Lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a production approach that increases customer value by identifying and reducing waste. It relies on continuous improvement and efficient use of people, materials, and equipment.

Toyota Production System: A production system developed by Toyota that organizes work around just-in-time production and built-in quality. Lean manufacturing draws many of its core practices and principles from this system.
Value (economics): The worth of a good or service to a person, organization, or market. Lean distinguishes activities customers value from work that consumes resources without adding value.
Lean service: The application of lean principles to service processes and organizations. Service operations use lean methods to reduce delays, handoffs, and unnecessary work.
Mass production: A production approach that makes large quantities of standardized goods, often using specialized equipment and long runs. Lean contrasts with mass production when large batches create excess inventory or slow response to demand.
Kaizen: A practice of making continual, incremental improvements to work processes. Small, repeated improvements are a central way lean processes reduce waste.
Muda: A Japanese term for waste: activity that consumes resources without creating value. The identification and removal of muda is a defining aim of lean manufacturing.
Lean healthcare: The application of lean principles to healthcare delivery and clinical operations. Hospitals use lean approaches to improve care processes while reducing avoidable waste.
Craft production: A production approach in which skilled workers make customized goods using flexible tools and methods. Lean seeks efficiency at scale without relying solely on craft production's customization and labor intensity.
Just-in-time manufacturing: A production approach that makes and delivers items in response to demand, rather than producing them far in advance. It limits excess inventory by coordinating production with actual demand.
Mura: A Japanese term for unevenness or irregularity in workload or production. Uneven demand and workloads can generate waste and destabilize lean operations.

Linked from 29 pages