Final test card 3 What is Lean manufacturing

FINAL TEST

Card 3

1. What is Lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing addresses one of the worst things that can happen to any enterprise: waste. To not take full advantage of all of your resources is to lose efficiencies and, in so doing, stunt production. These neglected resources include everything from manufacturing project management tools, to the skills of the staff members.

Industry is, of course, rife with waste. Whether it’s idle workers or unused materials that cannot be recycled or repurposed, the results are the same: a drag on productivity. This insistence on eliminating waste is where the idea of lean as a management system developed.

Called lean manufacturing or lean production, the truth is that the lessons learned from this methodology can be universally applied. Lean manufacturing principles can help your business processes gain efficiencies and, as a result, become more effective and competitive in any marketplace. So, even if you’re not in the manufacturing business, you can still learn something from this methodology that changed the world.

2. Write about a company structure.

As noted, the organizational structure of a company is the basis or platform used to determine how information flows between the different levels of management based on how the information is coordinated and by whom. The structure defines the hierarchy within a company or organization. Businesses of all sizes rely on it to keep the company operating efficiently and headed in the right direction. A successful organizational structure clearly defines the job of each employee and the place their job holds in the system. The structure is usually illustrated in the form of a chart or diagram.

Without a formal organizational structure in place, it can prove difficult and confusing for an organization. An example would be when employees are not certain who their immediate supervisor is. It can also lead to confusion about who is responsible for each job in the organization.

An organizational structure within a company supports and promotes efficiency, inspires better production, and provides clarity for each employee at every level. In traditional organizations, the structure was a centralized leadership with an established chain of command. The military is a perfect example of a centralized structure within an organization.

There are also decentralized structures. The difference between the two is that in a centralized structure, the majority of the decision making and control of departments/divisions is through a top layer of management members. A decentralized structure promotes the distribution of power among the departments and division. This allows for different levels of independence.

3. Do the given exercise and translate completed phrases

1. draw up a feasibility study

2. reduce a bill of materials

3.migrate an operation into a concept brief

4. put upward pressure on prices

5. have a competitive advantage

6. roll out to the web

7. carry out design complexity

8. turn an initial idea a new product