What is Lean?
Lean is a business philosophy applicable to any kind of work process at any kind of business. The premise: driving out waste in all of its forms will lead to better value for the customer.
It means giving customers what they want and when they want it, at a price they are willing to pay. Simply stated, Lean is an avenue for achieving greater customer satisfaction, all while expending fewer resources.
How can Lean have a positive impact?
- Eliminates unnecessary process steps
- Improves the process steps that add value
- Optimizes your time and human capital
- Reduces operating costs
- Increases productivity
- Bolsters on-time delivery
The tools of Lean
Researchers coined the term Lean in the late 1980s when naming Toyota Motor Corporation’s systemic approach to improvement. The company had developed a collection of revolutionary tools and organizational techniques, built upon a foundation established more than 50 years earlier by Henry Ford.
Today, organizations are using a variety of Lean concepts, such as:
- Value stream mapping (VSM)
- 5S
- Standardized work
- Visual control
- Poke Yoke/mistake proofing
- Kaizen
- Set-up reduction
Contact us
Contact Gary Simon at 716.645.8837 or ggsimon@buffalo.edu to learn what we can do for you.