. Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Failure Modes and Effects Analysis studies can be used to size the relative risks of a range of manufacturing quality failure modes. In lean manufacturing this is a technique that will list of potential sources of failure and the likelihood of being able to detect the failure and severity of the consequence. This is an important managing technique and tool if you want to increase your productivity output.
5. Six Sigma. These two words are commonly heard in conjunction with lean manufacturing. It has almost become an entire quality of tools and techniques by itself. It encompasses many things now, but its original idea was the need for tighter consistency of process variable.
6. Kanban. Kanban is a Japanese word meaning "sign." It is a visual reactive re-order point control system. It is reactive because it cannot anticipate peaks in demand, and it is a re-order system because when it reaches its minimum inventory level the Kanban is launched. Kanban is most reliable when the demand for it is predictable and flat.
7. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). This too is a lean manufacturing technique that focuses on the amount of breakdowns your company has. The goal is to have none. In order to make preventative maintenance work correctly, you need to separate the organization from the breakdown maintenance.
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These are only a few of the tools and techniques involved with lean manufacturing. Managing techniques for manufacturing plants will differ among different companies so be sure to do your homework on everything.

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