Lean manufacturing tools are used in an organization to reach the objective of waste elimination and reduction in the system. Presented below are some of the essential lean manufacturing tools as well as techniques which are effective in eliminating wastes and are used by organizations globally.
Quality Function Deployment
Quality Function Deployment or QFD is an essential lean tool that is used to identify the end product that is required by the customers. These tools then track these end results to the original inputs that are then controlled by the organization. This usually includes manufacturing process characteristics and product design.
Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
Also known as FMEA, this tool is a defined analytical technique that lists the potential causes and sources of failure, allocates weighted point scores based on the expected frequency, chances of the failure to be detected and the degree of the consequences.
Poka Yoke
This is one of the cost effective tools. This tool makes use of simple devices in order to prevent production of defective pieces. There are generally three types available which are contact type, performance sequence type and constant number type.
Statistical Process Control
This is an extremely important and effective quality control tool in a lean manufacturing environment. This tool requires periodic measurement of the variables which is a result of the system output and lowers the administrative costs. Since it is preventative, it also reduces performance non-conformance. Statistical Control Process is a core element among the six-sigma toolkit which establishes limits of statistical variability in steady state conditions for the system output parameter.