Strategos Lean Manufacturing—Information-Training-Consulting

Lean Manufacturing & Operations

Lean is about eliminating waste. It consists of a set of attitudes, philosophies, principles, analysis tools and specific work structures that form a production system. Lean is, essentially, a prescriptive or pre-packaged Manufacturing Strategy that fits many (but not all) situations. At Strategos, we try to take a pragmatic and flexible view.

Here you will find many articles explaining Lean Manufacturing and Operations as well as the various elements. There are tools for analysis, downloads of Excel templates and forms. There are simulations and many real-life examples.

Facility Planning & Plant Layout

Facilities (land, buildings, equipment) provide the physical capability to add value and create products. The most common manifestation of facility planning (or lack thereof) is the Plant Layout. An effective layout incorporates and enables the manufacturing strategy on which it is based. Lean strategy starts with workflow and workflow is the result of process and layout. Mr. Lee has authored two books and many articles on Plant Layout and Facility Planning. His approach is organized, practical and systematic.

Manufacturing & Operations Strategy

Manufacturing Strategy flows from the premise that a factory design, as any engineering design, is a compromise between competing objectives and various constraints. We can optimize the design for one or two objectives (such as cost, quality, delivery, new products) but not all. Manufacturing Strategy starts in marketing. It asks questions such as:

The answers to these questions lead to the "Key Manufacturing Task(s). Manufacturing must excel at this task to win orders in the marketplace. The task may be cost, flexibility or another of several dimensions. From this Key Manufacturing Task, a set of policies flow that guide daily operations and decisions for purchasing equipment, setting priorities or designing a plant layout (for example).

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