Principles of Lean Manufacturing

The Lean Manufacturing principles, commonly associated with the highly efficient Toyota Production System (TPS) developed by Kiichiro Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno in the 20th century, are still considered a framework of efficient manufacturing applicable to different industries, including electronics manufacturing.

While the pursuit of effective production principles was initiated by the father of scientific management, Frederick Winslow Taylor, in the early 1900s, the TPS revolutionised manufacturing practices by adopting a more sustainable approach.

ead this article to learn more about the principles of Lean Manufacturing and how electronics production can benefit from them.

Efficiency through waste reduction

One of the core aspects of Lean Manufacturing is production efficiency, focused on reducing any points of production that can be considered wasteful. From the perspective of Lean Manufacturing, “waste” includes not only literal waste, such as unwanted inventory components or products with irreparable defects but also any non-value-added activities.

This can include:

• Unnecessary movement of people and equipment both on the company’s premises and during transportation;
• Waiting or any downtime that can potentially be avoided by making better organisational decisions;
• Extra processing where it is unnecessary, such as an overcomplicated manufacturing process;
• Overproduction or manufacturing an excessive amount of products;
• Missed opportunities for improvement, for example, by neglecting employees’ talents, knowledge, skills, and creativity;
• Defects, in the sense of the time spent on resolving issues that could have been prevented.

Lean Manufacturing Principles for Work Optimisation

Lean Manufacturing not only identifies waste that should be eliminated to increase manufacturing efficiency but also offers suggestions for improving work organisation to achieve this goal. Some of the actions that can help enhance production cost-effectiveness according to Lean Manufacturing are:

• Thorough understanding of product value from the customer’s perspective;
• Assessing all activities based on value to identify those contributing to value and those that do not;
• Optimising operation flow by minimizing delays and inefficiencies, such as applying the Just-in-Time (JIT) production approach to reduce inventory costs and inefficient space usage by streamlining sourcing and procurement;
• Aligning production with actual customer demand;
• Adopting continuous improvement practices such as Kaizen and standardizing operating procedures to achieve production with zero defects;
• Implementing real-time quality control measures to capture defects as early as possible.

Additionally, Lean Manufacturing promotes a respectful and engaging work environment that helps employees develop their skills and competencies, further supporting and enhancing manufacturing processes.

Lean Manufacturing in electronics production

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can significantly benefit from collaborating with Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) providers who leverage the best practices of Lean Manufacturing in their everyday work.

Contract electronics manufacturers, such as the Poland-based Assel, integrate various approaches to eliminate waste at every step of production. From effective procurement and collaboration with multiple providers of high-quality electronic components, which reduces the risk of downtime if one supplier fails to deliver materials, to implementing robust quality control procedures to prevent defects and utilising state-of-the-art Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to streamline production, these contract manufacturers can significantly optimise their processes.

Lean practices leveraged by electronics manufacturers

Electronics manufacturing companies have a wide range of techniques and tools aligned with Lean best practices. Below are some commonly used methods.

Manufacturing process optimisation

Some of the popular techniques used by electronics manufacturers to enhance the efficiency of their production are:

1. Quick changeovers (SMED), also known as Single-Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), a technique that reduces the time required to switch between manufactured products, enhancing efficiency;
2. Load leveling (Heijunka), an approach focused on balancing the workload across different periods and processes helping manufacturers maintain a steady production flow despite fluctuations in demand;
3. Modular manufacturing lines that offer flexibility and reconfigurability, making it easier to adapt them to different production processes;
4. Single-piece flow production, a method that involves manufacturing one unit at a time rather than in batches, improving quality control, reducing work-in-progress inventory, and shortening lead times;
5. Automation based on devices like Hanedashi, which automate the unloading of parts from machines after production, play a critical role in enhancing automation within Lean manufacturing.

Quality improvement and inventory management

To prevent production defects and errors and subsequently improve quality, many electronics manufacturers use the mistake-proofing approach known as Poka-Yoke. Meanwhile, the supermarket technique optimizes inventory management by ensuring consistent availability without excessive storage.

Lean communication techniques

Effective collaboration is key to successful electronics manufacturing using the Lean approach. Among the effective communication techniques available to electronics manufacturers are:

• Standardized work which includes practices such as thorough documentation, analysis, employee training, and monitoring, all aimed at increasing the consistency of the manufacturing process;
• Visual management, enhancing transparency through clearer communication, which can be achieved with techniques such as Kanban cards and Andon boards;
• A fish market technique that improves problem resolution by displaying ongoing issues in a visible and easily accessible area;
• A 7 Ways brainstorming method used to generate multiple solutions to the same problem.

Final thoughts

While it may seem obvious that waste hinders operations and generates unnecessary expenses, maintaining efficient organsation in the production realm can be quite challenging. Frameworks like Lean Manufacturing play a significant role in production optimisation. If you are looking for a reliable contract manufacturer who aligns production with Lean Manufacturing best practices, visit asselems.com.