The success of a business highly depends on the minimization of waste and the maximization of value. Lean manufacturing is a production method which improves processes by achieving both of these within a manufacturing environment.

It has several great benefits, including reduced costs, reduced downtime,  increased on time deliveries, improved quality of products, increased innovation, and optimized processes. A business which doesn’t optimize its resources, be it equipment or employee skills, will be inefficient, and this leads to reduced productivity.

Lean production promotes industry competitiveness and was introduced by Toyota in 1930, who built the operating model popularly known as “The Toyota Way.” Many big name manufacturers have followed suit and implemented a lean manufacturing system of their own.

Best Practices in Lean Manufacturing

Eliminating business waste

Manufacturers can reduce or even eliminate business waste by adhering to lean management practices. 

Several of these waste types are listed below, with the acronym of ‘DOWNTIME’:

  • Defective products should never reach the end customer and should ideally be processed as scrap or rework
  • Overproduction often leads to a waste of man hours which could be gainfully employed elsewhere to increase ROI. It could also lead to inventory shortage and the risk of obsolete inventory if a regular client decides against purchasing additional products.
  • Waiting for a business machine to process or a piece of equipment to be repaired can ultimately cause the entire production line to shut down.
  • Non utilized talent is a waste of the superior skills of employees and human assets within the business, and it can hamper creativity and innovation which is imperative to the success of the company.
  • Transportation excess can occur through the manufacturing process, from the supply chain to the delivery of materials.
  • Inventory excess can occur in the form of overlooked or obsolete inventory, within five areas, namely raw components, sub-assembly, finished goods, maintenance and office supplies, and repair and operations. Inventory excess can hamper your business cash flows.
  • Motion excess refers to the waste of valuable business time in small motions like walking, lifting, retrieving, and bending.
  • Excess processing is spending time on a product’s features, which even if not worked on to this extent, would still not hamper its functionality. It refers to spending time on non-essential processes instead of gainfully employing valuable business time elsewhere.

Facilitating continuous business improvement

Promoting continuous improvements at the shop floor, no matter how big or small, is a great way to incorporate lean manufacturing within your business strategy. Slight changes in daily tasks can add up to big value in the long term.

Continuous improvement over the longer term is highly acclaimed through the Japanese concept of ‘kaizen’, which means a change for the better. It is focused on identifying problems with standardized processes and finding the appropriate solution to them quickly.

Implementing superior organization via the 5S strategy

The 5S strategy involves the analyzing of business processes and eliminating those which don’t add value. These include sorting, setting in order, shining, standardizing, and sustainability. The    5S strategy incorporates considering everything existing within the shop floor and sorting through it to decide what is essential and what can be eliminated to save time or costs.

Ensuring safety at the workplace

Safety at the shop floor is of the greatest importance. The 5S strategy, if implemented, can help ensure a safer work environment. An employee accident on site can defeat the entire purpose of enabling a lean approach owing to the loss of productive time.

Build a process to track metrics

Measuring a process  and its specific steps can help in building appropriate remedial measures and standards. A process tracking metric can help prevent issues on the work front which could otherwise have created physical or financial loss to the business and hampered productivity. 

Conclusion

Lean manufacturing is a practiced art. By understanding the global need for elimination of waste, a business is contributing to the greater good of the environment and the company. 

Implementing the aforementioned best practices can help you reap the many benefits of lean manufacturing in your business, leading to multifold levels of efficiency improvement and a boost in overall productivity.

versacall

At VersaCall we have an entire department working with customers to mold the technology that provides the best solution in their factory environment.

© Copyright 2025 Versacall. All rights reserved.

Versacal

Privacy Policy

Questions. If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy or terms and conditions, contact VersaCall Technologies Inc at 858-677-6766 or [email protected]. You may also contact us via mail at 9340 Hazard Way B3, San Diego CA 92123.

Scope. This privacy policy covers all VersaCall Technologies Inc business. It does not, however, apply to entities that VersaCall Technologies Inc does not own or control. By using or accessing VersaCall Technologies Inc, you agree to our privacy practices.

Information We Receive:

Information you provide to us:

Information About Yourself. When you contact VersaCall Technologies Inc you provide us with your name, address, phone number(s), email address.  We may retain your details.   

Access Device and Browser Information. When you contact VersaCall Technologies Inc from a computer, mobile phone, or other device, we may collect information from that device about your browser type, location, and IP address, as well as the pages you visit. 

How We Use Your Information.  The information we collect is used to provide a safe, efficient, and customized experience. Information is never shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.

To contact you. We may contact you with technical support announcements from time to time. You may opt out of all communications. 

How We Protect Information

Steps we take to keep your information secure. We keep your account information on a secured server behind a firewall. When you enter information, we encrypt that information. 


Other Terms and Conditions

Changes. We may change this Privacy Policy pursuant to applicable laws. Our current privacy policy applies to all information that we have about you. If we make changes to this Privacy Policy we will notify you by email. If the changes are material, we will provide you additional, prominent notice as appropriate under the circumstances.

Consent to Collection and Processing in the United States. By contacting VersaCall Technologies Inc, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. By opting into SMS from a web form or other medium, you agree to receive SMS messages from VersaCall Technologies Inc.  Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.  Message HELP for help. Reply STOP to any message to opt out.