All about car tuning

Report on the results of implementing lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing: results of application at Russian enterprises. First, about those who no longer use

production fayol management lean

Lean manufacturing (hereinafter referred to as lean, lean management, lean production) is a system of measures aimed at reducing costs and improving quality production processes, which originated in the mid-twentieth century at Toyota and were subsequently developed by American researchers.

Goals Lean Manufacturing:

  • 1) reduction of costs, including labor;
  • 2) reducing the development time for new products;
  • 3) reducing the time required to create products;
  • 4) reduction of production and warehouse space;
  • 5) guarantee of delivery of products to the customer;
  • 6) maximum quality at a certain cost, or minimum cost at a certain quality.

The main elements of the Lean Production philosophy:

  • 1) elimination of losses in all their forms;
  • 2) involving all personnel of the enterprise in improving production processes;
  • 3) the idea that improvement should be carried out continuously.

Toyota has identified seven types of losses that are typical for various types enterprises of both production and service nature. The fight for elimination became the basis of the philosophy of "thrift".

  • 1) Production of excess products. According to Toyota experts, the largest source of waste is producing more products than is necessary at the next stage of the enterprise's production process.
  • 2) Downtime for organizational or technical reasons. Metrics commonly used to measure equipment and worker downtime are equipment efficiency and worker productivity. Less obvious is the downtime of a machine operator working on work in progress that is this moment need not.
  • 3) Transport. The movement of materials and parts throughout the enterprise, as well as double or triple reloading (transshipment) of unfinished products do not add value to the final product of the enterprise. You can reduce the volume of losses if you change the layout of technological equipment in the workshop, reducing the distances between technological operations, establishing rational routes for transporting raw materials and semi-finished products, and choosing the correct location of workplaces.
  • 4) Technological process. The source of losses can be technological process. Some manufacturing operations are the result of poor design of product components or material processing processes or poor equipment maintenance. Therefore, in the process of improving the organization of production, they can be painlessly simply eliminated.
  • 5) Inventories. Any reserves should cause the management of the enterprise to strive to find opportunities for their liquidation. However, you need to start with the reasons that cause the appearance of stocks: by eliminating these reasons, you can achieve a reduction in the volume (or complete elimination) of stocks.
  • 6) Movements of the employee in the workplace. From the outside looking in, an employee may appear busy, but in reality, their work does not create any added value. An extensive source of reducing losses arising from unnecessary movements is simplification of work.
  • 7) Defective products. Production losses as a result of poor product quality are often quite significant. The overall cost of maintaining product quality is much higher than is generally believed, and it is therefore important to identify the causes of these costs.

Jeffrey Liker researched production experience Toyota along with James Womack and Daniel Jones. In the book “The Toyota Way: 14 principles of management of the world's leading company,” he identified the eighth type of loss: unrealized creative potential of employees (loss of time, ideas, skills, opportunities for improvement and experience gained due to inattention to employees whom you have no time to listen to).

Chet Marchwinski and John Shook point out two more sources of loss - mura and muri, which mean "unevenness" and "overload" respectively.

Mura - unevenness in the performance of work, such as a fluctuating schedule of work caused not by fluctuations in end-user demand but rather by the characteristics of the production system, or an uneven pace of work to complete an operation, causing operators to rush and then wait. In many cases, managers can eliminate unevenness by leveling out planning and paying close attention to the pace of work.

Muri - overload of equipment or operators that occurs when working at a greater speed or pace and with greater effort over a long period of time - compared to the design load (project, labor standards).

In the book Lean Manufacturing: How to Eliminate Waste and Make Your Company Prosper, James Womack and Daniel Jones outline the following lean management principles:

  • 1) Determining the value of the product.
  • 2) Determination of the product value stream.
  • 3) Building a continuous flow of product value creation.
  • 4) Pulling of the product by the consumer.
  • 5) Striving for excellence.

In particular, the JIT system is capable of providing continuous flow, but only if the changeover time is significantly reduced. Reducing the time for equipment changeover means reducing the time for transition from one type of activity to another. This makes it possible to make a little of some parts, re-adjust the machine, make a little more of other parts, and so on. That is, parts can (and should) be produced only when required by the next production stage.

The basic principles of Lean manufacturing imply the existence of certain tools with which companies create their production processes.

Taiichi Ohno wrote that Toyota's production system is based on two pillars: the jidoka system and just-in-time.

Just-in-time delivery is a planning and management method, as well as a production philosophy, the goal of which is to immediately satisfy consumer demand with high quality and without waste.

The term “just in time” delivery literally reflects the content of this concept. It means releasing and providing goods and services exactly when they are needed: neither earlier, because then they will be waiting in inventory, nor later, because then customers will have to wait for them. In addition to the time factor contained in the concept of JIT, this concept also includes quality and efficiency requirements.

How does the JIT approach differ from traditional approaches to production organization? The traditional approach to organizing production assumes that each stage of the production process “puts” the produced products into inventory. This stock is a buffer inventory or safety stock for the subsequent production stage, located “downstream” in the overall process. This subsequent production step takes work-in-process inventory from inventory, processes it, and transfers it to the next buffer inventory. These inventories act as boundaries separating each production stage from neighboring stages. Buffer stocks make each production stage relatively independent, so that if Stage A stops working for some reason (e.g. equipment failure), Stage B can continue to operate for at least for some time. Section "C" will be able to continue operating even longer because it is supported by two buffer stocks, and it will stop operating only after all of this stock has been used up. However, this relative isolation has to be paid for by creating reserves (cost working capital) and a decrease in throughput (slow response to consumer requests). This is the main argument against the traditional approach to organizing production.

Products produced during just-in-time production are fed directly to the next stage of production. Now problems arising at any stage of production have a different impact on the entire production process. For example, if stage A stops producing products, stage B will notice this immediately, and stage C will notice it very quickly. The problem that occurred in stage A now quickly becomes known to the entire system, as this problem affects the system as a whole. As a result of this, responsibility for solving the problem is now assigned not only to personnel “A”, but extends to the entire personnel of the enterprise. This greatly increases the likelihood that the problem will be resolved quickly because it is too important to ignore. In other words, by preventing the accumulation of inventories between production stages, the enterprise receives a mechanism for increasing the internal efficiency of the enterprise.

Jidoka (autonomization) - bringing human intelligence into automatic devices that can independently detect a defect and then immediately stop it production line and signal that help is needed. Autonomy serves a dual role. It eliminates overproduction, an important component of production losses, and prevents the production of defective products.

In addition to these two systems, the following elements of lean manufacturing can be distinguished: kanban, the “five S” system, total productive maintenance (TPM), rapid changeover (SMED), kaizen.

The term "kanban" in Japanese terminology refers to a card or signal. This card is a simple management tool; it is used to enable (signal) the flow of materials in a pull-type control system such as that used in a JIT system. Exist different types Kanban signs: movement kanban or movement kanban. The transfer kanban is used to signal to the previous section that material can be removed from inventory and sent to the next section.

A production kanban is a signal to the production process that a part or unit can be released for subsequent transfer to inventory.

Vendor Kanban is used to signal the supplier to route material or parts to a specific area of ​​production. In this respect, it is similar to movement kanban, but is typically used when interacting with external suppliers rather than internally.

Whatever type of kanban system is used, the basic principle is always the same: receiving a kanban triggers the movement, production or delivery of one unit of product or a standard package of such units. If two kanbans are received, this is a signal to move, produce or deliver two units of product or two standard packages of product, and so on.

There are two rules that govern the use of the Kanban system. They are also known as one and two card systems. The one-card system is most often used because it is the simplest. It only applies the movement kanban (or the seller's kanban for receiving materials from an external source). The two-card system uses kanban for movement and production.

The “five S” system implies a set of basic rules for reducing losses:

  • 1) Perform sorting (Serti - Seiri). Remove what is not needed and keep what is needed.
  • 2) Create your own workplace(Seiton - Seyton). Arrange your tools in an order where they are easily accessible when needed.
  • 3) Keep your work area clean (Seiso). Keep tools clean and tidy; The workplace should be free of debris and dirt.
  • 4) Standardize (Seiketsu - Seiketsu). Establish a norm in everything that meets the standard.
  • 5) Learn to maintain a certain order (Shitsuke - Shitsuke). Develop a need to maintain a standard order and pride in it.

These rules focus on external order, a certain organization in the arrangement of tools and other necessary items, cleanliness, and standardization of the work environment. They are designed to eliminate all possible losses associated with uncertainty, waiting, and searching for necessary information, which create instability in the work environment. By eliminating everything unnecessary, as well as keeping tools and surrounding things clean and tidy, you can achieve the necessary order and ensure that the necessary things are always located in the same place. This alone makes any job easier and reduces the time it takes to complete it.

The goal of total productive maintenance (TPM) is to eliminate the variability in process conditions caused by unplanned equipment shutdowns. This is achieved by involving all staff in identifying opportunities to improve equipment maintenance. Persons responsible for this process are encouraged to accept responsibility for the use of the equipment, perform routine maintenance and carry out simple repairs. With such an organization of equipment maintenance, operating specialists can get more time to improve their skills and deepen their professional training, which is necessary to create more efficient maintenance systems. high level, improving the quality of service for larger operating systems.

Quick changeover (SMED) deals with equipment changeover time (the time required to change from one type of work to another). Reducing equipment changeover time can be achieved in various ways, for example: reducing search time necessary tools and equipment, solving problems in advance that may delay reconfiguration, as well as constantly using the same techniques when reconfiguring.

The Kaizen system focuses on continuous improvement of production processes, development, supporting business processes and management, as well as all aspects of life. In Japanese the word "kaizen" means " continuous improvement" Based on this strategy, everyone is involved in the improvement process - from managers to workers, and its implementation requires relatively small material costs. The Kaizen philosophy suggests that our life as a whole (work, public and private) should be focused on continuous improvement (Fig. 10). The connection between Kaizen and other Lean Manufacturing tools is shown in Fig. eleven.

Rice.


Rice.

To implement Lean Manufacturing, James Womack proposed the following algorithm (Fig. 12):

  • 1) Find an agent of change, a leader. Typically this role is filled by one of the company's leaders. It is only important that this is one of the leaders who can take responsibility for the coming changes.
  • 2) Obtain the necessary knowledge on the lean production system. The change agent must be so imbued with the ideas of lean production that they must become second nature to him, otherwise all transformations will immediately stop at the first drop in production. Nowadays there are many ways to gain knowledge. These include literature, of which there is now no shortage, training courses (seminars, trainings) organized by numerous consulting companies. It can be very useful to visit one of the enterprises that have successfully implemented lean manufacturing.
  • 3) Use or create a crisis that will become leverage. It is the crisis that serves as a good motive for introducing the Lean Production concept in an organization. Unfortunately, many business leaders realize the need to use a lean approach only when faced with serious problems.
  • 4) Describe value streams. First, reflect the current state of material and information flows. Then create a future state map from which operations and processes that do not create value for the customer will be excluded. After this, determine a plan for the transition from the current state to the future.
  • 5) Start as quickly as possible with activities that are accessible, but important and visible to everyone. In many cases, it is recommended that the transformation begin with the physical production process, where the results of the change are most visible. In addition, you can start with processes that, although extremely important for the company, are nevertheless performed very poorly.

Rice.

  • 6) Strive to get the results of the work done as soon as possible. Immediate Feedback is one of the most important characteristics of the Lean Production concept. Employees must see with their own eyes how new methods produce results. It is psychologically important for them to see that the organization is beginning to really change.
  • 7) As soon as a convenient opportunity arises, move on. Once the first local results are achieved, changes can begin to be made in other parts of the value stream. The scope of lean manufacturing should be expanded. For example, transfer the methodology from production to offices, use the practice of continuous improvement (kaizen).

Lean manufacturing, Lean, main types of losses, principles of lean manufacturing, implementation of lean manufacturing, methods and tools of lean manufacturing, result of lean manufacturing, algorithm, implementation of lean manufacturing, kaizen, 5S system, kanban | Design company Vys ">

Main types of losses

1. Overproduction
It is considered the most dangerous loss, as it leads to all other losses. That is, by producing products in quantities greater than the customer needs, we experience losses of raw materials, time, the inability to produce other necessary parts, additional work in warehouses for parts that are not needed now, the purchase of new materials, etc. Excess equipment can also be considered overproduction. We need to produce as much as the customer requires.

2. Excess inventory
Storing inventory requires additional packaging, movement, additional space, time for warehouse workers to process inventory, etc. All these are losses and the larger the reserves, the more Money required in the company's turnover. It is necessary to reduce the amount of inventory, strive to produce in small quantities using quick changeover.

3. Loss due to unnecessary transportation
This is observed when the workshop layout is inefficient, where there are large distances between various equipment, as well as the location of warehouses and other technical premises, so the workpiece can travel a long way from one machine to another, spending time and resources (transporter’s wages, gasoline and etc.). There is also ineffective organization of the work of the company’s employees. An optimal location of equipment, warehouses and other technical premises is necessary.

4. Losses due to unnecessary movements
Such losses are associated with the movement of workers; many unnecessary movements lead to worker fatigue, decreased productivity, production efficiency, and an increase in injuries. Such losses also include unnecessary movements of equipment. This all adds up to an increase in the cost of the product without adding value. It is necessary to create clear operational maps, compliance with which will lead to optimal movements of workers and equipment, as well as improve the skills of workers.

5. Time wasted due to waiting
This is the time that personnel or equipment spend inactive. Also, products waiting to be processed add cost without increasing the value of the product. Optimal organization and planning of production is necessary; in fact, it is difficult to reduce the expectation to zero by 100%; in this case, the expectation must be transferred to other work, for example, putting things in order, introducing lean, Kaizen, 5S, etc.

6. Losses due to unnecessary processing steps
They arise in case of imperfection of the product manufacturing technology, it is necessary to know exactly what properties of the product are required by the customer, and build the production process to ensure these properties, so there will be no unnecessary processing steps.

7. Losses due to the release of defective products
Defective products arise as a result of errors in different stages product life cycle, incorrect technology, low qualifications of workers, non-conformity of equipment, material, tools, etc. Defective products, in addition to their own cost, entail costs for rework. It is necessary to take measures to reduce defects, introduce quality loop systems and TPM, stimulate and interest workers in producing quality products.

8. Losses due to unrealized creative potential of employees

There are also two more sources of losses: overload of personnel or capacity when working at increased intensity And uneven performance of the operation, intermittent work schedule.

Basic principles of lean manufacturing

1. Determine the value of a specific product from the consumer's point of view

Only when an enterprise knows what the customer needs can it determine which processes create value for the customer and which do not.

2. Determine the value stream for this product.

By writing out all the processes from receiving an order to sending the finished product, you can determine which processes can be optimized and improved, and which are not required at all.

3. Ensure the continuous flow of the product value stream.

The chain of processes must be built in such a way that there is no downtime or other losses between operations, but a continuous flow of product creation is organized.

4. Allow the consumer to pull the product.

It is necessary to produce only those products, in the quality and quantity required by the consumer.

5. Strive for excellence.

Never stop searching for and eliminating losses, as there is no limit to perfection.

These principles are quite simple, but their constant implementation is quite difficult, since the key word is “constant”, i.e. Lean manufacturing activities never stop.

Lean Manufacturing Methods and Tools

Lean manufacturing has many methods, among which are:

Kaizen and 5S system– philosophy of continuous improvement and organization of work space

Kanban– a system for organizing production and supply, allowing to implement the “just in time” principle

SMED– quick changeover

Standardization of work

VSM Value Stream Mapping

Visualization

Poka-Yoke– Protection against unintentional errors.

Total TPM Equipment Maintenance

And many, many others.

Among the tools, the following can be noted: standardization, timing, rationing, etc.

Implementation of lean manufacturing

The implementation of lean manufacturing leads to the following results:
Increase in labor productivity by 40-80%
Reduce production cycle time by 25-90%
Reduction of defects by 58-99%
Increase in product quality by 40%
Increase in equipment operating time up to 98.9%
Release of production space by 25-50%
Optimal use of space by 5-30%
Reduce work in progress by 60-80%

Tempting numbers, aren't they? And their achievement is quite possible in every enterprise, office, etc., if you approach the implementation of lean manufacturing comprehensively, with complete seriousness and responsibility for the result.

There are several algorithms for implementing lean manufacturing:
Implementation by James Womack
Implementation by Lonnie Wilson
Implementation according to Carl Wright
Implementation by Anne Deiterich

Any implementation goes through the following stages: planning, implementation, deployment, integration and improvement.

According to statistics, a very large percentage of enterprises have failed to implement lean manufacturing, for completely different reasons. Mainly due to lack systematic approach, company managers chose only certain areas to reduce losses, but did not take into account other areas. They did not pay enough attention to preparing for the implementation of various lean production measures, worked poorly with staff, gave up halfway and did not finish the job they started, as well as many other reasons.

But those companies that took the path of lean production, accepted the philosophy of kaizen and put it at the basis of their production system and approached the implementation of lean responsibly began to receive stably saving millions of dollars depending on the level of the company of course.

This only means one thing: Lean has confirmed its effectiveness, has stood the test of time and has proven itself in practice at many enterprises around the world, starting with the Toyota Corporation. Now lean manufacturing is being implemented not only in production, but also in offices, trade, IT, construction, medicine, education, mining and many other types of human activity.

A special role in implementation of lean manufacturing they have a roadmap and checklists, but these are implementation details that will be described in further articles of this resource. See you!

Our understanding of the situation

According to BCG, in 2014 costs Russian manufacturers almost equal to the costs of American and European companies, and sometimes even exceed them. The main problematic factors are increasing energy costs and growth wages. At the same time, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the level of labor productivity in Russia is on average ¼ of the US level. The growth of wages in Russia since 2000 has outpaced the growth of labor productivity by 9 times. Today, economic conditions are becoming even more challenging, and the potential for increased productivity is becoming the main source of growth for many Russian companies.

Some managers are confident that to increase labor productivity it is necessary, first of all, to completely modernize and automate production. But is this really so? For example, McKinsey experts believe that the main reason for low labor productivity in Russia is ineffective work organization. That is, the reason is not so much the absence modern technologies, how much is in unproductive work and lost working time.

Unfortunately, a generally accepted and widely used methodology for increasing labor productivity in Russia has not yet taken root. The practice of standardization and labor organization has long existed somewhere on the margins of HR services of enterprises, and few people perceive it as a strategic resource. The implementation of lean manufacturing is difficult and formal, just as quality management systems were introduced ten years ago. Business process reengineering is popular in projects to automate these processes, but how many believe in reengineering as a viable method for improving operational efficiency? The most difficult thing to change is mentality, which is why practices to increase labor productivity encounter strong resistance in Russian production.

In our experience of implementing lean manufacturing, the project approach to the task of increasing productivity turns out to be more effective. It is easier for a project to receive the attention and support of top management, and thanks to clear goals and tight deadlines, the project sets dynamics, involves and activates its participants. Our methodology for implementing such projects is called the “Performance Improvement Team.” The main goal of the methodology is to quickly find the potential for increasing productivity, and achieve the necessary improvements in 4-6 months without investing in modernization and global organizational changes.

Labor productivity improvement team: experience in implementing lean manufacturing.

What is the essence of the technique?

A group of consultants monitors the work of the production site and analyzes the efficiency of labor organization. As a result of express diagnostics, preliminary hypotheses are formed about the potential for increasing labor productivity in a particular area. Hypotheses are carefully studied from a technical and economic point of view together with production specialists, and are approved by the company's management. After this, the hypotheses are turned into an organizational action plan, which is implemented at the last stage of the project. Based on the results of each improvement, the actual economic effect achieved is assessed.

A typical project plan looks like this:

Rice. 1. Stages of work of the “Labor Productivity Improvement Team”.



Our approach is based on the methodology and experience of implementing lean manufacturing. For example, we actively use the concept of “waste” - actions and operations that do not add value or do not bring the expected result. Most of the time on a project, consultants are busy searching for losses and developing measures to eliminate them. Below are the most common types of losses we encounter and the appropriate levers for optimizing the actions that cause them.

Rice. 2. Types of losses and optimization levers.



How it works?

Finding losses in production is quite simple - they are visible to the naked eye. Most likely, the workers themselves working at the site in question are aware of the losses. However, proving the existence of losses can be difficult. In response, refutations are received: uneven workload, inaccuracy of data, other parallel tasks, requirements of some third-party organizations or related departments, low wages, lack of qualified personnel, and the like.

The “evidence base” is formed by us using statistical data (if available), as well as labor standardization methods. Among the most commonly used tools are time photography and the snapshot method. “Photography” allows you to calculate how much time an employee spends on certain actions during the working day. Using momentary observations, the workload of a large number of personnel is assessed according to several of the most important criteria, for example, whether there is a person at the workplace or not. The result of standardization is an analysis of the workload of a department or individual employee:

Rice. 3. An example of analysis of working time based on the results of photographs of working time.




We took another very clear method of analyzing labor organization in production from best practices foreign colleagues. Because of its characteristic pattern, it is called a “spaghetti diagram.” The diagram is drawn on a copy of the floor plan of the workshop with the location of the equipment marked. To draw up a diagram, the consultant observes the employee during the shift and records all his movements on the plan. Based on the results, conclusions can be drawn about the appropriateness of the routes, the rationality of the distribution of responsibilities, and the convenience of the location of the tools and equipment used in the work.

Rice. 4. Spaghetti diagram.



Experience in implementing lean manufacturing. What is the result?

As a result of the project, the company implements planned organizational changes, eliminates losses and saves significant money. As a rule, our proposals are implemented quite quickly. For example, we often encounter losses when duplicating functions. At one of the tire factories, a permanent quality commission was created, which was engaged in finding out the reasons for the defects. Initially, the commission had to include seven people, in accordance with their job responsibilities. When studying the issue, it turned out that three specialists are enough to analyze the defect. The solution was implemented in one day. As a result of reducing the labor intensity of sorting, the enterprise received savings in the amount of 1.6 million rubles. in year.

Rice. 5. Elimination of duplicative functions in product sorting.




Sometimes optimization proposals require a small investment, but these expenses can save you much more. A petrochemical enterprise produces a rubber mixture and delivers it to production workshops to then produce rubber products. The volumes of the mixture are significant - about 1.5 thousand transportations per month are required. However, the vehicle is poorly equipped for transportation; it is impossible to load more than two pallets onto it. The production of special pallets for transporting rubber compounds allowed the company to reduce costs by 1.2 million rubles. in year.

Rice. 6. Elimination of unproductive work during transportation.




Based on the experience of implementing lean manufacturing, significant potential for increasing labor productivity is contained in the placement of working personnel. For example, the duty mechanics of one large boiler house were assigned to their serviced objects. Since all the objects were located in different places in the boiler room, most of the mechanic’s working time was spent moving. The consultants suggested regrouping the objects serviced by mechanics based on territoriality. The result is that four mechanics do the work of five, the company saves 2.4 million rubles. in year.

Rice. 7. An example of eliminating losses due to unnecessary movements.




Productivity projects consist of small improvements but have a significant cumulative effect. According to our experience in implementing lean manufacturing, savings in direct personnel costs as a result of projects for manufacturing companies range from 15 to 30%. The project itself often pays for itself before it is completed. An important advantage of the project is also that it produces results today. You don't have to spend years fully implementing heavyweight organizational improvement programs like Lean or Six Sigma. At the same time, working to eliminate the most obvious waste will prepare your team for larger transformations.

Irina Belyaeva
Specialist of the management systems department of the company "ARB-Consulting"

Lean manufacturing is applied to Russian enterprises for many years. Unfortunately, we hear most of the information about successes or failures in its development either from the experience of foreign companies or from consultants. Perhaps this is why there is an opinion that Lean manufacturing does not work in Russia. But what is the situation at Russian enterprises in reality?

To find out, we decided to personally talk with representatives of those companies that have ever stated that they use Lean technologies. Information on the application of Lean Manufacturing was obtained from open sources: company websites, lists of participants in conferences and seminars.

It was possible to interview managers of nineteen Russian enterprises. Of these, eight use Lean manufacturing approaches, five used them, but refused to further implement them. Representatives from two companies declined to provide information about their business, and one manager said his company was being shut down.

First, about those who no longer use

Five companies out of 19 followed the path of mastering Lean technologies, but abandoned this idea for various reasons:

  • did not get the quick promised effect;
  • could not cope with the resistance of the staff. When the work affected specific foremen (workers), they were unable to explain their personal benefits and involve them in the process of implementing Lean Manufacturing, although all management personnel were trained and fully involved;
  • were unable to continue mastering the approach on their own after consultants implemented several projects in different areas of production;
  • We were faced with the fact that behind each step there was an additional previously invisible amount of work hidden when it came to actual implementation;
  • the crisis contributed to stopping the transformation;
  • the usual established management system became an insurmountable obstacle to innovation, so they preferred to leave everything as it is;
  • management lacked the will to continue implementation efforts.

Now about those who use

Of the eight companies that are implementing Lean Manufacturing, four are in the early stages. They have only been implementing this system for the last six months. The situation is approximately the same for everyone: at this stage, managers interested in mastering the approach are faced with resistance from staff. This is their main headache, despite mass training. Staff resistance is stopping the entire process and there can be no talk of results yet.

Two companies have been using Lean for three years and have launched some tools only in certain departments. Managers find it difficult to talk about results or cannot assess the benefits of the Lean approach. However, one enterprise reduced product delivery times by 40 percent, and another reduced equipment changeover time from 4 hours to 20 minutes.

Two other companies have been using Lean Manufacturing for at least seven years. They are proud of their results, making no secret of them:

  • labor productivity grows annually by 20-25 percent;
  • equipment changeover time has been reduced by 100 percent;
  • production cycle time was reduced by 30 percent;
  • customer satisfaction levels increased by 100 percent;
  • volumes of work in progress and inventory inventories are reduced annually by 10-15 percent;
  • cash turnover increases annually by 10-15 percent;
  • a good staff motivation system has been developed and maintained;
  • participate in the implementation of Lean Manufacturing at their suppliers.

These companies are open to communication today, because they know from their own experience that this path is not fast, and competitors are unlikely to be able to catch up with them. They have already received a real effect from the implementation of Lean Manufacturing, but they are not going to stop there:

“We have big plans. Much can still be improved; there is serious work ahead for many years,” their managers believe.

Summarize. Lean manufacturing works in Russia! Despite a significant number of failures, positive examples available.

Those enterprises that have not yet been able to achieve the effect should not abandon the implementation of Lean Manufacturing. Especially now, in conditions of the economic crisis. It is in crisis conditions that enterprises using this approach gain the maximum advantage over their competitors.

Well, modern approaches, such as the use of Lean Manufacturing in conjunction with the Theory of Constraints, significantly speed up the implementation process. Getting results quickly removes staff resistance. Employees gain motivation, without which success is not achievable.

Lean Manufacturing Results

The results of enterprises that have switched to a lean production system are as follows:

  • Their labor productivity increases every year by about 25-30%;
  • The time spent on equipment changeover has been reduced by 100%;
  • Production cycle time decreased by 35%;
  • Customer satisfaction increased by 100%;
  • The amount of work in progress and inventories of both commodity and material assets decreases by approximately 20% every year;
  • Cash turnover increases every year by approximately 20%;
  • A high-quality employee motivation system has been developed and maintained;
  • All enterprises are directly involved in the implementation of lean manufacturing in other organizations.

In addition, these enterprises are open for communication today, because from their own experience they realized that this path is not fast, and therefore competitors are unlikely to be able to catch up with them. They are already having a real effect from incorporating lean manufacturing into their work, and therefore are not going to stop there.

Note 1

In conclusion, it should be noted that lean manufacturing is working in Russia today. Despite the fact that there are a large number of significant problems, there are still positive examples of lean manufacturing implementation.

Those organizations that have not been able to achieve the desired result to date do not need to abandon the implementation of lean manufacturing. Especially today, in rather difficult economic conditions. Because it is precisely in these crisis conditions that organizations that apply this approach gain a fairly large advantage over all competitors.

A modern approaches, such as the application of Lean Manufacturing together with the Theory of Constraints, will increase the implementation process quite significantly. Getting better results reduces staff resistance. All employees of the organization acquire motivation, without which it is impossible to achieve the desired success.

Negative aspects of lean manufacturing

Despite all the existing positive sides implementation of lean manufacturing, today there are certain negative aspects of implementing lean manufacturing.

In practice, quite a huge number of companies that practice lean manufacturing have not achieved the quickly promised effect; In addition, they were unable to cope with the resistance of the staff. In a situation where the work affected certain workers, they were unable to explain their personal benefits and include them in the process of implementing lean manufacturing, despite the fact that all management personnel were trained and fully involved in the process.

Along with this, most organizations were unable to continue studying the approach on their own after consultants had implemented a large number of projects in certain areas of production.

Some enterprises are faced with the situation that behind each step there is an additional, previously unseen amount of work hidden when it comes to actual implementation.

The crisis also had a negative impact on stopping transformations. The existing management system, which is customary today, has become a huge obstacle that cannot be overcome for innovation, and therefore, most enterprises have decided to leave everything in place without changing anything. As for management, they lacked the will to continue the work of implementing lean manufacturing.