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Improving Lean Manufacturing Processes Within Your Factory

17th September 2019

The principle of lean manufacturing is centered around working relentlessly to eliminate waste and optimising production processes. There are five basic principles of lean manufacturing:

  • Value: Value is created by the manufacturer, but it is defined by their customer. By understanding how much a customer values your product, you are able to determine how much they are willing to pay. You are then able to give them an optimal price while achieving the highest profit through lean manufacturing processes.
  • Value Stream Mapping: Through careful analysis of the flow of production processes from raw materials to disposal, manufacturers can eliminate anything that does not add value.
  • Flow: Lean manufacturing relies on reduced interruptions in the manufacturing process. Therefore, flow is important to elimination of waste and excess through a harmonised and integrated stream of production.
  • Pull: Using lean manufacturing principles implies products are only created when there is demand. Typically, in the push system, inventory is manufactured to meet forecasts which can be inaccurate. The pull system relies on flexibility, communication, and short production processes to create products when the customer demands it.
  • Perfection: Through continuous process improvement, lean manufacturing targets the root cause of quality issues, eliminates waste, and optimises the production process, all while adding value.

Lean Manufacturing and OEE

Lean manufacturing and OEE are interlinked because they both focus on systematic manufacturing processes, increasing efficiency and reducing waste. Production processes that are not optimised to increase customer value result in the production of waste.

Some waste can be found upstream, downstream or directly within the production process. This can occur because of:

  • Overproduction
  • Over processing
  • Defective products
  • Inventory
  • Transport
  • Waiting
  • Motion
  • Resources

OEE is an effective tool in measuring results from the complex process of Lean manufacturing and in waste elimination. It measures definitively, machine uptime, throughput performance, and quality combining them into a single overall value. These touch on:

Machine downtime: Which may be as a result of planned or unplanned breakdowns. Overprotecting could also bring to a halt all motion, causing wastage of resources. By improving machine availability, you reduce waste significantly.

Performance losses: Slow output and frequent interruptions affect performance significantly. This also avoids waste related to inventory, motion, transport or resources.

Quality: Output that falls short of customer expectations results in rejects or defective output. Optimizing quality at the beginning of production achieves targeted results by producing high quality products.

OEE contributes greatly towards improving lean manufacturing processes in your factory.

Machine Tool Technologies are World-class Lean Manufacturing and OEE Consultants

MTT experts understand that improving lean manufacturing processes in your factory helps you drive your production efficiency higher and increases throughput in quality. Using customised lean management processes, we can devise means of support structured to your operations.

For optimised lean manufacturing processes, OEE backed by accurate data can help manufacturers realise bottom-line improvements and significant savings. By utilising people, skills, industrial assets, and materials effectively, you will attain improved production and reduced waste, creating value for your customers who are happier with the end-product.

Contact us today for lean manufacturing consultation.

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