The Main Lean Concepts

See our Terminology section below for more on the words or phrases with an asterisk

Lean (thinking)
the basic philosophy and context for business improvement and specific lean tools. The approach is to use the customer as the focus and ensure that resources are used effectively and waste is eliminated. Value is defined by the customer and supply-chain* workflow is viewed as a value stream*.
Lean (tools)
a range of business tools to support business improvement, measuring operational performance or implementing and sustaining change. Use only the tools and techniques that are appropriate to the business environment and its characteristics.
Lean (journey)
the steps to becoming lean and world class. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is often used as the benchmark where the major steps are about stability, continuous flow*, synchronised work*, pull systems, levelling workloads* and ongoing continuous improvement.
Lean processing
the phrase we recommend to represent those aspects of lean specifically concerned with effective work flow such as inter-group communications, levelling workloads* and team working.
Process mapping
ways to visualise and improve business processes considering both physical material flows and information flows. Several lean tools are available, from top-level value streams* through spaghetti diagrams* and string diagrams* to detailed process flow analysis.
Added value
defined as being what the customer requires and values. This excludes many tasks that may be thought necessary but should be considered as waste.
Waste
anything that does not add customer value. The starting point is to consider 'the seven wastes' of Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Over-processing and Defects (TIM WOOD). Additional wastes include 'untapped human potential' and 'making the wrong product efficiently'.
Standard work
standard procedures and standard operating instructions (SOPs). Standardisation is considered the key to good quality, flexibility, people and process development. Effective SOPs are owned by the people performing the task and represent the 'current best method' of doing the job (to be improved whenever possible).
Repetitive work
where similar activities are the norm. Usually associated with standard products - but equally applicable to custom products or services where the activities are similar in type or size even though the final deliverable is different.
Pull systems
ways of making work flow to meet actual customer requirements as opposed to pushing work into the system against forecast demand or target stock levels. Take care to understand current methods - it is often not easy to distinguish between push, pull or flow. Classic material planning systems start by pulling work to a master schedule but safety factors often make the result more push than pull.
Visual triggers
simple visual control systems in the workplace that are able to control workflow. Often referred to as Kanbans, these may take many forms from empty spaces, low stacks of boxes to two bin systems*. They are useful for the control of both stock replenishment and the flow of work in progress.
Pacemaker process
the part of the supply chain that is the limiting factor, often referred to as a constraint or bottleneck. In lean thinking this is the task or activity that controls the pace of the whole workflow.
Takt time
the frequency or pace at which a task has to be performed, usually measured in seconds or minutes but could be days or weeks. Good for balancing workloads.
GEMBA
the 'place of action', workplace. The clear message is if you want to improve the process go to the where the work is; look, investigate and analyse. Do not just do a purely theoretical analysis.

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