Finding new ways to do a good job even better often leads to greater productivity and efficiency.  There are certainly plenty of buzz words along the way as we go about planning our business strategies.  But not every strategy requires a serious amount of work (or cash) to implement.  Here is what lean manufacturing and leadership can bring to your table.

Figure out how to eliminate waste and nonvalue.  While lean manufacturing aims for perfection, even just achieving something of a reduction in waste nad nonvalue can add a lot to your bottom line. Waste is everywhere in the manufacturing process and includes everything from overproduction to wasted batches and idle time.  Anything that is being wasted is essentially creating nonvalue.

Key partnerships are another cornerstone of lean management in manufacturing.  While the philosophy advocates reducing the supply chain of external vendors as much as possible, sometimes that is not possible.  But it can create a strong business partnership that can help a company overcome a serious design flaw or meet the needs of a new market.  This kind of “outside of the box” thinking can pay big dividends from workforce safety to managing the existing space on a factory floor.

There are five original principles of Lean Manufacturing that are based around workflow and time to market.  While it may be difficult to absorb those lessons all at once, boiling down the benefits is absolutely possible for every manufacturer.  There are serious financial advantages to having a working partnership with an innovative partner and keeping up on the best technology for manufacturing your product.  It’s not just a philosophy, it is a difference maker!