What exactly does it mean for a company to become lean? I suppose a better question is how can a company stay lean during a time in which economic turmoil is wrecking havoc on majority of the world’s industries. To stay lean a company must use less input such as man hours, materials, have a reduction of investment in equipment and utilize less warehouse or production space. When companies are able to reduce the amount of labor and spending with out sacrificing their product or charging their customers more, the benefits become obvious.  Easier said than done, right?

Some companies are deciding to utilize lean manufacturing software and are noticing an increase in the overall quality of their product because the software is helping them increase their productivity. Some software systems are aiding in the amount of waste that is produced. Let’s take JIT (Just-In-Time) software and use that as an example. This inventory software system can help to eliminate any unnecessary warehouse space that was possibly used to store finished goods or even raw materials. 

Of course the benefits of implementing a system will help a company stay consistent and will aid the overall effectiveness of the operations taking place. Because of the use of data collection and analysis, product tracking and production reporting that is available in systems that can be implemented companies have the ability to collect a higher profit.

Here is a list of some of the other software systems that may be beneficial for companies looking to become lean:

-Preventative Maintenance (PM or CMMS): Stay’s on top of machine maintenance to be sure routine tasks are being completed to help reduce equipment break downs.

-Downtime: Combined with preventative maintenance will help any manufacture know which equipment needs attention and will help companies decide whether the machine or one of its mechanisms needs replaced.

I found a few web sites that will help companies who are looking to become lean.  The lean manufacturing software portal is a great one with more ideas on how to implement lean practices and it describes how Six Sigma defect tracking can help an organization.  Additionally, take a look at the links added in throughout this post, I know you will find them beneficial.