..The carts have had a big impact on our setup process. Machine downtime during setup has been reduced by more than 50%. Product quality has improved; we have been able to reduce lot sizes by 50%; and operators can set up machines instead of searching for hardware, tools and documents. As we reduced lot sizes, other opportunities for improvement surfaced. We found it was better to have the material supplier precut the barstock. We now manage precut inventory with a two-bin pull system and an electronic replenishment signal delivered to the material supplier. This has increased inventory turns, reduced manufacturing order pick time from over 3 hours to less than 5 minutes and reduced floor...
Thus, lean manufacturing, or eliminating the time it takes to produce a product and filleting down the steps of a particular supply or assembling chain is not inconsistent with optimization of quality.
Works Cited
Chaneski, Wayne. (2006) "Company implements lean strategies." MMS Online. Retrieved 16 Aug 2006 at http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/0103ci.html
