Lean Management (also known as Lean Manufacturing, Lean Enterprise or Lean Production) is a system of management developed by the Toyota Motor Corporation being used successfully across the world in both manufacturing and service sectors including healthcare, banking, government and agriculture etc.

Lean is focused on improving processes, eliminating waste, increasing values that customer receives, and enabling organizations gain competitive advantage over their competitors. The application lean principles, tools and techniques help in standardizing the workplace, creating a work environment where there is a place for everything and everything is in its place. It enhances effective problem solving. It is a long-term approach to work that seeks to systematically achieve incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality.

This online certification course is designed to expose in details some time-tested principles, tools and techniques targeted to enabling engineers, quality assurance/control professionals, business owners & leaders, supervisors and managers of all levels etc. to drastically eliminate process waste, create more values and continually improve their overall production/manufacturing, business and operational processes.

The course consists of FREE downloadable templates, white papers and other resources that you can practice with to enhance your skills or customize for your personal and/or professional usage.

This course is section into the following sections:

• Introduction to Lean Management

Here, you will learn the various practical meaning of lean management, focus of lean management, the lean process and principles, and benefits of lean implementation.

• Cost and Lean Waste

In this section, you will learn the concept of the 8 lean wastes and techniques in eliminating the wastes. You will be introduced to the cost of quality (COQ) and lean techniques assists in analyzing the cost of poor quality (COPQ).

• PDCA Cycle and the Lean Metrics

Here, you will learn the application of PDCA cycle in lean implementation. You would understand the key metrics used in lean manufacturing.

• Visual Management

In visual management, you will learn the concept of the 6S, development of Process Mapping, Swimlane Mapping, Value Stream Mapping and others.

• Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

This section covers the essential aspects of a TPM program. It includes programs like the eight pillars of TPM, and the implementation process of the TPM program. In this section, you‘ll learn the definition of TPM, relationship between and OEE, and benefits of implementing TPM.

• Lean Tools and Techniques

This section teaches you vital tools and techniques in lean manufacturing including: A3 Methodologies, Spaghetti Charts, Pareto Charts, Process Analysis Tools, 5 Whys and others.

• Process Optimization

In this, you would understand how to design a work cell. You would be introduced the single piece flow and batch reduction, changeover reduction, Kanban methodologies, process walk and kaizen events etc.

• Kaizen Methodologies

Kaizen Approach is widely used by organizations with lean methodology to effect continuous improvement to organizational processes. In this section, you will learn some key kaizen principles, philosophy, action plans, and events that will enable you enact cultural change in your organizations through Kaizen principles.

• Benchmarking

In this section, you will learn the various systematic techniques for measuring and comparing processes, adopting and adapting organizational best practices to enhance continuous process improvement.

At the end of the section, you would be able to explain the meaning, types and application of benchmarking techniques. You would have gained thorough understanding of benchmarking sequence, methods and the benefits of implementing benchmarking techniques.

• Cellular manufacturing

This section demonstrates the benefits a manufacturing organization can achieve in efficiency, product quality, and inventory and space utilization by the adoption of cellular manufacturing principles and techniques.

At the conclusion of this section, you would understand the benefits of introducing Cellular Manufacturing, plan & design a cell appropriate to your own unique working environment in order to improve manufacturing operations efficiencies.

• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is an essential component of a preventive action program. This section will enable you assess and analyze your organization’s risk of failure, determine areas in need of action, and apply mistake-proofing techniques. The section presents a step-by-step method for conducting Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), defining the role, methodologies, and implementation of the FMEAs.

At the conclusion of this section, you would understand the benefits and various techniques for conducting FMEA and effectively implement them to prevent failures from occurring.

Learners will be able to…

1. Define the properties of FMEA

2. Brainstorm potential failures

3. Assess risk of failure

4. Determine areas that need action

5. Apply FMEA methods

6. Know your role for team participation

7. Describe the purpose of the FMEA process.

8. List at least three benefits of utilizing FMEA.

9. Explain when FMEA should and should not be performed.

10. Define the FMEA terms: failure mode, failure effect, failure cause, severity, occurrence, and detection.

11. Complete a sample Design FMEA.

12. Complete a sample Process FMEA.

• Gemba Walk

Understanding processes and identifying potential areas of improvement is best done by observing the action up close. The term, Gemba, refers to the place where value is created and can be improved. The 'Gemba Walk' is an activity that takes management to the front lines with the goal of identifying non-value added activities and opportunities.

The primary goal of Gemba Walk is to understand the situation through involvement of everyone related to the process to understand the Purpose, Process, and People. In this section of the course, you will have a better understanding of the correct approach to implementing Gemba Walk and sustaining a Lean culture.

• One Piece Flow

One Piece Flow is a fundamental element of becoming lean. To think of processing one unit at a time usually sends a shudder through the organization which has batch manufacturing as its life blood. The word “one” does not necessarily have a literal meaning. It should be related to the customers’ requirements and could be one unit of order. However, what it does mean is that the organisation should only process what the customer wants, in the quantity he wants and when he wants it.

In this section, you will learn the benefits and the various tools and techniques in achieving one piece flow within your organization. You will learn how to implement one piece flow methodology in achieving operational efficiency within your organization.

• Mistake Proofing

In this section, you will learn a systematic way to error-proof processes with wide range of examples to will stimulate your creative thinking about making it impossible to make mistakes and prepare you to eliminate real-life recurring problems or defects. In this course, you will learn how to apply different mistake-proofing solutions, you’ll be able to use different mistake-proofing techniques and be able to identify the best way to mistake-proof a given situation. You’ll gain an invaluable skill of integrating mistake-proofing as part of an overall Quality Improvement Process within your organization.