Lean was introduced into businesses some time ago. The basic definition, that it mainly curbs on the waste, however, has remained unchanged since its introduction. Though it has now been acknowledged worldwide as a sound process to reduce waste, other effects it has on the business as a whole are often undermined or simply overlooked. One of the key developments after Lean is implemented is the incorporation of single-piece flow, whereby batch or lot production is replaced by a process that converges on a single unit.

While this is not achievable with very low processing times, the aim of Lean operations remains aligned to the goal of achieving singularity, even though momentarily. To achieve this much-desired singularity in production lines, the elimination of waste, again, is the key. The elimination is brought by reduction or waste-cutting as per the following attributes:

Your employees are your strength, but can also become the handicapping weakness. Training methods that instruct employees to adopt the Lean principles right-away are the key if any level of waste reduction is to be achieved. Everyone on the floor, whether it is the production line, the managers or the backroom staff, all should be apprised of their roles in establishing a Lean process on the landscape of your company.

One of the very evils of market capitalization is the hurry to produce. It so happens that often the quantity of the product surpasses the demand in the market. In that case, either the units sit on the company’s books longer than desired – thereby costing more money – or simply have to be discarded. A smarter way of approaching this is to manufacture only based on demand. To achieve this goal, your marketing and sales teams have to be aligned with the production side.

Eliminating unused Space or space that are unnecessarily tied to the company’s finances, but not rendered productive in any manner needs to be let go of immediately. Your product makes you who you are, not your lavish workspaces.

Defects are the most common cause of waste production. Re-runs and rework not only hamper the supply chain to your customer, it showers overhead the company’s already heavy structure. Identification of defects should be emphasized and the removal stressed at the earliest.

Moving people within teams, across teams, or across locations is a deterrent to the rhythm of the company. If your employees are important assets and have been groomed as part of Lean process definitively, it is worth holding on to them, or keeping them in one place within the company.

A surplus of inventory is bad for the company’s health. There are the maintenance costs, storage costs and everything that goes into keeping the inventory in usable state. Rather than follow an approach where inventory is stacked up way before orders come in, it is best to have a rolling inventory.

What is the best possible way to ship your product without hassle or overpriced charge? Some research should go into planning your transport channels.