lean manufacturing

Lean manufactory house. Lean manufacturing is a management system built on three principles: produce only what is needed, when it is needed; correct abnormalities as soon as they occur; and empower workers to improve the process themselves.

At its core, Lean eliminates activities that do not add value for the customer. Where just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing focuses on inventory strategy — receiving goods only as needed to reduce costs and waste — Lean goes further by reducing cycle time, flow time, and throughput time across the entire system, including marketing and customer service. According to one study: "While Just-In-Time manufacturing focuses on efficiency of inventory strategy to eliminate waste and enhance productivity, Lean manufacturing uses efficiency in its system setups to reduce cycle, flow, and throughput times being the added values to customers."