Here Is The List Of The Most Common Lean Myths

Commonly referred to as “Lean,” this form of management — without Six Sigma or with it — is sometimes a controversial subject. However, this process has continued to dominate the corporate world and improved the existing processes; but many manufacturers and corporate people think that this process comes with several shortcomings. That is why this post is devoted to debunk mostly all the myths associated to this manufacturing concept.

Lean means cost cutting and layoffs

As per a leading manufacturing consulting company, this is the most common myth to surround this particular school of management for quite some time. And part of the reason can be that this principle is often related to cutting expenses and even FTEs (Full-Time Equivalents). This concept makes Lean to be associated with pure “cost cutting.” At this point, let us approach the concepts of “cost cutting” and “layoffs.”

• Cost cutting:

Although the chief aim of Lean has been to identify and remove different form of wastes (or “muda”), the true meaning of “waste” is never explored or considered. Waste, as per Lean, is an activity that never contributes — directly or indirectly — to value creation for customers and organizations. However, how can anyone define the thin line between wastes and values?

Let us consider inventory to be an example of waste. As per Lean, the inventory must be as low as possible; but, again, this does not mean that management can easily eradicate any inventory. For example, critical spare parts are significant to all machine-manufacturing units; likewise, in a service organization, black ink toners rely on printed documents. Now, can anyone imagine what the consequences will be if a manufacturing unit lacks spare parts or a service organization does not have printed docs? It will be completely disastrous. And this concept can be at odds with the concept of interrupting value-adding activities with other non-value adding activities. That is, all the primary processes must never be interrupted because if interruption happens, then it will affect the overall workflow.

• Layoffs:

Further, organizations applying Lean properly make employees (who get lower workloads —thanks to waste elimination) more productive. And when employees become more productive, they become more motivated.

Lean should be deployed to raise the job satisfaction levels of employees because they are executing more and more valuable tasks; this sense of evaluation may even lead to personal growth and development.

Lean is meant for manufacturing companies only

Lean’s origins come from Manufacturing sector only — it was even called “Lean Manufacturing” in the past; the Toyota Production System gave this principle. However, since this principle was born in the manufacturing sector, it does not mean that it cannot be implemented in any other sector. These Lean principles, such as ISO quality management, Theory of Constraints and Six Sigma, are applied for different industries, including healthcare, not-for-profit and governmental organizations.

Every true Lean-minded organization is generally advised from a leading manufacturing consulting company and does not restrict its Lean efforts to operational activities only. All the true Lean organizations will need a systemic, holistic approach because then only it will be called a pure Lean enterprise. A complete Lean philosophy will have two processes:

• Supporting processes (Lean Accounting, for example)
• Management processes (Policy deployment and strategic planning)

In short, a pure Lean company will implement this philosophy beyond its walls.

Lean is only one of the tools and methods

Lean is truly a set of tools and methods, but not every organization is adept at using this set properly. Organizations tend to use this set of tools, called Lean, blindly without considering its impacts. And after doing so, Lean will be implemented vaguely throughout the organization.

The solution is that this philosophy must be implemented within the business models and cultural foundations of the organizations. That is because if an organization does not include Lean in its DNA, it will never be able to use this philosophy completely. It is a well-known fact that Toyota always encourages its competitors to visit its manufacturing unit, and many have done that as well. However, how many of its competitors have truly implemented this philosophy successfully? The answer is only a handful.

So here are the top three Lean myths that must be understood quickly if a company wants to implement this philosophy on a large scale. Different leading manufacturing and distribution consultants know these myths, so if an organization is looking forward to implementing this philosophy by the book, then it should consider hiring a true consultant that differentiates between Lean’s myths and its realities.

Why the Smart Manufacturing Will Grow This Year?

Factories, by and large, are conceived as a dark place where people keep standing nearby assembly lines … doing the same old thing every day, every hour and every second. However, this concept can be associated to a traditional factory—and it has thankfully changed in the recent past because of the marvelous influx of manufacturing technology.

The factories that are driven using technologies are dotting the global landscape. Be it an established country or a developing one, manufacturing is undergoing a sea change. And this transformation is carried out because more and more countries are not only recognizing the change but also adopting it by investing in cutting-edge technologies.

The manufacturing incentives breed the concept of Smart Manufacturing

For example, The EU is investing close to 2 billion euros in the “Factories of the Future”—a public/private partnership in which manufacturers are encouraged to leverage new technologies for manufacturing in a more efficient, a more profitable and a greener way.

And it is not only the EU that is in the race—many countries are offering a range of incentives for manufacturers so that they can transform their operations and can reduce the amount of waste as well as energy that goes in producing something.

If we are referring to developing nations, there are many which are offering good incentive packages for luring native manufacturers. This is how Smart Manufacturing, the concept, has come into existence; and it comes with a host of benefits and is slated to become as the way to manufacture in the future.

The force of the labor will rise

Pessimists always point out those workers who will lose their jobs once this concept gains ground. However, who really wishes to stand daily at a long assembly line without feeling any sense of creation or achievement? No one wants to have a job at a manufacturing unit where everything is so mechanical and where there is no scope of experiment and newness whatsoever.

By adopting new technologies in a manufacturing unit, the number of jobs will become more than what can be found today. Several studies are undertaken indicating the total number of indirect jobs, which are required in a manufacturing unit, to support the cutting-edge manufacturing processes will actually quadruple in quantity. These indirect jobs will be a necessity for such factories to function properly and efficiently.

When the computer technology was first introduced for the private/public use, a couple of Luddites stated that this introduction will automate business processes and will promote unemployment. However, as we can witness today that never happened—rather once the computers found a firm footing in the manufacturing world, more and more people learned the computer systems and started working in different capacities within the production facility. And similar results are presumed to be found when the Smart Manufacturing will be deployed.

The environmental impact of the Smart Technology

Smart factories are regarded as the absolute representation of the future as they can easily reduce the negative impacts of manufacturing activities on the environment. As the main focus has been shifted to environment today, manufacturers are bearing the brunt for polluting it and for making it hostile for the humanity.

For this reason, it becomes important for manufacturers to stick to a concept or a way of thinking that will make the production facility more sensitive to the requirements and the needs of building a greener environment.

What does the smart factory do?

Factors that implement the Smart Technology put to use the reusable packaging techniques and other methods that bring down the harmful impacts on the environment. Other effects that the Smart Technology is designed to reduce on the environment comprise:

• Reducing greenhouse gases, which carry a negative impact on the environment
• Using natural resources efficiently
• Deploying improved waste-control mechanism that, further, brings down the environmental damage

As consumers are becoming cognizant of the environmental issues, they have started clamoring for the adoption of environment-friendly manufacturing principles. And because of their responsibility toward the environment, these manufacturers are implanting the principles of Smart Technology within factories—both large and small. And this has, further, given rise to Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0—in a nutshell

The movement of Smart Technology has indeed got its own nickname—Industry 4.0. This movement is all about changing the manufacturing techniques for the better; and this improvement will be justified only when the cost is contained well. So the 4.0 is completely expected to:

• Put concentrated efforts for using sustainable materials
• Look toward the closed lifecycle loops where the waste is zero
• Reduce the overall cost, which will eventually bring down the amount that will be paid by the end user

Because of all such factors, you can expect the concept to grow in 2016 as now any day is a good day to start saving Mother Nature. However, when it comes to implementing the Smart Technology, building a smarter factory and becoming the smartest manufacturer, many companies lack the required know-how and the experience. Here is where the knowledge of a manufacturing consulting company comes into play.

Such consultancies have manufacturing and strategic planning consultants who can work along with the manufacturer to deploy the technologies and the processes that are at the leading edge of the production sector.

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