How to implement lean manufacturing in a company. Lean system (Lean manufacturing) What is the basis of lean manufacturing

The introduction and improvement of the production system by Russian enterprises does not occur from blind imitation of foreign companies, but with the aim of achieving the necessary specific financial and economic results using non-investment methods.

Currently, in countries around the world, the evolution of tools, techniques, approaches, concepts, and philosophies has led to a significant variety of types of production systems. The most promising systems are demonstrated by Japanese, Western and American organizations. The central place among them is occupied by a production system that has relatively recently gained popularity around the world - the concept of Lean Production, which translated into Russian means “Lean Production”. In domestic and foreign literature, the names Lean and TPS (an abbreviation for the Toyota Production System) are also found.

Lean manufacturing is understood as a set of approaches, methods and tools aimed at reducing all costs and losses and increasing labor productivity.

In almost all industries of advanced countries, the concept of Lean Manufacturing is recognized as a strategy for gaining market leadership and industrial development. TPS began to be implemented in Russian enterprises only in the last few years. But those companies that have begun to implement a lean production system have already achieved real tangible results in their activities.

The history of the creation of the Toyota Production System began in the 50s of the 20th century in Japan. For 30 years, Tayoti Ohno and his associate Shigeo Shingu created, developed and improved methods for increasing efficiency at the Toyota plant, studied and systematized previously existing skills and knowledge of production management. Based on the developments, the TPS production system was eventually created by Tayoti Ohno. Built on the principles of target cost management, the system has achieved outstanding results in reducing the cost of car production. Subsequently, this system began to be studied and implemented in America, then in Western Europe, and in recent years in Russia.

The basis of the Lean manufacturing concept is the systematic reduction of costs and various types of losses throughout the enterprise, as well as a reduction in the price level without compromising profits. This is achieved by improving the consumer properties and quality of products produced in a shorter period of time. All this increases the competitiveness of not only the product being sold, but also the enterprise as a whole.

There are many methods within the Lean Manufacturing concept. The most famous are the following:

1) 5S system - technology for creating an effective workplace;

2) kaizen - continuous improvement;

3) Just-in-Time system - “just in time”;

4) SMED system - quick changeover of equipment;

5) kanban, etc.

Let's take a closer look at each of the methods of the lean production system.

The implementation of a lean production system should begin with the 5S methodology. This method involves organizing the workplace (space), taking into account the creation of optimal conditions, maintaining cleanliness, neatness, order, saving energy and time. Only under such conditions is it possible to produce defect-free products that meet all consumer requirements. Implementation of the 5S methodology involves performing 5 steps:

Step 1. Seiri - sorting and removing unnecessary items. At this stage, all items on the desktop are divided into necessary and unnecessary. Unnecessary items are then removed, leading to a safer workplace and an improved culture.

Step 2. Seiton - maintaining order, self-organization, determining its place for each item. Things should be placed on the desktop so that they are easily accessible.

Step 3. Seiso - systematic cleaning of the workplace, maintaining cleanliness, thorough cleaning of equipment.

Step 4. Seiketsu - standardize the process, that is, consolidating in writing the previous three steps. Creation of documents on equipment maintenance, safety precautions and others.

Step 5. Shitsuke - improving discipline and order. Maintenance of the workplace should be in accordance with the standards set by the company, which should be constantly improved.

The second method is kaizen (translated from Japanese “kai” - change and “zen” - good) - gradual continuous improvement of all business processes, carried out continuously day after day and by all employees of the enterprise. Thus, change is not carried out by individual people at a certain time, but by everyone and every day. Such changes can be achieved through, for example, workplace organization that reduces

time to search for tools and material, or, by improving the operation of equipment, its maintenance, reducing the number of breakdowns, etc. The list of improvements can be continued endlessly, the main thing is that improvements occur every day by every worker, thereby production will become better, the work of employees will be efficient and safe.

The essence of the Just-in-Time system (from English “just in time”) is as follows: the process of moving products in production and delivery from suppliers of materials, resources, and raw materials occurs precisely on time. Batches arrive for processing exactly when the previous batch is completed, so there is no downtime for workers or waiting for parts to be processed.

The SMED system is the process of reconfiguring equipment for the shortest period of time so that it does not affect the speed of work at all.

Using the listed methods of the lean production system at domestic enterprises, it is necessary to keep in mind that the basis of this system is their simultaneous organic combination within the framework of the main concept, philosophy. Therefore, when implementing the Toyota Production System, you should not blindly copy the experience of another organization, taking individual tools of the system out of context. What is needed here, first of all, is the idea itself, philosophy.

There are no uniform rules and approaches for introducing lean manufacturing into enterprises; everything depends on the specifics of the company itself. However, some management specialists are trying to develop unique algorithms, sequences of use

Lean Production. For example, President and Founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute

James Womack created the following implementation algorithm:

1) finding an agent of change. Usually he is an active manager-leader, from whom the main initiative comes;

2) obtaining the necessary knowledge about the lean production system;

3) finding or creating a crisis;

4) constructing a map of value streams for the purpose of subsequently identifying losses and eliminating them;

5) implementation of work in the main planned areas;

6) the desire to immediately get results;

7) carrying out continuous improvements according to the Kaizen system.

As you can see, the algorithm lists actions and recommendations in a rather simplified manner, which once again proves the specificity of implementing a lean production system in an enterprise. Managers have to intuitively upgrade their production systems to a lean production system. However, it is worth noting that if this is achieved, the company will experience significant changes in its activities.

For example, the KamAZ automobile plant began to follow the principles of the lean production system quite recently, since 2005. The company has specially trained managers who have defended over 50 projects to improve the production technological cycle, and who are now teaching this to their subordinates. Following TPS methods, various changes and upgrades began to be carried out. For example, nine unnecessary machines (with very low productivity and frequent breakdowns) were identified and removed in the mold shop of KamAZinstrumentspetsmash OJSC, thereby reducing the number of unscheduled downtime of all equipment by three times. In addition, work is underway to optimize the use of land that is on the balance sheet of the enterprise (approximately 1900 hectares).

Unused space is planned to be rented out or sold, thereby bringing profit instead of maintenance costs.

Thus, among all existing production systems, the most successful and promising is the Japanese system of Toyota - Toyota Production System (TPS), or the lean production system, created in the 50s of the last century and modernized over thirty years by Tayochi Ohno. It includes many tools and methods to improve the production process and the entire enterprise as a whole. These primarily include methods such as the 5S system, Kaizen, Kanban, SMED, Just-in-Time. Only their joint use based on the main idea of the system will allow the enterprise to achieve the desired results. There is no single approach to its implementation, however, some experts are trying to develop algorithms that are often only general in nature, and therefore companies have to implement the system intuitively, “by touch”, by trial and error.

Having examined the features of implementing a lean production system at Russian enterprises, it was found that in order to increase competitiveness, companies need to introduce, change or improve their production systems. However, this is a rather labor-intensive process that causes difficulties for most organizations. In addition, today there are a number of external and internal factors that hinder the creation of an effective system. For example, lack of information, lack of qualified specialists, difficult economic situation in the country. Despite this, in recent years the development of the concept of Production Systems, in particular the lean manufacturing system, has been gaining popularity. TPS is being successfully implemented at KamAZ, GAZ, Rusal and others. They use in their activities a set of lean production system methods, such as kaizen, the 5S system, kanban, just in time, rapid equipment changeover and others. And most importantly, their production systems are built on a single, individually developed philosophy, which is the main point in implementing a lean production system. Using an effective production system will significantly reduce costs, increase labor productivity, improve the production process, achieve high financial performance, increase the competitiveness of the enterprise and achieve many other qualitative and quantitative changes.

lean cost calculation

The development of any company involves gradual access to a qualitatively new level. To do this, you need to change the usual and established way of managing, but not change it chaotically, but in accordance with a well-thought-out strategy. Profits will grow when production methods are maximally improved, guaranteeing income growth, and costs and losses are minimized. This technology, which has been around for a long time on the global market, is called “lean manufacturing.”

Let's consider the principles of this technique, the features of its application in domestic business, and methods of implementation in production. Let's discuss the obstacles that can stand in the way of an innovative entrepreneur striving for frugality. We present a step-by-step algorithm that can help in organizing new forms of business.

Lean manufacturing: how to understand it

"Lean– a special way of organizing activities, providing for the optimization of all business processes in order to find and eliminate hidden losses and improve production at all its stages.

This term is usually understood in two main meanings:

A set of practical tools and business technologies to achieve your goals.
A system of provisions close to philosophical, which characterizes a special attitude to the organization of activities at all levels - from management to ordinary workers.

In various literature this technology may be called:

BP (“lean production”);
The English equivalent is “lean production”;
Lean or Lean technology (tracing paper from the English term);
It can be written in English transcription, for example, “LEAN principles”.

In modern management, without the introduction of BP, not a single company can count on a leading position in its industry or even any serious competition.

Reasons for implementing lean manufacturing

The reason for restructuring activities according to the Lean system can be not only the expressed will of senior management. Common sense will tell you that management approaches need to be changed if an organization systematically:

deadlines for fulfilling orders are not met;
the cost of production turns out to be prohibitively high;
delivery times have been increased;
there is a large share of defects in products;
the share of costs in the financial balance is greater than acceptable;
productive capacity is limited – there is unfinished production.

In general, we can say that the introduction of BP will help solve the accumulated problems systematically, changing the working structure of the organization and qualitatively changing the situation for the better.

What can Lean technology bring?

To whatever extent the Lean manufacturing technology enters the life of a company, positive changes are guaranteed. World practice shows that effectively applied tools of this methodology can improve the situation in the following areas of management:

shorten the operating or production cycle;
optimize the organization of space in the office or production premises;
reduce the share of work in progress;
significantly improve product quality;
increase labor productivity and output volumes;
reduce the cost of maintaining fixed assets;
ensure greater independence of working groups;
make management more efficient.

Systemic improvements in other production areas are also possible.

ATTENTION! The main result from the introduction of BP will not be the number of tools used or even the financial indicator of income, but a significant increase in the competitiveness of the organization.

Where is it appropriate to apply Lean technology?

The Lean system can be used in absolutely any area of production, trade, and service provision.

Initially, it was used in the automobile manufacturing industry, at giant factories such as Toyota. The effectiveness of the approach forced it to be adapted for other areas of activity. BP is most widespread in the following areas:

logistics (the name “Lean Logistics” stuck);
IT (here, too, the proper name “Lean Software Development” is used);
construction technologies (“Lean Construction”);
medicine (“Lean Healthcare”);
oil production;
education system;
credit organizations.

Whatever company applies the principles and methods of Lean technology, this will certainly bring positive changes and lead to further development. Naturally, it is necessary to make appropriate adjustments to the methods based on the characteristics of the industry.

Implementation or transformation?

The term “introduction of power supply”, which is used in domestic practice, is not entirely accurate in relation to this technology.

In the usual sense, “implementing” this or that initiative means changing the state from the original to the planned one. For example, the efficiency of equipment in production was estimated at 45%, and after “implementation” it should reach the level of 90%. Managers perceive management technologies as a kind of software that can be installed and thereby ensure planned performance.

This approach does not work with Lean technology. One can compare development according to this scheme with a movement not from the starting point to the end point, but with the unfolding of a spiral, which increases positive effects with each circle, for which it is necessary to increase the applied efforts.

IMPORTANT! The transformation must be permanent and systemic, affecting all areas, starting with the way of thinking of each employee. For this purpose, the technology has provided simple and understandable tools.

Principles of the LEAN system

Since BP is not only a set of tools, but also a way of thinking, it is necessary that the participants in the process are imbued with its basic principles:

The value of the product for the consumer. The manufacturer must have a good understanding of what exactly the future buyer values in his product. Then it will be possible to abolish or significantly reduce those actions that do not affect these values in production.
Only necessary actions. It is necessary to understand which production procedures are truly necessary and eliminate all possible losses of resources.
Not a process, but a flow. Production technology should not be a set of procedures, but a continuous flow, where operations logically and immediately replace one another. It is important that each operation adds value to the product as defined in point 1.
What you need, and as much as you need. Product release must meet the needs and requirements of end consumers.
There is no limit to perfection. The implementation of the BP system is not completed; it involves constant work on further improvements in a constantly changing market situation.

Hidden losses

The Lean manufacturing system is extremely specific. In order to rebuild production, you first need to restore order in the existing system, eliminating the most obvious “leaks”, that is, minimizing hidden losses, eliminating unhelpful actions. Thus, efficiency will increase and management will improve in other areas. Therefore, it is necessary first of all to determine the main types of possible losses in production. The founders and followers of the Lean system identified several of their varieties:

re-production– losses due to excess production of products (increase the impact of other types of losses);
"expectant"– losses due to unproductive waiting (for various reasons, for example, downtime, late deliveries, setting up poor equipment, inefficient production cycle, etc.);
dynamic– losses caused by unproductive movements and inappropriate movements (searching for the necessary tools or documents, performing actions unnecessarily, improper organization of space);
"spare"– losses due to excessive amounts of inventory (parts, documents, raw materials, etc.), since resources need to be spent on storage, search, etc.;
quality– losses due to defective production results (large quantities of defects);
technological– losses due to technology not meeting the requirements for the final product;
psychological– losses due to creative burnout of employees.

LEAN tools

To achieve the goals declared by “Lean” production, an extensive system of various management tools is used:

5S concept. This tool is intended for the initial ordering of the main processes that cause hidden losses of certain varieties. The application of the method immediately has a positive impact on the quality of products, labor productivity, and the safety of its conditions. The name “5S” reflects the five main stages of minimizing hidden losses, each of which begins with the letter “C”:
- sorting;
- self-organization;
- maintaining the workplace in proper condition;
- standardization of the workplace;
- improvement.
JIT method. The abbreviation stands for “Just-in-Time”. Aimed at reducing the production cycle time, which, in turn, will significantly reduce the cost of production, and therefore the price of the product. The essence of the method is that materials and raw materials are provided only when and in the quantities they are needed for production. In a “running short” state, working losses will be significantly reduced compared to a constant excess of source material.
Poka-Yoke method. Translation from Japanese of the expression is “error protection.” The point is to eliminate the very possibility of making a mistake. Everyone knows that prevention is always less complicated and costly than correction. Therefore, all the efforts of staff and management are directed towards creating procedures or using devices to prevent errors.
Kaizen approach. The word can be translated as “improvement without stopping.” Its basis is a gradual transition from stage to stage, each of the subsequent ones provides for, albeit small, but changes for the better. At each stage, the current situation is first analyzed, then specific steps for improvement are proposed, which are implemented at the next stage.
Kanban system. Also a Japanese method that involves control over the flow of materials and goods. It is based on the use of special work cards to accompany the product throughout its entire production cycle, each of which is called “kanban”. They come in two types:
- selection cards - carry information about product parts that must come from other sites or from suppliers;
- order cards - carry information about the movement of products or their parts within the organization (types, quantities), which should come from the previous stage of production.
Andon mode. Provides transparency of the process for all production participants through visual control, allows you to request help in a timely manner or stop the process.
SMED method.(“Single Minute Exchange of Die”, which can be translated as “delay is like death”) allows you to minimize time losses at intermediate stages of production.
Quality control can be done using a varied palette of techniques:
- check sheet;
- control card;
- stratification;
- bar chart;
- scatter diagram, Pareto, Ishikawa, etc.
Quality control carried out using a variety of charts, graphs and matrices:
- network diagram;
- priority matrix;
- connection diagrams, affinity, tree, matrix, etc.
Quality analysis and planning can be performed using various procedures:
- “5 Whys” method;
- "house of quality";
- FMEA analysis, etc.

This is not a complete list of Lean manufacturing tools. Since BP, as already mentioned, is not a set of technologies, but a system, the greatest effect will come from the integrated application of techniques, although each of them individually will have a positive impact on a particular industry.

Inhibiting stereotypes about LEAN technology

The main problems of implementing “Lean” technology in production are in the minds of management and staff. False beliefs prevent you from accepting new principles for building production and passing them through yourself.

Nevertheless, the LEAN principles are objective, and therefore stereotypes of thinking should not slow down the implementation of this progressive technology. What prevents the understanding of this system? Let's consider the main internal objections:

“The enterprise has been operating for years, and is still working well, why make drastic changes?” The fact is that the market has changed rapidly in the last couple of decades. The old principles of production will not only not ensure the preservation of the level, but will inevitably pull it back.
“All these foreign technologies will not work in our conditions, in our mentality.” Indeed, “Lean” manufacturing as an approach was developed in Japan, and was picked up and developed by the Western business world. But this approach is not something purely national; its principles are universal and are based on a resource conservation system as old as the world, simply “packed” into more modern tools.
“It won’t take root, they’ll try and quit.” The system of continuous improvement is not an action, not a one-time introduction, but a complete restructuring of the foundation, a basic change in the work culture. If you start, the running mechanism of improvement will not stop: people quickly get used to good things.
“I’m just a cog in the system, what can I do?” These are the thoughts of ordinary workers, ordinary personnel, who think that nothing depends on them. However, the very basis of the Lean system refutes this stereotype, proclaiming the principle: “Every drop can overflow a glass.” Thanks to the system, it is easy to answer the question: “What can I do?” and begin to act: organize your workplace, improve the operation of subordinate equipment, establish the necessary connections, etc.
“Everything needs to be changed, it’s difficult and expensive.” In this case, only stereotypes need to be “broken.” The implementation of LEAN does not require additional investments, changes in personnel policies, or immediate restructuring of technological schemes. We are talking about a global change - in mentality, and it happens very gradually and gradually.

Lean manufacturing is a special company management scheme. The main idea is to constantly strive to eliminate all types of costs. Lean manufacturing is a concept that involves involving every employee in the optimization procedure. This scheme is aimed at maximum orientation towards the consumer. Let us consider further in more detail what the lean production system is.

History of origin

The introduction of lean manufacturing into industry occurred in the 1950s at Toyota Corporation. The creator of this control scheme was Taiichi Ono. A great contribution to the further development of both theory and practice was made by his colleague Shigeo Shingo, who, among other things, created a method for rapid changeover. Subsequently, American specialists studied the system and conceptualized it under the name lean manufacturing (lean production). At first, the concept was used primarily in the automotive industry. Over time, the scheme was adapted to process production. Subsequently, lean manufacturing tools began to be used in healthcare, utilities, services, trade, the armed forces, the public administration sector and other industries.

Main aspects

Lean manufacturing in an enterprise involves analyzing the value of the product that is produced for the end consumer at each stage of creation. The main objective of the concept is the formation of a continuous process of eliminating costs. In other words, lean manufacturing is the elimination of any activity that consumes resources but does not create any value for the end customer. For example, he does not need the finished product or its components to be in stock. Under the traditional system, all costs associated with defects, rework, storage, and others are passed on to the consumer. Lean manufacturing is a framework in which all company activities are divided into processes and operations that add and do not add value to the product. The main task, therefore, is the systematic reduction of the latter.

Lean Manufacturing: Waste

In costs, the term muda is used in a number of cases. This concept means various expenses, garbage, waste and so on. Taiichi Ohno identified seven types of costs. Losses are generated due to:

expectations;
overproduction;
transportation;
unnecessary processing steps;
unnecessary movements;
release of defective goods;
excess stocks.

Taiichi Ono considered overproduction to be the main thing. It is a factor that causes other costs to arise. One more item has been added to the above list. Jeffrey Liker, who studied the Toyota experience, cited the unrealized potential of employees as a loss. Sources of costs include overloading of capacity, employees when carrying out activities with increased intensity, as well as uneven execution of the operation (for example, an interrupted schedule due to fluctuations in demand).

Principles

Lean manufacturing is presented as a process divided into five stages:

Determining the value of a specific product.
Installing this product.
Ensuring continuous flow of flow.
Giving the consumer the ability to pull the product.
The pursuit of excellence.

Among the other principles on which lean manufacturing is based are:

Achieving excellent quality - delivery of goods from the first presentation, using the “zero defects” scheme, identifying and solving problems at the earliest stages of their occurrence.
Forming long-term interaction with the consumer by sharing information, costs and risks.
Flexibility.

The production system used at Toyota is based on two main principles: autonomy and just-in-time. The latter means that all the necessary elements for assembly arrive on the line exactly at the moment when it is needed, strictly in the quantity determined for a particular process to reduce inventory.

Components

Within the framework of the concept under consideration, various components are identified - lean production methods. Some of them may themselves act as a control circuit. The main elements include the following:

Flow of single goods.
General equipment care.
5S system.
Kaizen.
Fast changeover.
Preventing errors.

Industry options

Lean healthcare is the concept of reducing the time spent by health care personnel not directly related to providing care to people. Lean logistics is a pull scheme that brings together all suppliers involved in the value stream. In this system, partial replenishment of reserves occurs in small volumes. The main indicator in this scheme is the logistics total cost. Lean manufacturing tools are used by the Danish Post Office. As part of the concept, large-scale standardization of the services offered was carried out. The goals of the event were to increase productivity and speed up shipments. “Value flow maps” were introduced to control and identify services. A system of motivation for department employees was also developed and subsequently implemented. In construction, a special strategy has been formed, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the construction process at all stages. Lean manufacturing principles have been adapted for software development. In city and state administration, elements of the scheme under consideration are also used.

Kaizen

The idea was formulated in 1950 by Dr. Deming. The introduction of this principle brought great profits to Japanese companies. For this, the specialist was awarded a medal by the emperor. After a while, the Union of Science announced a prize named after. Deming for the quality of industrial products.

Benefits of Kaizen Philosophy

The benefits of this system have been appreciated in every industrial sector, where conditions have been created to ensure the highest efficiency and productivity. Kaizen is considered a Japanese philosophy. It is about promoting continuous change. The Kaizen school of thought insists that constant change is the only path to progress. The system's main focus is on increasing productivity by eliminating unnecessary and drudgery. The definition itself was created by combining two words: “kai” - “change” (“transform”), and “zen” - “towards the better”. The merits of the system are quite clearly reflected by the success of the Japanese economy. This is recognized not only by the Japanese themselves, but also by world experts.

Goals of the Kaizen concept

There are five main directions in which production development is carried out. These include:

Reduce waste.
Immediate troubleshooting.
Optimal use.
Teamwork.
Top quality.

It should be said that most of the principles are based on common sense. The main components of the system are improving the quality of goods, involving each employee in the process, and readiness for interaction and change. All these activities do not require complex mathematical calculations or the search for scientific approaches.

Reduce waste

The principles of Kaizen philosophy are aimed at significantly reducing losses at each stage (operation, process). One of the main advantages of the scheme is that it includes every employee. This, in turn, involves the development and subsequent implementation of proposals for improvement at each. Such work helps to minimize resource losses.

Immediate troubleshooting

Each employee, in accordance with the Kaizen concept, must counteract problems. This behavior helps resolve issues quickly. Fixing problems immediately does not increase production cycle times. Immediate problem solving allows you to direct activities in an effective direction.

Optimal use

Resolving problems quickly frees up resources. They can be used to improve and achieve other purposes. Taken together, these measures make it possible to establish a continuous process of efficient production.

Teamwork

Involving all employees in solving problems allows you to find a solution faster. Successfully overcoming difficulties strengthens the spirit and increases the self-esteem of company employees. eliminates conflict situations, promotes the formation of trusting relationships between superior and subordinate employees.

Best quality

Quick and effective problem solving contributes to well-coordinated teamwork and the creation of a large amount of resources. This, in turn, will ensure improved quality of products. All this will allow the company to reach a new level of capacity.

Some enterprises, due to improper planning of activities, do not achieve the desired result or suffer losses. Then it is necessary to review the existing system and find new methods so that the enterprise is not left behind in business. Some companies in this situation take a lean manufacturing approach. What is the essence of this concept? How effective is it for Russian entrepreneurship? Are there any examples of positive application of the technique? Read more about all these questions in our article.

Defining the concept

The term "lean manufacturing" is of foreign origin. In the original it is pronounced as lean production or lean manufacturing and is literally translated as “lean production”. Poor means not deprived of resources, and not burdened with unnecessary actions and costs.

This is a management system created in 1950 at the Toyota automobile production. The founder was the Japanese Taiichi Ono. The concept was developed and supplemented by Shigeo Shingo, who introduced into production a system of changeover of both equipment and all stages of product manufacturing.

The specifics of lean manufacturing are based on the desire to rid the enterprise of all possible costs that are not directly related to the formation of the final cost of the product for the consumer. The client does not want to overpay for what is the company's costs due to negligence or due to an incorrect internal management scheme. The fewer manipulations are performed, the cheaper the product costs.

All employees of the enterprise, and not just individuals, should participate in improving the production process. This is what Taiichi Ohno and his followers believed. Any method is suitable for reducing costs. For example, the absence of a production stage for storing products in a warehouse. Each part should be produced only in the required volume and preferably at the time when its assembly stage begins.

In the automotive industry, parts are delivered to the conveyor according to the planned schedule and should not be left behind or delivered later, so as not to slow down the process. Japanese tools for improving the production process at Toyota have brought success and have been adapted to different areas of enterprise activity.

The main task of the management of the enterprise is to analyze the production process. As well as increasing efficiency by restructuring the old scheme. The main attention is aimed at identifying the links that slow down the process and create the need to inflate prices.

Each product has a value that is acceptable to the customer. If the value of a product is overestimated, then demand for it may fall. This will lead to overcrowding of the warehouse and loss of expected profits. Due to overproduction of products, the enterprise will be forced to stop the process. The labor force will not be able to be used for its intended purpose, and there will be a need to reduce staff. Lean manufacturing is a management system that eliminates such problems.

How the system works

If the company’s managers have decided to use lean production, then at the first stage they need advice from specialists in this matter. This could be an independent consultant or company managers who have undergone retraining in applying the new concept.

The first task is a deep analysis of the current system and identification of weak links that do not add value to the product, but increase the final cost.

Development of a new scheme after analysis - elimination of unnecessary losses, rational use of labor and equipment. But simple research without reacting, that is, eliminating problems, will not yield results. Therefore, the principles of lean manufacturing must be fully implemented. These are a few points containing the main idea of the update:

The value of the product is customer-oriented, and not the desire to write off all costs. It is necessary to create conditions under which unexpected costs do not appear.
Production should not be idle; it requires the organization of a constant flow without downtime. They usually arise due to disruptions in the supply of raw materials and components. At this stage, cooperation with partners is reviewed.
It is advisable to use equipment without overvoltage, this can lead to unexpected breakdowns and downtime.
Sale of goods immediately to the client without delays.
Reduce unnecessary product movements.
Eliminating the possibility of defects at an early stage so that the product is accepted by the customer immediately.
Striving for excellence as much as possible.
Using personnel only according to their profile, eliminating duplicate positions.
Improving working conditions, equipping the workplace in accordance with requirements.

You can think through your methods so that the implementation of technologies that lean manufacturing provides is successful. These decisions are based on what types of losses exist in your business. The lean production concept identifies seven main types of losses:

Moving (transporting) products.
Warehousing, re-production.
Vanity and unnecessary movement of personnel during production, which slows down the delivery time of products and increases the number of working hours.
Production downtime is when components did not arrive on time or a delay in the production of a previous product stops the production process of the product.
Production of goods in larger quantities than intended, without the possibility of sale. The company incurs additional costs, which it tries to compensate by placing an extra markup on the product.
Outdated technology or technology that is not designed to produce products according to customer requirements.
A defective product that requires additional costs for rework.

By working on the listed types of losses, you can significantly reduce the markup on products and obtain high consumer demand. This will increase the efficiency of the production system.

Using lean manufacturing tools, you can find your own version of the management scheme. There are many of these tools, so before you start implementing a new scheme, it is advisable to study each method in detail and adapt it to your needs. The scheme for each area is individual.

Modern use of Japanese business techniques

Lean manufacturing has become in demand not only abroad, but also in Russia. Many enterprises, having found themselves in a situation of decline, reviewed various management systems and chose lean manufacturing.

Examples of the use of the Japanese concept can be seen in various areas of business, medicine, education, and government departments. Let's note some of them:

Car production: GAZ group of enterprises, Solers company, KamAZ.
Banking systems: Sberbank of Russia.
Construction. Modern houses are built according to the principle of lean production, which reduces not only losses during the construction of houses by a construction company, but also further exploitation by residents. New technologies can reduce heat loss and reduce utility costs.
The introduction of lean manufacturing is also observed in the provision of public services. For the convenience of the population, multifunctional centers are being created, operating on the principle of a single window. A citizen can contact one operator for any question and receive all the information or service. There is no need to run around to different departments. The introduction of recording terminals and electronic queues eliminates crowding and waste of time for visitors.

The number of enterprises that have tried lean production methods and received positive results increases every year. In Russia, a map has been created that shows companies implementing the lean production concept. Forums are held where managers share their experiences with each other and talk about their successes.

A production system can operate without losses if the planning of the scheme is thought out to the smallest detail and does not stand still, but is constantly improved.

Summarize

The management system “lean production”, having received its start in an automobile enterprise, has gained fans in various fields of entrepreneurship. The prospects for efficient production depend on the performance of managers. The concept will not work if optimization remains only on paper.

An audit will not solve the problems of an unprofitable enterprise. Only active entrepreneurs who are ready to constantly work to eliminate costs will be able to introduce new tools.

In Russia, the lean production system began to be implemented only in 2004. Its relative novelty and close relationship with other elements of Japanese production management philosophy often lead to confusion of concepts. Nowadays, domestic industrialists and business process optimization gurus are actively discussing such systems as Six Sigma, Five C, TQM (total quality management system), TPM (total production support system), JIT (just in time). All these are elements of a global management system, which in Japan is called kaizen (continuous improvement). Other business concepts such as BSC (Balanced Scorecard), ABC (Process Based Accounting), BPR (Business Process Reengineering), Agile Manufacturing System, Synchronous Manufacturing System - just variations on the same theme.

Lean manufacturing itself is, in fact, a systematic approach to optimizing the production process by reducing costs and losses in the broadest sense of the word. The peculiarity of lean technologies (from lean production) is that their implementation does not require large expenses and almost immediately produces a real effect, which can be expressed in concrete savings in money.

You can find standard instructions, templates and algorithms for starting a LEAN project inpractical guide to implementing lean manufacturing .

Those Russian enterprises that consistently implement the ideas of Japanese business gurus are already experiencing concrete results (see table).

Table. The average performance indicators of Lean technologies have been verified by tens of thousands of projects implemented around the world

Typical performance indicators of implemented lean technologies	Specific examples of results in Russian practice*	Industry
Reduce costs by 30%	Annual savings of 11.5 million rubles - achieved in 2 weeks	Oil production
	Saving 52 million rubles in 6 months	Instrumentation
	Saving 65 million rubles in 1 week	Assembly of automobile components
Freeing up production space by 30%	Release of 25% of production space	Instrumentation
Reduce work in progress by 50%	Elimination of well downtime - additional income of 130 million rubles per year	Oil production
Reduction of production cycle by 60%	Reduced lead time from 16 months to 16 weeks	Aviation industry
Reduction of production cycle by 60%	Reducing the production cycle from 9 to 1 day	Instrumentation
Increased equipment efficiency by 45%	Increase in productivity of the 2 kt press by 35%	Non-ferrous metallurgy
Release of labor by 25%	Reduction of labor costs - over 1.3 million rubles per year	Oil production
Reduce changeover time by 70%	Reducing the changeover time of three 500-ton presses from 4.5 to 1.5 hours (by 67%)	Ferrous metallurgy

* - company names are not disclosed

Source: "OrgProm".

Japanese miracle

The concept of “lean manufacturing” originated in Japan in the 50s of the last century. Tend to approach everything fundamentally, residents of the Land of the Rising Sun have elevated the idea of continuous improvement of production and other business processes to the rank of law. The most striking example of the use of Lean is the phenomenon of the Toyota company, to which dozens of scientific papers and thousands of publications are devoted. In the most difficult time for Japan after the Second World War, only a strict and consistent adherence to the path of constant improvement allowed Toyota not only to survive, but also to become the second automaker in the world after General Motors (by the way, the management of the Japanese concern recently announced its plans for the next 2-3 years achieve absolute leadership). Many even identify the company's production technologies with the Lean concept itself.

The starting concept for the lean production system as a whole was a new approach to analyzing the entire process - from the customer’s point of view. It turned out that in most cases, creating the real value of a product for the consumer takes a few percent (or even a fraction of a percent) of the total production cycle. Everything else, from Lin’s point of view, is a loss. Idle equipment, its untimely maintenance, which leads to an increase in the percentage of defects, ill-conceived organization of the workspace and production chain, work “in the warehouse”, illiterate logistics - all this does not add value to the product, and therefore harms it. The lean manufacturing philosophy speaks of the need to accurately identify the customer, study him carefully, identify his needs and modernize the entire production process in accordance with these needs.

In our country, some elements of modern production management systems have been in effect for a long time. For example, rationalization and social competition can be seen as the Soviet analogue of such integral components of lean production as continuous improvement of production processes and the principle of horizontal communication (when top management communicates directly with workers and does not neglect their ideas about possible improvements). Another thing is that the Japanese system elevates these things to the rank of law, and not the voluntary, but, alas, infrequent initiative of individual employees.

Industrial Pioneers

Among the Russian enterprises that were the first to implement lean manufacturing are mainly large industrial companies. This list includes KamAZ, GAZ Group, VSMPO-AVISMA, Rusal, EvrazHolding, Eurochem, etc. Unfortunately, most often the reason for starting to work with consultants is the problems that enterprises are experiencing. Only when profitability falls, customers express dissatisfaction, the level of defects increases, do domestic industrialists begin to look for ways to improve their production. The good news is that, having received the first effect, they do not stop there, realizing that only constant adherence to the principles of the new system will lead to maximum impact.

For example, the Ural automobile plant (Miass), part of the GAZ Group, began to implement Lean after the 2003 crisis, when the company’s sales volumes fell by almost half in two years. As the general director of the plant, Viktor Korman, told Expert Volga magazine, the use of lean manufacturing technologies immediately affected all indicators. In particular, cost savings amount to 300−400 million rubles annually. Now the company continues to work on the implementation of lean technologies, and more and more employees are being included in it. This fulfills another requirement of the system - the participation in this process of all team members, from the general director to the premises cleaner.

The KamAZ automobile plant has been following lean manufacturing principles since 2005. Even earlier, KamAZ-Metalluriya and KamAZ-Diesel started doing this in the group. Now the work is being carried out in various divisions and companies of the concern. Managers who have undergone special training, who last year defended over 50 projects to improve the technological cycle, will now train their subordinates and involve them in their work. There are already concrete results. For example, in the mold shop of KamAZ-instrumentspetsmash OJSC, nine unnecessary machines were identified and got rid of them, reducing the number of unscheduled equipment downtime by almost three times.

By order of KamAZ executive director Vasil Kayumov, work is underway to optimize the use of land on the enterprise’s balance sheet (a total of 1,900 hectares). The unused space is now being cleared and will be rented out or sold, generating a profit instead of maintenance costs.

EPO Signal (Saratov region) produces devices for the aerospace industry and equipment for the gas industry. One of the main problems was a topical issue for almost all enterprises of the former defense complex - the condition of equipment. With the help of outsourced lean technology specialists, in just a few days the company's employees were able to identify shortcomings and malfunctions of equipment and develop a program for maintaining the fleet of equipment in efficient condition. The secret is simple: this work should be done not only by repair teams, but also by machine operators who know the features and problems of a particular machine better than anyone else.

Suitable for everyone

Not only industrial giants, but also any enterprise, regardless of the size of assets and field of activity, can and should follow the concept of lean production, says Alexey Baranov, director of the OrgProm center (Ekaterinburg). His center today is one of the leading providers of lean technologies in Russia. “OrgProm” organized the first lean forum in 2006, which was attended by representatives of domestic companies implementing lean production methods and foreign guests - specialists in lean technologies. Over 300 Russian enterprises took part in the forum, which are already adapting their business to the Kaizen philosophy. “Over the past two years, the number of companies mastering lean technologies in Russia has increased by an order of magnitude. Such rapidly growing interest indicates that lean production today is the most effective, in terms of price-result-time ratio, method of development and growth of both an individual enterprise and the Russian economy as a whole,” emphasizes Mr. Baranov.

The approach, new for Russia, is applicable not only to the industrial conveyor. Any aspect of a modern business can be optimized and made as profitable as possible. For example, document flow optimization sometimes reduces order fulfillment time by two to three times - more than can usually be achieved from the production process itself, brought in accordance with the principles of Lean. As for the industry affiliation of companies that are adherents of lean manufacturing, they are very different. For example, the group of companies PF DSK (Tolyatti and Dimitrovgrad), the plants of OJSC KamAZ (Naberezhnye Chelny), MHC Eurokhim (Moscow), the Versivo association (Samara and Bryansk region), Uralsvyazinform (Ekaterinburg) and dozens others.

Believe and convince others

Those who have already “believed” in lean manufacturing believe that sooner or later all Russian enterprises will come to it. It is too attractive for the plant owner to significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency with a minimum of investments. Of course, no one will be able to become as successful a company as Toyota overnight (the Japanese concern, with the help of kaizen, has been reaching the pinnacle of success for 50 years), but constant work on improving its business will certainly yield results.

The main condition (and the main difficulty) for the effective use of lean technologies is the basis of the Kaizen philosophy itself - teamwork. According to experts, success in developing the principles of the system can only be achieved if all employees of the enterprise are guided by them. There are two challenges here: convincing employees that implementing lean manufacturing is beneficial for each of them, and dealing with resistance to the new. Indeed, innovations are often perceived with skepticism (“Yes, I’ve been working on this machine for 30 years, what do you mean ‘’we need to increase efficiency’”?) or with caution (“Reducing losses and unproductive elements of the process” is a reduction in staff?!”) . Therefore, constant “educational” work of managers and cooperation of workers at all levels is required. It is interesting that already in the concept of lean production there are also options for solving problems in personnel policy. For example, redundant employees can further develop production improvement programs or use saved resources to develop a new line of business. Staff reduction, if it is unavoidable, can be carried out gradually, simply without recruiting additional personnel to fill a position that is vacated due to natural reasons (retirement, job change, etc.).

According to Alexey Baranov from OrgProm, to one degree or another, now all Russian enterprises and companies are trying to optimize their production and business processes. The market has reached the stage of development when it is no longer the client who pays for each “extra” step, but the manufacturer. Accordingly, loss elimination and cost reduction programs will gain momentum more and more rapidly. The only question is how systematically and competently we can build this work.

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