TOP 25 LEAN TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

Lean has a very extensive collection of tools and concepts. Surveying the most important of
these, understanding both what they are and how they can help, is an excellent way to get
started.
EXPLORING LEAN
There are a lot of great ideas to explore in lean. So, where should you begin?
One way to start is to survey the most important lean tools, with a brief description and a short
explanation of how each tool can improve your manufacturing operations.
If a tool captures your interest or resonates with you in some way – explore it further to decide if
it is something to pursue now…or later. Many of these tools can be successfully used in
isolation, which makes it much easier to get started. On the other hand, the benefits will
compound as more tools are used, as they support and reinforce each other.

LEAN MANUFACTURING TOOLS

5S
What is 5S?
5S organizes the work area:
 Sort out: eliminate that which is not needed
 Set in order: organize remaining items
 Shine: clean and inspect work area
 Standardize: write standards for above
 Sustain: regularly apply the standards
 Safety: Safety is first (additional s, 6s)

How does 5S help?

5S eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g., wasting time looking
for a tool).
Andon
What is Andon?
Andon is a visual feedback system for the plant floor that indicates production status, alerts
when assistance is needed, and empowers operators to stop the production process.
How does Andon help?
Andon acts as a real-time communication tool for the plant floor that brings immediate attention
to problems as they occur – so they can be instantly addressed.

Bottleneck Analysis
What is Bottleneck Analysis?
Bottleneck Analysis identifies which part of the manufacturing process limits the overall
throughput and improves the performance of that part of the process.
How does Bottleneck Analysis help?
Bottleneck Analysis improves throughput by strengthening the weakest link in the manufacturing
process.

Continuous Flow
What is Continuous Flow?
Continuous Flow is manufacturing where work-in-process smoothly flows through production
with minimal (or no) buffers between steps of the manufacturing process.
How does Continuous Flow help?
Continuous Flow eliminates many forms of waste (e.g., inventory, waiting time, and transport).

Gemba (The Real Place)

What is Gemba?
Gemba is a philosophy that reminds us to get out of our offices and spend time on the plant floor
– the place where real action occurs.
How does Gemba help?
Gemba promotes a deep and thorough understanding of real-world manufacturing issues – by
first-hand observation and by talking with plant floor employees.
Heijunka (Level Scheduling)
What is Heijunka?
Heijunka is a form of production scheduling that purposely manufactures in much smaller
batches by sequencing (mixing) product variants within the same process.
How does Heijunka help?
Heijunka reduces lead times (since each product or variant is manufactured more frequently) and
inventory (since batches are smaller).

Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment)

What is Hoshin Kanri?
Hoshin Kanri aligns the goals of the company (Strategy), with the plans of middle management
(Tactics) and the work performed on the plant floor (Action).
How does Hoshin Kanri help?
Hoshin Kanri ensures that progress towards strategic goals is consistent and thorough –
eliminating the waste that comes from poor communication and inconsistent direction.

Jidoka (Autonomation)
What is Jidoka?
Jidoka is the idea that manufacturers should design equipment to partially automate the
manufacturing process (partial automation is typically much less expensive than full automation)
and to automatically stop when defects are detected.
How does Jidoka help?
After Jidoka, workers can frequently monitor multiple stations (reducing labor costs) and many
quality issues can be detected immediately (improving quality).

Just-In-Time (JIT)
What is Just-In-Time?
Just-In-Time pulls parts through production based on customer demand instead of pushing parts
through production based on projected demand. Relies on many lean tools, such as Continuous
Flow, Heijunka, Kanban, Standardized Work, and Takt Time.
How does Just-In-Time help?
Just-In-Time is highly effective in reducing inventory levels. Improves cash flow and reduces
space requirements.

Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)

What is Kaizen?
Kaizen is a strategy where employees work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental
improvements in the manufacturing process.
How does Kaizen help?
Kaizen combines the collective talents of a company to create an engine for continually
eliminating waste from manufacturing processes.

Kanban (Pull System)

What is Kanban?
Kanban is a method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside
suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate
when more goods are needed.
How does Kanban help?
Kanban eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for
physical inventories, instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be
ordered.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

What are KPIs?
KPIs are metrics designed to track and encourage progress towards critical goals of the
organization. Strongly promoted KPIs can be extremely powerful drivers of behavior – so it is
important to carefully select KPIs that will drive desired behavior.
How do KPIs help?
The best manufacturing KPIs:
 Are aligned with top-level strategic goals (thus helping to achieve those goals)
 Are effective at exposing and quantifying waste (OEE is a good example)
 Are readily influenced by plant floor employees (so they can drive results)
Muda (Waste)
What is Muda?
Muda is anything in the manufacturing process that does not add value from the customer’s
perspective.
How does Muda help?
Muda doesn’t help. Muda means ‘waste’. The elimination of Muda (waste) is the primary focus
of lean manufacturing.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

What is Overall Equipment Effectiveness?
OEE is a framework for measuring productivity loss for a given manufacturing process. Three
categories of loss are tracked:
 Availability (e.g., downtime)
 Performance (e.g., slow cycles)
 Quality (e.g., rejects)

How does Overall Equipment Effectiveness help?

OEE provides a benchmark/baseline and a means to track progress in eliminating waste from
a manufacturing process. 100% OEE means perfect production (manufacturing only good
parts, as fast as possible, with no downtime).

PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)

What is PDCA?
PDCA is an iterative methodology for implementing improvements:
 Plan: establish plan and expected results
 Do: implement plan
 Check: verify expected results achieved
  Act: review and assess; do it again

How does PDCA help?

PDCA applies a scientific approach to making improvements:
 Plan: develop a hypothesis
 Do: run experiment
 Check: evaluate results
 Act: refine your experiment; try again

Poka-Yoke (Error Proofing)

What is Poka-Yoke?
Poka-Yoke designs error detection and prevention into production processes with the goal of
achieving zero defects.
How does Poka-Yoke help?
It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects
typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production.

Root Cause Analysis

What is Root Cause Analysis?
Root Cause Analysis is a problem-solving methodology that focuses on resolving the underlying
problem instead of applying quick fixes that only treat immediate symptoms of the problem. A
common approach is to ask why five times – each time moving a step closer to discovering the
true underlying problem.
How does Root Cause Analysis help?
Root Cause Analysis helps to ensure that a problem is truly eliminated by applying corrective
action to the “root cause” of the problem.

Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)

What is Single-Minute Exchange of Die?
Single-Minute Exchange of Die reduces setup (changeover) time to less than 10 minutes. SMED
techniques include:
 Convert setup steps to be external (performed while the process is running)
 Simplify internal setup (e.g., replace bolts with knobs and levers)
 Eliminate non-essential operations
 Create Standardized Work instructions
How does Single-Minute Exchange of Die help?
SMED enables manufacturing in smaller lots, reduces inventory, and improves customer
responsiveness.

Six Big Losses

What is Six Big Losses?
The Six Big Losses are six categories of productivity loss that are almost universally
experienced in manufacturing:
 Breakdowns
 Setup/Adjustments
 Small Stops
 Reduced Speed
 Startup Rejects
 Production Rejects
How does Six Big Losses help?
The Six Big Losses provide a framework for attacking the most common causes of waste in
manufacturing.

SMART Goals
What are SMART Goals?
SMART Goals are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Specific.
How do SMART Goals help?
SMART Goals help to ensure that goals are effective.

Standardized Work
What is Standardized Work?
Standardized Work is documented procedures for manufacturing that capture best practices
(including the time to complete each task). It must be “living” documentation that is easy to
change.
How does Standardized Work help?
Standardized Work eliminates waste by consistently applying best practices. Forms a baseline for
future improvement activities.

Takt Time
What is Takt Time?
Takt Time is the pace of production (e.g., manufacturing one piece every 34 seconds) that aligns
production with customer demand. Calculated as Planned Production Time / Customer Demand.
How does Takt Time help?
Takt Time provides a simple, consistent, and intuitive method of pacing production. Is easily
extended to provide an efficiency goal for the plant floor (Actual Pieces / Target Pieces).

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

What is Total Productive Maintenance?
TPM is a holistic approach to maintenance that focuses on proactive and preventative
maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment. TPM blurs the distinction between
maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help
maintain their equipment.
How does Total Productive Maintenance help?
TPM creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant
floor workers. In the right environment, this can be very effective in improving productivity
(increasing uptime, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).

Value Stream Mapping

What is Value Stream Mapping?
Value Stream Mapping is a tool used to visually map the flow of production. Shows the current
and future state of processes in a way that highlights opportunities for improvement.
How does Value Stream Mapping help?
Value Stream Mapping exposes waste in the current processes and provides a roadmap for
improvement through the future state.

Visual Factory
What is Visual Factory?
A Visual Factory uses visual indicators, displays, and controls throughout the manufacturing
plant to improve the communication of information.
How does Visual Factory help?
Visual Factory makes the state and condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible and
very clear – to everyone.
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