Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing Simulation

The best possible manner of learning lean manufacturing techniques is to know more about simulation programs which will teach you lean manufacturing tools and techniques in a graphical and a representative way. Lean manufacturing techniques are taught to candidates enrolled in a Lean Training program by ways of simulation tools. Understanding Lean Manufacturing techniques off these simulation tools has proved considerably easier than reading it off a book.

What are the Simulation tools?

• Many companies use the plastic cube as a simulation tool for lean manufacturing. The plastic cube is used to show similarity in assembling a product on the factory floor and moving it from one department to another.
  
  
• The Beer Game, developed in the MIT is also a very useful tool for Lean simulations for the techniques. The Beer Game is used by many consultants for their training programs.
  
  
• The Lean Manufacturing simulations are modified a bit in the context of the shipbuilding industry. Variations of MEP exercises, clock exercises, the NIST-MEP 5S training are techniques used for simulation.

What is so unique about these Lean simulation tools?

Most consultants who have developed these simulation tools have kept in mind the target audience as people who wish to reengineer their manufacturing processes which do mass production and build to order. It is important to note that use of these simulation tools in a low-volume manufacturing environ is a failure as the two types of manufacturing differ vastly in the concept of Lean Manufacturing. Shipbuilding and ship repairing is one such example where simulation tools need to be created keeping in mind low volume and high complexity of the basic function. Simulation tools for the shipbuilding and the aerospace sectors are considered to be the most complex with many consultant trying their expert hands on designing a simulation tool for them with most of them failing in their objectives.

Prestigious universities which conduct training programs on lean manufacturing techniques use the NIST-MEP simulation tools which can be used in the high volume/low variety manufacturing environment. These simulation tools are used more often than others because most manufacturing companies produce products on the technique of high volume and low variety example.

The demand for various universities conducting lean management programs differs on a case to case basis. As per a latest survey conducted, demands vary from requiring simulation tools required for training candidates on value stream mapping to training lean concepts like Cellular layouts, Supply Chain and Lean Enterprise techniques.

These simulation tools offer an easy and practical way of understanding Lean Manufacturing concepts which many analysts agree is the best way of understanding Lean concepts.