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The Lean Thinking principles made their beginnings in the manufacturing industry in the mid 1950's as the Toyota Production System (TPS), In more recent times Lean Thinking principles have many sector specific applications such as; Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Lean Management, Lean Accounting, Lean Health, Lean Finance, Lean Defence, Lean Six Sigma and many more. However the Lean Thinking principles continue to provide a sound foundation and solid framework for achieving sustainable continuous improvement.
It is commonly believed that it all started in Japan, however Henry Ford began the fundamentals of Lean as early as the 1920's as evidenced in his books and direct quotes, like the one below.
"One of the most noteworthy accomplishments in keeping the price of Ford products low is the gradual shortening of the production cycle. The longer the article is in the process of manufacture and the more it is moved about, the greater is its ultimate cost." Henry Ford 1926
Today we view Lean Thinking methodology as a systematic examination of
processes, methods and systems to identify and eliminate waste by applying
continuous improvement, synchronous flow of work in synch with customer's
needs, market demands and the pursuit of perfection.
Lean applies to the entire organisation and supply chain and recognises that the most productive outcome is derived by improving the sum of all business functions and processes. Lean Thinking provides the foundation, skeleton or framework for organisational improvement and it is the unique application of Lean Thinking by each organisation, that makes an organisation "Best in Class".
The Strategic Partnership's House of Lean Training
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UniSA Lean Contacts
Sandra Walker +61 8 8302 0801 Sandra.Walker@unisa.edu.au
Peter Crossman +61 8 8302 0633 Peter.Crossman@unisa.edu.au