A Systematic Method for Leaning Engineering Processes

For the past decade, lean manufacturing has reshaped manufacturing processes at numerous corporations. Even organizations that were already conscious of quality, cost, and delivery have benefited tremendously from these principles. The foundation of lean manufacturing is the elimination of nonvalue added elements, waste. There are three important value streams in the realization of any product — the engineering value stream, the manufacturing value stream, and the information management value stream. This paper focuses on the engineering value stream. The methods of lean manufacturing can be applied for waste elimination in engineering. The dissemination of lean manufacturing principles into engineering would multiply the significant benefits already derived by embracing lean in the manufacturing part of the enterprise. Little attention has been given to a systematic method of lean engineering that aims not only at reducing engineering lead-time, but also at identifying, measuring, and eliminating waste in engineering processes. Engineering organizations lack a basic methodology for waste elimination. This paper proposes a systematic, ten-step method for engineering waste elimination. Such a systematic method will help engineering organizations systematically identify, measure, and eliminate engineering wastes from all engineering processes. The systematic method is then used to demonstrate the elimination of waste in engineering through its application to the manufacturing equipment installation — a manufacturing engineering process. In today’s competitive world, the ability to bring better products to market faster has become the focal point of competition. The use of this systematic method for engineering waste elimination holds significant promise for organizations wanting to outperform their competitors on quality, cost, and delivery.