Knowledge
Techniques and methods
Value Stream Mapping
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a Lean technique for visualising and describing, through standardised language and specific icons, the activities of a process and its logic of operation. It consists of ...
Spaghetti Chart
The spaghetti chart is a visual tool used to map and quantify the movements of materials, information, and people involved in a process within a specific environment, such as a warehouse or office. As...
SMED Technique
SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) is a technique used in the Lean system. Developed by Shigeo Shingō within the Toyota Production System, it focuses on reducing machine setup time, with the aim of ...
VA-NVA analysis
VA-NVA (an acronym for "Value Added-Non-Value Added") analysis is a Lean technique aimed at maximising the generation of value for the customer within a process, i.e., everything the customer would be...
Milk-run
Milk-run is a technique used to manage internal and external logistics by replenishing consumed materials through deliveries at regular intervals, following standardised routes. The origin of the tech...
Problem Solving
A problem arises when there is a discrepancy between reality and the standard, with an unknown cause rooted in the past. It remains a problem until the root cause is permanently eliminated. Problem so...
The 5S method
Developed in Japan and adopted by Toyota as an integral part of its production system, the 5S method is an essential component of lean system. It focuses on improving workplace organization in order t...
Jidoka, Poka-Yoke and Andon
Taiichi Ohno, Toyota manager considered one of the fathers of the Toyota Production System, says: "All we do is look at the timeline from customer order to payment [...] and we constantly reduce this ...
Kanban System
The kanban system - 看板 (from Japanese, kan = "visual," ban = "tag") is a decoupled pull flow control tool that provides for materials management directly from the shopfloor-that is, from the area wher...
Total Productive Maintenance
Total Productive Maintenance is a systemic approach to plant maintenance that aims to achieve productionwithout failures, stoppages, or defects, with everyone involved in the performance of activities...