Lean Manufacturing: A Continual Improvement Process

Lean Manufacturing – A Continual Improvement Process.

By

Aisling Hegarty

Course: 4th Year Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Module: Regulatory Affairs and Compliance

Student ID: R00061127

Introduction

The topic to be covered for this assignment will be a quality improvement tool known as Lean Manufacturing. This assignment will provide a better understanding of lean manufacturing as a tool for continual improvement in an industry or business. The content to be discussed for this topic will include what lean manufacturing is and a brief history of lean manufacturing. The key principles of lean manufacturing and the 7 types of waste that can be created in an organisation. An outline of some of the key lean manufacturing tools and a particular

Lean thinking provides a conscious effort on optimizing the flow of the process and reducing cycle time. Lean manufacturing is not only used in a manufacturing industry but also in any business and any process where the lean manufacturing principles can be incorporated. An industry or business could have a lean process or a non - lean process. An industry with a non-lean process would be one that is filled with waste in turn produces a decrease in service and product quality and an increase in cost. A lean process is a satisfactory process and a cost reduction occurs by eliminating the waste from the process. A business or manufacturing industry can implement lean thinking by learning the principles of lean thinking and knowing the types of wastes responsible for a non-lean

By eliminating waste in a process the organization can produce a high quality product or service fit for customer use. An organization should be familiar with the principles of lean manufacturing and the 7 types of wastes and also learn to use lean manufacturing tools such as 5s or kaizen so improve the flow of processes while reducing unneeded wastes. Lean manufacturing has developed over the years and in most recent year a new concept was created known as lean six sigma. The use of lean manufacturing in an industry has proven to remove wastes, reduce costs and secure customer