Defining lean manufacturing

This page is designed to help you find questions to some of the most common questions about lean manufacturing. Defining lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is defined as "a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste (non-value-added activities) through continuous improvement by flowing the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection" (Peterman, 2001, p. 24). It is not really a new idea but it is one that has recently gained a great deal of attention. Over the years, lean manufacturing has been referred to by different names, such as flow manufacturing, just-in-time production, demand flow technology and the Toyota Production System (TPS) (Peterman, 2001).