Useful Resources

Lean in a Mining Application
An article provided by the Lean Mining Network on the implementation of Lean within Rio Tinto.

Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing is a widely-applicable and popular process management and improvement approach renowned for its focus on eliminating waste in order to improve customer value and business performance.  Lean Manufacturing aims to produce goods or services using the minimum input resources:  minimum human effort, manufacturing space, investment, inventory, etc. 

There is an enormous amount of information on Lean available on the web.  The aim here is not to reproduce it all, but to supply a brief overview and an understanding of where it fits within the Excellence framework.  Note that some of the tools of Lean; Visual Workplace, Standardised Work and Value Stream Mapping have actually been dealt with as separate topics.

Much of the Lean manufacturing philosophy had its origins with the War Manpower Commission during the Second World War. The approach was adopted by Toyota and led to the development of the Toyota Production System. Toyota's impressive growth from a small player to the biggest car company in the world has focused attention upon the Lean approach.

In general, Lean aims to create a business that has the following characteristics:

  • A safe, ordered workplace where everything is working to plan.
  • Customer needs are known and met.
  • The production pathway for every product or service is simple and direct; easy to manage and understand.
  • Waste is routinely identified and eliminated.
  • Repetitive work is carried out in the same way independent of person.
  • Information and materials flow smoothly through the process.  The right things get to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity to meet the needs of the downstream customer.  Inventory levels are low.
  • Simple visual systems communicate progress against plan at a glance.
  • There is a sense of urgency if things are not going to plan.  People are quick to detect issues, problem-solve and address the issues. 
  • People are respected for their ideas and given the opportunity to contribute. Improvement ideas are actioned by the people in the area being improved.  Improvement is done in a scientific way.
  • Leaders have a visible presence in the workplace – they ‘go and see’ the causes of issues for themselves, and communicate freely with all levels of the workforce.
  • There is confidence, pride and ownership of the business and the roles individuals and teams play are valued.

The Lean toolkit comprises a number of tools and techniques that help a business achieve these aims.  Many of these were developed by Toyota in response to problems it saw within its own production facilities.  These tools are not exclusive to Lean, and similar tools can be found in other improvement methodologies. The toolkit includes:

  • Kaizen: A team-based continuous improvement tool
  • Quick change-over: A tool for reducing the time to do repetitive tasks through eliminating wasted activities, and shortening the critical path.
  • Total Productive Maintenance: A process for encouraging maintainers and operators to work together to improve equipment effectiveness.
  • 5S: A tool for creating order and improving the safety of a workplace, allowing issues can be quickly detected.
  • Visual Workplace: A tool for empowering the workforce by making the information required for decision-making freely available.
  • Poka-Yoke: A method of preventing errors by putting limits on how an operation can be performed in order to force the correct completion of the operation.
  • Just-in-time: A technique for reducing in-process inventory. The process is driven by a series of signals (Kanban) that tell production processes when to make the next part.
  • Jidoka: Involves the automatic detection of errors or defects during production. When a defect is detected the halting of the production forces immediate attention to the problem.
  • Standardised Work: A process of standardising and documenting the way routine work is done, to reduce variability and provide a consistent platform for improvement.