Lean Manufacturing - a New Concept

to achieve perfect workflow

L

SURANJAN LAHIRI
is a GMT pass out and
also a B.Tech in Textile
Technology from Calcutta
University. He has a
varied job experience in
textiles and garment
manufacturing for more
than 10 years in DelhiNCR, Ahmedabad and
Coimbatore. Currently he
is an Assistant Professor
in the Business and
Technology Division of
Pearl Academy
of Fashion.

ean manufacturing commonly called just lean is

a generic process management philosophy derived
from Toyota Production System (TPS).It is much
responsible for Toyotas record - breaking success in
the last few decades. This principle was first coined
by Professor James P Womack who studied the
growth of Japanese companies after World War II
and summarised his learning in a book named Lean
Thinking. The principle stresses establishing a set of
tools to identify and systematically eliminate three
types of waste i.e. muda or nonvalue adding work,
muri or overburden and mura or unevenness. Simply
put, lean implementation stresses on getting the right
things, to the right place, at the right time in the right
quantity to achieve perfect workflow while minimising
waste and being flexible and simple enough to change.
It believes in smart automation or autonomation,
which involves automation but with a human touch.
The concept of elimination of wastes is specially
treated here since scientific study revealed that 95%
time of any normal traditional production is nonvalue
adding, and lean targets to remove this nonvalue
adding process/operation.

decided by the final customer and in case the

elements are not valuable, they need to be changed
or eliminated. This is the crux of the concept.
Now, as already stated, we need to employ various tools
to systematically eliminate the wastes. Let us study the
tools one by one. Incidentally, if we take the first character
of each point, we find them aligned sequentially from N
to T in the English alphabet as follows:
No Waste, Operation Standardisation, Pull
Quality Control, Routing, Signboard, TPM

NO WASTE

LEAN
SNOA

Typical examples of such nonvalue adding time are:

1. Time waste due to overproduction.
2. Time waste due to rework.
3. Time waste on waiting due to unavailability of
stock.
4. Time waste due to unwanted motion in workflow.
All these wastes lead to long lead time, low valued
product and an overall gross drainage of efficiency.
That is why; we need to inculcate a habit of lean
thinking. Here we analyse every element in the current
service we provide and try to find out whether all
elements are valuable or not. Here value will be

OTN

APPAREL VIEWS / SEPTEMBER 2008

AT
ONTO

The Lean Radial (developed by the author)

The Tools are:
1.No waste - The first tool used for lean
implementation is 5S. Here the concept of waste
elimination is systematically carried out. Waste, as
we all know is something useful in a wrong place in a
wrong form. So, if we keep this useful thing in the

A lean set up in China

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OEATON
STANAE

correct place in correct form, it doesnt remain a

waste. Lean manufacturing following 5S technique,
does exactly that. It first sorts (seiri) out items in the
production floor, then it keeps the sorted items in
order (seeton), third it prevents disorderliness (seiso),
fourth it standardises the system (seiketsu) and finally
it makes the system a way of life (sitsuke). If the
above process is strictly implemented and properly
followed we will never have waste in our system.
This is what 5S is all about, and when 5S and lean
manufacturing work together we get effective results.
2.Operation Standardisation The next tool is
operation standardisation. In order to maximise
labour usage, multi machine operating by a single
operator is essential. And for one operator to
handle multiple operations, standardisation of
operation becomes important. Scientific work study
with standardised elemental breakdown of each
operation smoothens the cycle and increases the
quality and productivity of the production floor. Thus
it is important. Lean standard work also defines
the role of every team member in the organisation.
Generally speaking we only mean shop floor
operations being standardised in work study. But
here, the whole team activity needs to
standardised for building the lean system and also
maintain accountability. Even the general
managers schedule needs to be minutely timed
and planned such that no time goes waste on
waiting and delay of other employees. Further, the
MIS of all the departments should be standardized
so that where unnecessary recording is avoided,
essential records are taken at the first instant. In
short, standardisation aims at getting everyone to
do the same things in the same way. Commonly
used vehicles for standardization are ISO 9000 and
ISO 14000.
3.Pull Production System - Another tool for lean
production is the pull production system as
compared to the traditional push production system.
Pull system is a method of controlling the flow of
resources by replacing only what that has been
consumed. This is just opposite to the push system
where resources are provided to the consumer based
on forecast or schedules. Pull system eliminates
nonvalue adding work like maintaining cumbersome
record of forecasted inventory, moving the parts long
distances and, above all, blocking a huge capital on
unwanted or dead stocks due to inaccurate
forecasting. The idea was first introduced in America
in the grocery business where the grocers used JIT
and FIFO concept for stocks and inventories. The
system provided more visual control of all resources,
eliminated scheduling complexities, reduced lead
time and WIP inventory and organised the workplace
in a better way. At the same time, the pull system
provided more time for constructive activities like
quality improvements, preventive maintenance,
research and development, training and so on. Thus
this system supported lean manufacturing.

4.Quality Control The next tool is quality

control. Quality checking points and alterations
are actually not required in case quality is
monitored and checked at each workstation right
from design to final production. So, defect-proof

A lean set up in Sri Lanka

concept (poka yoke) should be introduced in the

whole production cycle. In case there is a quality
issue, we should find out the root cause, monitor
the situation and shoot the trouble. A properly
thought of systematic programme needs to be
implemented to monitor every operation of the
production cycle and ensure its quality. This
system stresses more on movable checkers
instead of the traditional temporary ones.
5.Routing The fifth tool is the production flow
improvement concept. Using industrial
engineering technique, lean production aims to
improve the whole production flow and not just
one or some selective processes. It stresses on
improving the whole layout of the production
floor. Unplanned long production route and
production cycle occupy a lot of space in storage,
and that increases the production cost. Through
modifying the production layout, we assign and
tighten the facilities locations according to the
operation flow. This finally shortens the
transportation route, eliminates its unnecessary
movements and thus saves production time.
Another means of improving the production flow
is to change from batch processing to one piece
flow. In one piece flow, there is only one
component flowing between each operation and
there is basically no WIP. However we need to
synchronise and balance the production line very
effectively in order to achieve this one piece flow.
The preparation time should be reduced and
maintenance needs to be very punctual for this
concept to prove effective.
6.Signboard The sixth tool for effective working
of lean is to implement Kanban concept-an
everyday common Japanese terminology
meaning signboard or billboard. According to
Taiichi Ohno, the man behind the development of
JIT, Kanban is a means through which JIT is
effectively achieved. Lean and JIT reduces
inventory to such a level, that accurate signaling

about stock becomes indispensable and Kanban

system provides that signal. It tells us when to do
a work, what work needs to be done, when not to
work and what is the best way to control inventory.
7.Total Productive Maintenance The last tool to
facilitate lean implementation is Total Productive
Maintenance (TPM). Here, the machine operator is
also expected to perform maintenance tasks. This
type of maintenance is called automaintenance. It
includes both breakdown maintenance as well as
preventive maintenance. The benefits of TPM are:
It motivates the machine operator to decrease
the wear and tear of the machine by actively
participating in maintenance.
It develops a practical maintenance schedule
for the total life of the machine.
Maximises equipment effectiveness.

Visible Outcomes
Now after lean is effectively implemented, we get the
following results which keep it well ahead of the
traditional systems. The results are:
1. Higher efficiency and productivity.
2. Less and therefore manageable inventory.
3. Improved quality with simplified and flexible
workflow.
4. Visible information flow and therefore
enhanced team spirit.
Though lean is a new concept for our Indian apparel
industry, its Chinese counterpart has taken full
advantage of this theory by improving quality and
reducing waste in their factories. They were quick in
shifting their attitudes and getting outstanding results.
Further, lean claims to give a tangible return on its
investment well within six months!
With all these, its high time now for Indian technocrats
and production managers to understand this philosophy
and practically apply it to have a sustainable competitive
advantage over its global competitors.
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