6 Powerful Manufacturing Tools You Need to Implement Right Now

When a production manager implements lean manufacturing on the production floor, the main goal is to improve the company and eliminate waste. On top of lean’s concepts and principles used to eliminate waste, there are 25 lean manufacturing tools that production managers can choose from to implement lean thinking. Some of the most popular ones include Kanban, JIT (Just in Time) and 5S, but there are others just as effective that you should consider utilizing:

1. Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment): Supports the strategy of the company from the CEO’s standpoint with the tactics of management to the work that is done on the production floor so the company’s goals and objectives are aligned.


2. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM): System responsible for sustaining the production equipment, processes and employees. The main goal is to maintain equipment as long and efficiently as possible and prevent any equipment from breaking. When done the proper way, it increases productivity because up time is improved and damages are eliminated.


3. Value Stream Mapping: Maps out the flow of production for employees to see. Specifically shows present and upcoming states of the processes while pointing out areas in need of improvement. This tool helps eliminate waste in the future by revealing it in current processes.


4. Takt Time: Evaluates the speed of production and matches it to what customers are expecting and demanding. This tool is a good way to figure out the goal for the plant floor. It is calculated by production time/customer demand.


5. Jidoka (Autonomation): Equipment is designed to partially automate the production process. It is less expensive to partially automate versus fully automate the process. This tool reduces labor costs and improves quality.


6. Bottleneck Analysis: Identifies the weakest link of the manufacturing process and improves it.

Lean manufacturing can be extensive and overwhelming, but the concept of eliminating waste is simple. The six tools I mentioned may work toward eliminating that waste if implemented properly. Share the tools and techniques you have implemented and what challenges you are facing in your lean environment.

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Magnatag Visible Systems dedicates a product family to assist lean companies with continuous improvement and waste elimination. Visit https://www.magnatag.com/factory or call a Visible Systems Specialist at 1-800-624-4154 to learn more.