America is keen on lean. And what happens in America doesn't normally take long to take on in Europe. But this concept isn't at all easy, although you may find some instant gratification by applying this concept to some areas of the production line, it's difficult to maintain those benefits because going lean is a global concept, it means a change in philosophy which doesn't stop at the factory floor, but should continue throughout the company and even to their suppliers.

But what's this new concept about? Well, it's not exactly new because Toyota has been implementing this for over 30 years and it's more famously known for one of its by-products "Just in Time". In fact, lean in English means to have no fat, in other words thin. So, if we consider fat to be unnecessary this is what lean manufacturing means - to eliminate all waste in order to leave a lean enterprise.

What waste? you may ask. Here are seven fatty areas your company should be working on to become, as Mohammed Ali used to describe himself as, "...a lean, mean fighting machine":

• Overproduction.
  Working to speculative demands instead of what the customer really wants. The result is storage.
• Work in Process.
  All material between processes which are only the result of large inefficient production cycles.
• Transportation.
  This doesn't add any value to the product and should be reduced to a minimum.
• Processing waste.
  All redundant processes must be eliminated. Each process must add value to the end product, otherwise it should be wiped out.
• Motion.
  All movements of workers and machines due to inappropriate location should be eliminated.
• Waiting.
  Time spent waiting is obviously waste and should be eradicated.
• Making defective products.
  Making defective products. - Zero defect philosophy. Don't repair, avoid damage.

We will talk in the future about how to implement this concept, but I assure you this is no easy task. The key concepts to work on are teamwork, employee involvement, continuous improvement, communication, and self-direction: all the key elements of cultural change. Because going lean is a huge cultural change - staff positions and management levels are reduced, authority and responsibility are driven down to the factory floor, barriers fall, communication improves...

Difficult, but in my opinion to eradicate waste from your enterprise just makes sense.

What waste would you eliminate from your company?

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