Transforming Businesses through Japanese Manufacturing Wisdom

What is Lean Management?

Lean management is a widely accepted method of achieving operational excellence that is founded on a philosophy of maximizing productivity while minimizing waste during manufacturing or service operations. This is accomplished via the use of proven “lean management” methodologies. It is a strategic approach to provide optimum value to the customer considering the customer’s perspective, while consuming the fewest resources and utilizing the talents of the people who do the work.

In the late 1980s, American scholars researched the famous Toyota Production System which was developed by Toyota Motor Corporation Japan. They discovered that the revolutionary manufacturing methodologies that are used in Toyota could be beneficial for any industry and coined the term “Lean Management” to refer this. Since then thousands of businesses in various industries across the world have adopted lean management methodologies to create significant productivity improvements in profitability, capacity, quality and employee morale.