Assignment : Lean Systems
1. Consider various businesses with which you are familiar. Select a business and explain how it exemplifies craft production. Select another business and discuss how it exemplifies mass production. If you are familiar with a lean organization (or one using some lean techniques), please describe the lean techniques used.
2. Lean production is portrayed differently in different types of media. Find an article discussing lean production/manufacturing/systems in a management-related journal such as Harvard Business Review or Management Today. Summarize the article in a few paragraphs.
3. Find an article in an engineering-related journal such as Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Quality Progress, or The Engineer. Summarize the article in a few paragraphs.
4. Write a paragraph comparing two journal articles from Q2 and Q3. Are lean concepts presented similarly? Are there aspects which are emphasized in one and ignored in the other? Discuss why you believe lean is (or is not) presented differently in different types of media.
5. Select an office or a service provider with which you are familiar. Describe five different types of waste present. Discuss the impact of the waste and make a suggestion as to how it could be eliminated or reduced.