Companies in the manufacturing sector for years have been striving for lean production or processes to create more efficient operations. One of the latest trends in technology, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), could give lean efforts a major boost.
Lean manufacturing, a systematic method for eliminating waste within a manufacturing system, is based on the concept of making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else. It’s a management philosophy that stems mainly from the Japanese manufacturing sector, and specifically Toyota Production System, which focuses on the reduction of waste to improve overall customer value.
Lean encompasses a set of tools that help in the identification and steady reduction of waste. And as waste is eliminated, quality improves and at the same time production time and cost are reduced. The ultimate goal of lean is to get the right things to the right place at the right time and in the right quantity, in order to achieve perfect workflow while minimizing waste and being flexible.
The Internet of Things involves the linking of physical objects such as devices, consumer products, vehicles, corporate assets, buildings and other “things” via the Internet. These “smart” objects are embedded with electronics, sensors, actuators, software and network connectivity that allow them to gather and share a variety of data and respond to control messages.
