Lean management is a management approach that emphasizes value production and emphasizes minimizing waste in order to achieve a competitive advantage. The core objective of lean management is “creating value without waste”.

To coordinate all activities optimally, a system should be viewed from two perspectives.

• From the customer’s perspective
• From the company’s perspective

Tools for lean management

It is important to consider the issue from two perspectives, as this makes it possible to check whether the customer’s wishes can be realized by a company in a certain quality and at a certain price. This enables a company to see whether it can hold its own in the market in comparison with competitors and where there is room for improvement in order to increase its own competitiveness.

The following tools, for example, can be used to introduce lean management:

• Kanban
• Kaizen
• Pull systems in supply chains
• Just in time production

Lean production

In lean production, the focus is on the human being. The aim is for a corporate strategy to help make the production process leaner. The human and the machine are coordinated with each other, which should lead to increased productivity and performance. The characteristics of lean production include:

• More personal responsibility
• Teamwork
• Fewer hierarchical structures
• Use of resources as needed

For more information, see Lean Management: the 5S Method.

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