Lean thinking

LEAN ili racionalno poslovanje tema je brojnih ekonomista i autora, a sve više vođa i menadžera koji nastoje poboljšati poslovanje organizacija i poduzeća. O racionalnom poslovanju se počelo razmišljati 50-ih godina 20. stoljeća, a začetnikom LEAN filozofije smatra se Taiichi Ohno koji je uspostavio Toyota Production System (TPS) u japanskom proizvođaču auta Toyota. Racionalno poslovanje ili LEAN je način razmišljanja i rada cijelog sustava koji je korištenjem raznih modela i alata usmjeren prema kontinuiranom poboljšanju funkcioniranja sustava uz konstantno savršenstvo. Dakle, LEAN proizvodnja je sistematična metoda za minimiziranje troškova unutar proizvodnog sustava uz povećanje produktivnosti i kvalitete. U odnosu na tradicionalno poslovanje, racionalno poslovanje teži k savršenstvu, usmjerava se prema kupcima, spriječava probleme, procedure su dinamične, a na zaposlenike se gleda da su potencijal i izvor napretka. Od začetka ideje racionalnog poslovanja ekonomisti su razvijali brojne alate koji pomažu u ostvarivanju cilja racionalnog poslovanja. Neki od najpoznatijih su: TQM, Kaizen, Kanban, JiT, Poka-Yoke, CRM, 5 S, vizualni menadžment, Gemba itd. Vjerojatno najznačajniji dio LEAN filozofije je eliminiranje otpada. Otpad se može definirati kao svaka aktivnost koja ne dodaje vrijednost. Razlikuju se sedam osnovnih oblika otpada – prijevoz, nepotrebne zalihe, nepotrebne kretnje, čekanje, prevelika proizvodnja, predetaljna obrada i greške. Neki autori ističu osmi otpad – neiskorišteni ljudski potencijal.LEAN thinking is the topic of many economists and authors, and nowdays more and more leaders and managers are thinking about rational business and how to improve organizations and businesses. LEAN philosophy was established around 1950s, and the founder of LEAN philosophy is Taiichi Ohno, who has implemented Toyota Production System (TPS) in Japanese automobile manufacture Toyota. LEAN is a way of thinking and working of the whole system which, by using different models and tools, is aimed to continuous improvement of system functioning with constant perfection. LEAN production system is a systematic method for minimizing costs within the production system with increased productivity and quality. Regarding traditional business, LEAN thinking seeks on perfection, focuses on customers, prevents problems, processes are dynamic, and employees are seen to be the potential and source of progress. Since the beginning of the LEAN thinking, economists have developed a number of tools to help achieve the goal of rational business. Some of the best known are: TQM, Kaizen, Kanban, JiT, Poka-Yoke, CRM, 5S, Visual management, Gemba etc. Probably the most important part of LEAN philosophy is waste elimination. Waste can be defined as any activity that does not add value. There are seven basic types of waste – transport, inventory, movements, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing and defects. Some authors point out the eight waste – unused human potential