Busting the Top Lean Manufacturing Myths

Lean manufacturing is the process of producing products by increasing productivity and minimizing manufacturing waste. For lean principles, waste is what doesn't add any value, and the customers don't want to pay for the same.  

Further, lean manufacturing offers many benefits, including reduced lead times, operating costs, and enhanced product quality. After all, if you want to implement lean principles in your company, you can provide lean leadership training to your leaders and higher-level people. 

Besides these things, there are many myths about lean manufacturing spread in the market. In this blog, we will cover the same and show you the facts. So, keep reading to learn more. 

Lean manufacturing is all about tools.

When anyone hears the term "lean," they immediately get into 5 Whys, seven wastes, Kanban, etc. While these tools are good, you should have associated structure and culture. 

After all, you can't compromise on production tools. People won't be able to work effectively if the tools are not working in the right way. But keep in mind that nothing will work if your company lacks a lean framework. 

After implementing lean principles, your job is done.

It is a big myth that you can stop evaluating things after implementing lean principles in your organization. Note that you need to actively monitor the things you have applied in terms of lean. After all, if you want to reduce your involvement, your team needs to be committed, accept challenges, and grow continuously to achieve enhanced quality and efficiency.

Lean is limited to only cost reduction. 

Lean manufacturing is not only about reducing production costs. It is about how you can make the work easier and more approachable for your team to reduce the time spent on it. Lean increases your company's value by implementing the right concept at the right time. 

In addition to cost reduction, lean gives you a long-term strategy so that you can continuously improve by adapting to changes. 

If lean is there, inventory is zero.

Many people think implementing lean principles means your inventory will be zero, which is a big myth. After all, you should think about how you can do business with zero inventory. Will you be able to handle a sudden rise in demand? 

Well, lean never means zero or no inventory. It simply means having inventory based on your needs. It means that you have to manage things smartly. Lean requires you to have the correct quantity inventory for the right time. You should be clear about when you are going to use the inventory. 

Lean is only for reducing wastage. 

Do you think so? This is a big myth that lean is only reducing waste. While you can control the cost by reducing the waste, lean can do many more things for you. 

It helps you strengthen your system to reduce the overburden of production. After all, you should not only depend on waste for your growth. You need to think about other variables. 

Lean requires you to squeeze the people. 

Lean teaches you how to make people productive by providing them with the right tools. It is about how you can inspire people to get their best. Lean is not about asking people to work twice or thrice. It simply makes everything in your company effective, approachable, and manageable.      

Conclusion 

If you want to grow in lean manufacturing, you should clear your mind from the above myths. Lean opens several ways for the growth of your company, and it shows you the right path to achieve your goals. 

After all, if you don't know lean principles or want to become a lean leader, a leadership development consultant will help. 

Kindly visit Lean Leaders Plus to learn more about lean leadership.