The Basics of Lean Manufacturing

Philip Calhoun is an experienced automotive executive and business leader based in Madison, Mississippi. Throughout his career, Philip Calhoun has relied heavily on lean manufacturing to in leading operations.

Lean manufacturing is a process of continuous improvement of the production process. The main principle of this method is the elimination of waste without hampering productivity.

Lean manufacturing started at Toyota in the 1930s. At the time, it was called “The Toyota Way” by the corporation’s executives. However, John Kracik of the MIT Sloan School of Management coined the term “lean manufacturing” for his master’s thesis in 1988. David Jones and James Womack defined the term in 1996.

Building a lean system is performed in three steps. Step one is the design of a simple and efficient system. Step two is the revision and improvement of the system. Step three is taking feedback and continuously creating a more efficient and straightforward design.