Thứ Năm, 9 tháng 8, 2012

What is the Lean Certification Program and How Did It Begin?

By Charles Wheeler


Lean training in manufacturing refers to a set of practices that are taught to individuals in a company, who can then introduce continuous change practices, cost cutting measures, and energy and waste reduction throughout the company.

Lean certification has many pieces, and was developed as an identifiable strategy back in the 1980's and 1990's. Lean training came from an industry program referred to as Six Sigma. Six Sigma refers to the levels of instructing obtained by way of a design and execution process, where varying color belts are awarded, the same as judo, as each stage is correctly accomplished.

Six Sigma tends to focus mainly on the design and implementation activity, where lean has changed into a wider, company-wide course of action which includes business units, as well as technical and manufacturing units.

One of the significant aspects of the lean manufacturing process is the inclusion of the Kaizen approach for continuous improvement. Kaizen is a Japanese term. It became known in the United States after World War II, when Japanese manufacturing procedures were becoming closely examined following the war.

The word literally means "change for the better", and involves workers at every stage of a production line being aware of productivity and waste, and having a plan in place to communicate changes that can quickly be implemented into the process. The Kaizen methods have been taught separately for decades, but recently have been incorporated into the broader philosophy of lean manufacturing.

As Six Sigma became progressively well-liked, and manufacturing businesses started training many of their workers in the procedures, the weak points of the Six Sigma strategy became easier to recognize. Because efficiencies were happening only in design and implementation sectors, the other components of the company would actually slow down the operation by not being in position to keep up.

If a procurement department is using old methods of ordering and receiving parts, and the rate of using those parts increases, the inefficiencies in the procurement department are going to be made visible to upper management.

The same holds true in business departments. If the flow of money in a company is sluggish, or moving at a rate that isn't effective, then funds can't be made accessible fast enough to allow expansion along with the demand generated by the design and implementation divisions.

Lean certification broadened the training, and included all aspects of a company with regards to continuous improvement and cost cutting. As a result, entire businesses can be transformed into highly efficient and lean units which can quickly respond to the changes in demand, and to the continuous change process.




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