Ops/571 Wk 3 Assignment: Lean Techniques

WK 3 Individual Assignment Lean Techniques Name Course Tutors Name Date Lean Techniques Lean techniques are tools for eliminating waste from any process by eliminating non-value adding activities. The objective of eliminating waste is improvement of quality and cost reduction. Lean techniques include Kaizen, Poka-Yoke, 5S and Kaban. Kaban is a Japanese term meaning signal. The underlying principle is that the production process signals for replenishment of production and materials from one step in the production process to the preceding one. Kaban eliminates waste by maintaining an orderly and efficient flow of materials in the process. Just in Time (JIT) manufacturingis a primary tool of Kaban (Kabiak Benbow, 2009). This paper will evaluate the implementation of Just-in-Time (JIT) at Harley Davidson a US-based motorcycle manufacturing company. After the Second World War II, Harley-Davidson was faced by fierce competition from Japanese companies because they were able to produce quality motorcycles at a fraction of the cost. Harley Davidson realised that the Japanese companies had about 30 percent lower operation cost than Harley Davidson. The company established that the Japanese companies were using lean techniques to reduce their operations cost (Kotha Dutton, 1993). One of the techniques in use was JIT. Lean