Advantages of Lean Manufacturing

Manufacturing Facility
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International operations executive Richard McCorry is a resident of Rochester Hills, Michigan. The president of Production Spring in Michigan, Richard McCorry is an advocate for lean manufacturing. 

Lean manufacturing, also called lean production, is a model that emphasizes maximum productivity with minimum waste. Lean manufacturing is modeled after Toyota’s legendary manufacturing system that encompasses just-in-time inventory keeping, automated systems, flexible production schedules, and astute quality controls. All of these result in an efficient and less wasteful production system. 

The lean manufacturing model has been adopted by many global companies and is being implemented by American companies seeking a competitive advantage over their Asian counterparts. 

In lean manufacturing, production tasks are aligned neatly with demand so there are no idle workers, excess inventory, or unused equipment. Lean manufacturing production facilities also have no wasted space. This thoughtful utilization of company resources improves the quality of goods, reduces the cost of production, increases operational profitability, and makes management easier. The end result is efficiency across the entire production line.

The Basics of Lean Manufacturing

Richard McCorry is the president and a co-owner of Production Spring, an automotive parts manufacturer in Rochester Hills, Michigan. He also serves as an advisor to private equity companies in Michigan and beyond. One of Richard McCorry’s areas of professional expertise is lean manufacturing. In the early 1990's, he was an invited guest speaker at the GOAL Quality Consortium presenting the concept of Kaizen in Manufacturing. Utilizing Lean tools, he orchestrated a major plant turnaround at the age of 30. He abandoned traditional manufacturing measuring methods and developed his own set of tools including "APU". Actual Productive Uptime ("APU") is now commonly referred to as OEE. Most recently, General Motors Supplier Quality Directors asked permission to share some of his unique visual management systems with their supply community.

Emphasizing the value of engendering efficient production while using a minimum of resources, lean manufacturing practices are centered on various concepts of waste reduction. This waste reduction can occur at any stage of design, manufacture, distribution, or customer interaction. Specific types of waste monitored and addressed range from overproduction of inventory to wasted time.

The history of lean manufacturing dates back to the early 1900s and assembly line pioneers such as Model T manufacturer Henry Ford who said, “We will not put into our establishment anything that is useless.” Toyota executive Taiichi Ohno refined and coalesced the concept of lean manufacturing during Japan’s post-WWII reconstruction period. Lean manufacturing ultimately rose to widespread popularity in the wake of the 1996 book Lean Thinking by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones.