The implementation of Lean Manufacturing, especially in the manufacturing industry is not new anymore. However, not a few manufacturing companies have not understood fundamentally the meaning of the actual application of ‘lean’.

When an organization decides to ‘go lean’ in its work area, it means that the entire work area must apply all lean philosophy and practices. Lean is a best practice for many industries that focus on customers by reducing waste activity in the production process.

There are some differences between the application of lean techniques in industry sharing. However, there are three techniques that are almost applicable in different industries to initiate lean implementation within an organization.

5S

5S is a term used to refer to the work area setting method. Actually 5S stands for five words from Japanese: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke. The first time the idea of ??5S or “Just In Time Manufacturing” was conceived by Hiroyuki Hirano. In Indonesian, 5S is also known as 5R for Quick, Rapi, Resik, Rawat, Rajin. Each letter “S” represents one of the rules in organizing the work area so that employees can work efficiently and effectively, by identifying and storing tools that are often used properly and maintain the neatness of the area and equipment. Often referred to as part of the Lean Enterprise philosophy, 5S is translated into English and adopted by many companies as a method of improvement and efficiency in their work environment.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a business practice that focuses on continuous improvement. By implementing Kaizen, there will always be room for improvement, and as a way to grow CI culture in employees to continue to improve their work area. The philosophy of this method emphasizes that the id of each individual is the most important and all employees must be involved in the process of making the company better. An organization that implements Kaizen never avoids criticism and is always open to all entries and ideas of all its employees, without exception. This helps the company to create a conducive working environment with mutual respect and create open communication.

Kanban
Kanban is a Japanese word that literally means “visual signal” or “card”. The Kanban system at Toyota does use colored cards as a means of communication. The colors on the card indicate various information about the job: what to do, when and how. How does it work?

Simple. Only by improving the communication system for the better. Communication systems are no longer done by word of mouth or writing, but with visual markers. They call it visual management or visual management, which is at the core of the Kanban system.

Implementation of Lean Manufacturing, it is not easy to apply in an organization. However, as the organization and all of its people are committed to making their organization better, the implementation of Lean can have a significant impact. Increased productivity, improved service to customers, increased employee morale as well as a safer and more conducive working environment. Each application of lean manufacturing techniques contributes to the increase in overall enterprise productivity and leads to profitability.