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Lean Manufacturing Is The Pursuit And Elimination Of Waste

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“Lean manufacturing is the pursuit and elimination of waste that simultaneously embodies respect for people” (Hansen and Mowen 6). Key purposes of lean manufacturing are to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and to maximize customer value. As companies try to cut down on the amount of waste they produce, their goal is to maximize their efficiency and cut the costs that are incurred. Lean manufacturing is described as, “delivering the right product, in the right quantity, with the right quality, at the exact time the customer needs it and at the lowest possible cost” (Hansen and Mowen 778). This idea seems somewhat unrealistic, but methods of implementing lean manufacturing have proven to be successful in achieving this goal.
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The demand for products “pulls” products through the manufacturing process. The goal is to produce a product only when it is needed and to only produce the quantity that is needed. The last principle of lean manufacturing is pursue perfection. This principle keeps the goal of producing highest quality products for the lowest cost in the least amount of time. Waste is eliminated when detected and defects are prevented. Through experience implementing lean manufacturing, the pursuit of perfection becomes achievable.
An important element of lean manufacturing is lean accounting. Lean accounting deals is an approach to costing that supports lean manufacturing through both financial and nonfinancial measures. Lean accounting differs from traditional accounting cost methods. “Rather than categorizing costs by department, they organize them by value stream, which includes everything done to create value for a customer the company can reasonably associate with a product or product line” (Kroll). A key focus of lean accounting is productivity measurement. Productivity measurement focuses on the inputs and outputs of manufacturing. As waste is decreased and ideally eliminated, the overall productive efficiency of the manufacturing processes should increase.
There are many benefits companies can acquire from implementing lean manufacturing. At the same time, those companies will also

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