Manual versus Information Technology Enabled Lean Manufacturing
P.J. Jakovljevic - February 16, 2006

Manual versus Information Technology

It is easy enough to grasp the potential benefits of lean manufacturing, but selecting the most appropriate lean techniques or tools and the accompanying packaged enterprise software for an individual enterprise has never been that simple. In fact, it is a major exercise for an enterprise to initially identify the most appropriate tools for eliminating different types of waste. For instance, overproduction could be mitigated by improved changeover times and balanced lines, whereas defects and rework could be curbed by improving visual controls, initiating more complete standard operation procedures (SOP) or operation method sheets (OMS), and implementing mistake proofing techniques at the source of error. Furthermore, waste of excessive inventory could be reduced by implementing kanbans and other similar pull systems, while waiting time could be handled by using takt times, and so on...