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Lean tools are processes and strategies used to identify and resolve problems in production, minimizing waste and increasing efficiency. Lean manufacturing aims to create quality products while avoiding wasteful resource use. Lean tools include Six Sigma, activity-based costing, and physical items like color-coded labels and transparent containers.
Sometimes referred to as lean manufacturing tools, lean tools are processes and strategies that are used to identify problems in the production of goods or services and resolve those problems in a way that increases the efficiency of the operation. A wide range of tools are used to assess situations and respond to them in a way that helps minimize waste and pave the way for greater profits. Companies of all sizes can adapt these basic tools to any situation, whether the focus is on a production line or the way tasks are performed in an office environment.
Lean manufacturing, in general, is about ensuring that resources are not wasted as quality products are created for eventual sale to consumers. Any action or set of circumstances that involves using resources in ways that do not help achieve that end goal are considered wasteful and must be eliminated from the operation. From this perspective, lean tools make it possible to continuously assess what is happening with the company and ensure that nothing is being wasted.
Several types of lean tools have to do with identifying any reasons for defects in the quality of products produced and with process eliminating these reasons as a way to offer a better product to consumers. An example would be an approach known as Six Sigma, where the use of a combination of statistical data, quality control measures related to employee safety, cycle time, product delivery and even the quality of raw materials. Originally developed and employed by Motorola, the Six Sigma approach has both supporters and detractors in the business community, with some finding it to be an excellent tool in lean manufacturing and others feeling that it is far too structured to allow the approach to be adapted to certain situations. .
The range of lean tools is extremely wide, allowing many different combinations of strategies to be employed to achieve the desired effect. In some cases, tools can focus on organizing the production flow to a better advantage, identifying where the flow is working well and where it can be improved by rearranging the placement of production machines.
Other times, refining the process involves employing a tool known as activity-based costing. This and other similar types of lean tools look closely at the return you get from different products offered as part of an overall product line. By closely investigating the cost and return related to making and selling a particular product, it is possible to determine whether that product is profitable and could be made more profitable by addressing some identified issues in the production process. Lean tools such as activity-based costing can also determine whether the product should be discontinued in favor of expanding production of goods with higher demand, assuming the return is low and demand is small.
Some lean tools are not strategies but are physical items used as part of a process. Labels used in color-coding records or identifying stages in a production process can be identified as tools. Containers that are transparent or designed for safe stacking are also examples of lean tools. As long as the item in question is helping the company produce a quality product at a reasonable price and ultimately providing customer satisfaction, there’s a good chance the item is a lean tool of some sort.
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