Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma Definitions

Glossary terms, history, people and definitions about Lean and Six Sigma

5 Lean Principles

From Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI)

There are 5 key process steps to implement lean into an organization.

  1. VALUE: Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by product family.
  2. VALUE STREAM: Identify all the steps in the value stream for each product family, eliminating whenever possible those steps that do not create value.
  3. FLOW: Make the value-creating steps occur in tight sequence so the product will flow smoothly toward the customer.
  4. PULL: As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.
  5. PERFECTION: As value is specified, value streams are identified, wasted steps are removed, and flow and pull are introduced, begin the process again and continue it until a state of perfection is reached in which perfect value is created with no waste.

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