Lean manufacturing is the idea of maximizing customer value while reducing waste.

Eliminating waste along the entire process, not just at specific points, creates less problems. Lean not only describes manufacturing, but every type of business and process.

Continuous change in Japanese The practice that focuses on continuous improvement of processes and manufacturing.

1780s- French Army Ordinance started the concept of interchangeable parts to create a large amount of weapons. 1880s- American meat packing in the Midwest first used conveyors. 1908- Real interchangeable parts used in Fords cars. 1937- Sakichi Toyoda creates the Toyota Motor Company, which uses just-in-time delivery for efficiency. 1960s- Toyota continues to improve its management system, using the kaizen theory to improve efficiency and satisfy customers.

1987- MIT International Motor Vehicle Program researcher Krafcik gave lean manufacturing its name, after observing Toyotas methods. 2007- Toyota passes General Motors as the worlds largest motor vehicle producer, using lean manufacturing.

Lean production is founded on kaizen. Over time, Toyota improved on vehicle production In reality, money will be saved, people will become better, happier workers, and work space will be gained as a result. Depending on companies, lean manufacturing is constantly improving.

Henry Ford- used interchangeable parts combined with an efficient worker system to create flow production, also known as the assembly line. Sakichi Toyoda: invented the automatic loom that stopped when a snapped thread was detected, avoiding poor quality. Kiichiro Toyoda: studied Ford Motors and adopted their production system for smaller production scale. Just-In-Time manufacturing was implemented. Eiji Toyoda- instituted the concept of kaizen and reorganized Toyotas management and production system. Taiichi Ohno- expanded Just-In-Time concepts for Toyota Motors.

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