Lean manufacturing

A methodology developed by Toyota after World War II and called the Toyota Production System (TPS). It concerns an approach to production in which the supplier tries to satisfy the customer’s requirements as much as possible by only producing what the customer demands. It endeavours to manufacture products in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost, without sacrificing quality or at the expense of the customer. This is achieved by minimizing waste.

Its principle is to overhaul the profit equation as follows:

• Cost + Profit = Price
  changes to:
• Price – Cost = Profit
  

Changing the equation in line with the philosophy of this methodology should result in the customer not paying for the company’s errors and costs, as in the first equation.