Tools used in Lean Manufacturing

1. 5S: The 5S tool is instrumental in organizing the work area to eliminate waste resulting from poorly organized spaces, reducing time wasted on searching for tools.

2. Andon: Andon serves as a visual feedback system for the plant floor, providing real-time production status indicators, signaling when assistance is needed, and empowering operators to halt the production process if necessary.

3. Continuous Flow: Continuous flow ensures that every item moves seamlessly through all process steps, as opposed to working in batches.

4. Value Stream Mapping: Value stream mapping is a comprehensive tool that documents each step of the production plan, accelerates process cycle times, detects and eliminates waste, and integrates improvements into business practices.

5. Just-in-Time: JIT analyzes customer demands to determine which parts to produce, enabling the production of items only when needed.

6. Bottleneck Analysis: Bottleneck analysis provides a structured approach to examining workflows, detecting, and addressing bottlenecks in the production process.

7. Overall Equipment Effectiveness: OEE measures productive time and aids in analyzing and optimizing production processes to reduce cycle times and boost efficiency.

8. Kaizen: Kaizen fosters continuous improvement across various facets, including quality, technology, processes, productivity, company culture, and safety.

9. Heijunka: Heijunka aims to level the type and quantity of production, reduce batching, and create a more efficient manufacturing process.

10. Poka-Yoke: Poka-Yoke aims to prevent mistakes or defects by incorporating devices to prevent errors, also known as mistake-proofing.