by Rich Vurva

The Japanese term for anything that interrupts the flow of products and services through the value stream and out to the customer is muda, or waste. Muda is the enemy of any efficient production system. Eliminating muda is one of the primary goals behind lean manufacturing.

When employees hoard tools and supplies because they don’t trust the tool crib to have what they need, that’s muda. When workers have to walk to a centralized tool crib to pick up supplies instead of having the tools they need at their work station, that’s muda.

Our story called Helping customers get lean explains how distributors that learn about lean manufacturing concepts can help their customers gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace. In a world where U.S. manufacturers compete against companies in China that pay labor rates a fraction of the size of U.S. wage earners, companies here need to take advantage of every opportunity they can to do things more efficiently, with no waste.

As more North American manufacturers begin to adopt lean manufacturing practices, distributor salespeople will begin to encounter people with titles such as lean implementation manager or lean coordinator. Salespeople who communicate to those individuals using the traditional product feature/benefit approach won’t get very far. Instead, they need to learn how to talk about eliminating the seven types of muda identified by the Toyota Production System, about the kaizen approach to process improvement and about value stream mapping.

If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms used in the paragraph above, our article is a good place to begin to learn more. Another way to brush up on your knowledge of lean manufacturing is by attending LMU4, the fourth in a series of lean manufacturing conferences developed by Milo Media’s MRO Today magazine. Milo Media is the parent corporation for Progressive Distributor. LMU4: Lean Maintenance is scheduled for May 23-25 in Las Vegas. Learn more by phoning (920) 691-1219.

Armed with lean knowledge, you’ll be better positioned to help your customers make mincemeat of muda.

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