Lean Enterprise Implementation and
Lean Manufacturing Implementation

Lean can help you to dramatically cut waste and increase profits

Continental's Lean Enterprise Implementation moves lean manufacturing from a business philosophy to a money-saving reality.

In the global race to compete, Lean Manufacturing is the essential method of removing "fat" or waste from the manufacturing process. Waste can be defined as anything that does not add value to the customer — or anything the customer is unwilling to pay for. "Lean" enables you to do more with less so that you can reduce costs while increasing productivity and delivering great value to your customers.

Lean Manufacturing is a term coined in the James P. Womack book, The Machine That Changed the World, based largely on his observations of the Toyota Production System. The focus at Toyota was the absolute elimination of waste, especially anything that prevented the most optimum flow and assembly of material, from raw material to finished goods. A fundamental waste seen at Toyota — and in every other manufacturing facility in the world — was the overproduction of larger batches than what was needed by the next operation. Lean principles were implemented by many manufacturers, and many other non-manufacturing organizations, with great success, resulting in significant improvements in quality, cost and delivery performance.

Lean Enterprise: Lean technology has now evolved from the manufacturing floor to the whole enterprise. Lean follows the entire process from initial customer contact through ordering, fulfillment, billing and final payment. All of the various steps and sub-steps are tracked and scouted for waste. The result is an organization that is streamlined and efficient, eliminating waste and thus cost.

If you are not saving significant money by implementing Lean, you are not correctly implementing Lean.

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If you are not saving significant money by implementing Lean Manufacturing,
you are not correctly implementing Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing Metrics

The goal of Lean Manufacturing is the creation of "World Class" level of manufacturing operations metrics. The following chart shows typical world class manufacturing metrics:

That is the goal that your competitors are striving to reach and what the very best have already attained.

How do you achieve world class
Lean Manufacturing metrics?

The Lean Manufacturing Handbook available online at continental-design.com is a great starting place for basic information about Lean Manufacturing. Continental's experienced Lean consultants can assist you to rapidly Implement Lean Manufacturing with a combination of services customized to meet your needs:

• Consulting and Value Stream Mapping analysis
• Lean Manufacturing Training Workshops
• Lean plant layout and design

Continental's Lean consultants work side by side with your engineers and production workers on the shop floor to implement lean. We train staff and stay with you until you fully and successfully Implement Lean Technology.

Continental's Director of Lean Manufacturing will be happy to discuss your needs and recommend a series of implementation steps that meet your exact situation. Call 800 875-4557, Extension 317.

Continental's Lean Development Center -
Where lean manufacturing becomes a reality

Continental Design & Engineering's Lean Development Center in Anderson Indiana has the sole purpose of designing and modeling lean manufacturing cells. This is much like a command center, where designers put their machine design drawings on the walls and full-scale Styrofoam models are positioned on the floor according to the layout plan.

With full-scale modeling, customers are then able to view every detail of the design, to ask questions, and to move models and make changes as needed. The Lean Development Center allows implementation teams to really shake out a lean cell, away from normal daily interruptions and assumptions.

The results are dramatic. As our clients routinely report, "Applying lean principles has reduced costs, eliminated many manufacturing problems and increased customer satisfaction".

Lincoln, Nebraska

Here are some actual metrics and client comments in response to implementing the Lean principals from Continental's Lean Manufacturing Training Workshop. (Due to confidentiality agreements the company name is not included with the metrics, only the plant location.)

Metrics	Mass or Batch	Production Lean Manufacturing	Improvement
Production / Operators	2000 / Shift 8 Operators	2,667 / Shift 6 Operators	44%
Work in progress	10,716	20	Nearly One Piece Flow
Floor Space	480 FT	214.5 FT	70%
Production Lead Time	3.0 Hours	3 Minutes	98%

Lean Manufacturing Results

"With Continental's help, we were able to achieve a 10-15% production improvement throughout the entire plant by applying Lean Manufacturing principles.

"Continental's Lean Workshops resulted in a 30% reduction in our floor space that we can now use for growth without additional bricks and mortar.

"Implementing Lean and One-Piece-Flow reduced our WIP (Work In Process) by 30-40%."

--Bill Whitney, Plant Manager, Unit Parts, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

To start seeing results like this in your facility, speak with Continental Design's Director of Lean Manufacturing today. Call 800 875-4557 ext. 317, or send an email online.

• Lean Manufacturing Home
• Lean Manufacturing Handbook
• About the Author
• Lean Manufacturing Glossary
• Success Stories and Case Studies
• Case Studies #2