Lean Manufacturing: Meaning, Principles & 7 Wastes
Definition
Lean manufacturing is a way of running production that maximises value to the customer by systematically removing waste — anything that uses time or resources without adding value.
| Term | Lean manufacturing |
|---|---|
| In Hindi | लीन मैन्युफैक्चरिंग |
| Area | Production & quality |
| Search phrase | lean manufacturing meaning |
| Try it | Kaizen |
लीन मैन्युफैक्चरिंग — हिंदी में अर्थ
लीन मैन्युफैक्चरिंग उत्पादन चलाने का तरीका है जिसमें ग्राहक के लिए मूल्य बढ़ाया जाता है और हर तरह की बर्बादी — जो समय या संसाधन ले पर मूल्य न जोड़े — लगातार हटाई जाती है।
The 7 wastes (TIMWOOD)
Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-production, Over-processing and Defects. Many add an eighth: unused skills of people.
Lean principles and tools
The five principles: define value from the customer's view, map the value stream, create flow, let the customer pull, and pursue perfection. Common tools: 5S, kaizen, kanban, poka-yoke, standard work, takt time and value stream mapping.
Example
A unit that finishes parts weeks before assembly needs them has over-production and inventory waste; pulling work to the assembly schedule frees cash and floor space.
Related tools and guides
Frequently asked questions
What is lean manufacturing in simple words?
Making what the customer needs, when needed, with the least waste of time, material and effort.
What are the 7 wastes of lean?
Transport, inventory, motion, waiting, over-production, over-processing and defects.
Where did lean manufacturing come from?
The Toyota Production System in Japan, later described as 'lean' by researchers in the 1990s.
Is lean suitable for small factories?
Yes. 5S, visual management and reducing waiting need little investment and work at any size.
Related terms
- 5 Whys (root cause analysis)The 5 Whys is a root cause analysis technique in which a team asks 'why?' repeatedly — typically about five times — starting from a problem, until it reaches a cause that, if fixed, stops the problem coming back.
- 5S5S is a workplace organisation method with five steps: Sort (Seiri), Set in order (Seiton), Shine (Seiso), Standardise (Seiketsu) and Sustain (Shitsuke).
- CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action)CAPA stands for Corrective and Preventive Action — a structured process to find the root cause of a quality problem, fix it so it does not recur (corrective), and stop similar problems before they occur (preventive).
- DMAIC (Six Sigma)DMAIC — Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control — is the five-step, data-driven problem-solving method used in Six Sigma to improve an existing process by finding and removing the root causes of defects and variation.
- First pass yield (FPY)First pass yield (FPY) is the percentage of units that pass a process step correctly the first time, without rework, repair or scrap. FPY = units passed first time ÷ units entering the step × 100.
- Fishbone diagram (Ishikawa)A fishbone diagram, also called an Ishikawa or cause-and-effect diagram, lays out all the possible causes of a problem in categories along the 'bones' of a fish whose head is the problem, so that a team can brainstorm and then test the likely ones.