♻️ In Lean Manufacturing, eliminating waste is key to increasing efficiency and reducing costs. The Lean system identifies 8 types of waste (muda) that do not add value to the final product and must be continuously combated. “Waste is anything that the customer does not want to pay for.” –
🏭 WIP, or Work in Progress, refers to all partially processed products that are in progress in the production flow, but have not yet been completed. Controlling WIP is essential to ensure fluidity, quality, and operational efficiency. Good WIP control is like a traffic light in the factory — it
⏱️ Takt Time is a fundamental concept in lean manufacturing (Lean Manufacturing) that defines the ideal production pace necessary to meet customer demand. It functions as a metronome for the production line, ensuring that each station operates at the right time, without excesses or delays. “Produce at the pace of
Just-in-Time (JIT) is a production philosophy that aims to deliver what is needed, in the right quantity, at the exact moment, eliminating excessive inventories, waste, and idle time. Its focus is on synchronizing production processes with real demand. Produce only what is necessary, when necessary — this is the principle
Kanban is a visual workflow management system, originally created in Japan by Toyota, aimed at optimizing production, reducing inventory, and increasing efficiency. Using physical or digital cards, Kanban allows real-time tracking of task status, production orders, or material movement. Kanban makes the invisible visible — and turns chaos into flow.
Andon is a visual and audible signaling system used on production lines to indicate the operational status of a cell, machine, or process. It is an essential part of the Lean Manufacturing philosophy, promoting operational transparency, immediate problem resolution, and standardization of failure response. Andon transforms invisible problems into visible
Production Engineering is the area responsible for planning, designing, implementing, controlling, and optimizing production systems — combining human, technological, and material resources to achieve efficiency, quality, and competitiveness. It operates directly at the interface between product development, testing, processes, logistics, maintenance, and quality management, being essential in Industry 4.0 and
Lean Manufacturing, or simply Lean, is an industrial management philosophy focused on eliminating waste, increasing efficiency, and creating customer value with the least possible consumption of resources. Originating from the Toyota production system, Lean is now widely used in factories, laboratories, maintenance sectors, quality, development, and even in offices —