History of Lean Manufacturing
Henry Ford was the first person to truly integrate an entire production process. In 1913, he integrated consistently interchangeable parts with standard work and moving conveyance to create what he called flow production.
Ford lined up fabrication steps in process order wherever possible. This was a revolutionary break from shop practices of the American system, that usually consisted of general-purpose machines grouped by process. Ford’s problem is that he could not provide the variety needed.
Japanese engineers at Toyota reviewed Ford’s concepts, and felt that a series of simple solutions might make it possible to provide consistency in process flow in a variety of products. As a result they invented the Toyota Production System. This system shifted the focus to the flow of the product through the entire process. Toyota adjusted their production capabilities to the actual volume needed, introduced self-monitoring machines to ensure quality, lined up the machines in process sequence, and pioneered quick changeovers, so that each machine could make small volumes of many parts, and having each step sequence notify the previous step of its current needs for materials (a “pull system”). This allowed Toyota to obtain low cost, high variety, high quality, and rapid throughput times to meet customer needs.
The though process of lean is described in 1990 in the book “The Machine That Changed the World,” by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. In a later book, “Lean Thinking,” in 1996, Womack and Jones stressed five principles in lean:
- Specify the value required by the customer.
- Identify the Value Stream for each product.
- Make the product flow continuously through the remaining value-added steps.
- Introduce a ‘pull system’ where possible
- Manage towards perfection, so that the number of steps and the amount of time and information needed to serve the customer is continually reduced.
The term "lean" is used because Japanese business methods used less human effort, capital investment, floor space, materials, and time in all aspects of operations. The resulting competition among U.S. and Japanese automakers over the last 25 years has lead to the adoption of these principles within all U.S. manufacturing businesses.
Interested in Learning More?
- Learn about the Goals of a Lean Enterprise
- Compare Lean with Traditional Manufacturing
- Find out more about Lean Training