**4. Importance of sorting waste according to the lean manufacturing philosophy**

It is essential to know the types of waste that lean manufacturing proposes, also known as "Muda" due to its origin in Japan in the Toyota production system. Waste is anything that is not absolutely essential for production. Lean

Manufacturing identifies the following seven types of waste that must be eliminated in a production system [10].

**Overproduction.** Process items earlier or in greater quantity than required by the customer.

**Wait time.** Products or goods that are not being transported or in the manufacturing process are on hold.

**Transport.** The handling and transfer of materials or documents that do not add value are considered wasteful.

**Inventory.** Excessive storage of raw material, product in process and finished product.

**Over-Processing.** It is about adding unnecessary steps in work activities and not required by the client.

**Movement.** Any movement that the operator makes apart from generating added value to the product or service.

**Defects in the process.** Repetition or correction of processes also includes rework on non-conforming products or products returned by the customer.

Once the activities of the process where some type of waste is being generated have been classified, it is necessary that all the employees of the organization participate by undertaking specific actions for the elimination, for which the managers must promote an environment that promotes the generation of ideas and the continuous elimination of waste. In addition, it is important to train in the different tools, techniques and methodologies that lean manufacturing relies on and to establish a deadline to verify the results.

It is necessary to note that the full identification and elimination of waste has become a pillar for companies, when deciding absolutely on the use, investment and management of their resources, which is essential to find opportunities for improvement in the organization and achieve greater process efficiency [11].

#### **5. Top lean manufacturing tools**

The lean manufacturing tools that are mostly used in the industrial sector to increase productivity are the following: [12].

**5S** is a tool focused on working with effectiveness, organization and standardization. It is used to improve work conditions, through the organization, classification, cleanliness and order in the workplace. It seeks to establish a pleasant and high-performance work environment that allows the correct performance of daily operations [13].

According to [14], **Kaizen** is a Japanese word that means continuous improvement and presents a methodology to improve any production process through the implementation of different techniques, tools and methods, in addition to promoting a cultural change, teamwork, skills development and initiative to identify root causes of problems.

**Poka Yoke** seeks to prevent the production of defects caused by humans when they make mistakes in their workplace, blocking or stopping the process in case of failure [15].

**Andón** is the signal system that allows showing the state in which the machine is (running, stopped, stuck, etc.) [15].

**SMED** Single-Minute Exchange of Dies Set of techniques that seek to reduce machine setup times, Standardization through the installation of new mechanisms, templates and functional anchors, eliminates downtime adjustments [15].

**TPM** Total Productive Maintenance Set of techniques aimed at eliminating breakdowns through the participation and motivation of all employees, maximizing *Lean Manufacturing as a Strategy for Continuous Improvement in Organizations DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96427*

effectiveness and lengthening the life of the equipment and preventing losses in operations [16].

**Kanban** is a tool that helps to improve the production flow in a line through "labels", which serves as a "work order, informs in a timely manner what is going to be produced, in what quantity, by what means, and in what will be transported.

**Jidoka Technique** based on the incorporation of systems and devices that give machines the ability to detect failure in production.

**Heijunka** is key to achieving flow and leveling in production, the purpose is to level the production schedule by sequencing the orders according to a repetitive pattern that makes the average daily production similar between the different days of the week [16].


**Table 1.**

*Lean manufacturing tools for Mudas removal.*

**JIT** Just in time. This system consists of getting the parts necessary for assembly to the line at the right time they are needed and in the right amount required.

**VSM** Value Stream Map is important to manage the entire value stream for each product, in order to understand where waste occurs, rather than looking at activities or processes in isolation. Therefore, a value flow map must be created where each of the actions required to design and manufacture a specific product is clearly identified.

Activities that create value from the customer's point of view; as well as those activities that do not create value from the customer's point of view, cannot be eliminated. They can be improved in order to reduce the time that they are given, and finally the activities that do not create value from the customer's point of view, and that are unnecessary, and these can be eliminated immediately [17].

The implementation of quality tools in a lean production system is strongly linked to common sense, and that is why adequate preparation in the organizational culture must be required, where both managers and employees have the commitment to change their traditional ways of thinking and working [18].

If there is not clear identification of the different quality tools that are applicable for the elimination of the different wastes, then no efforts aimed at improving the production processes will have the expected impact. That is why as a contribution to this work, **Table 1** shows the different changes and the lean tools that may be appropriate to solve these problems were identified.
