Brief introductory article discussing the key element in lean implementation: simulation. Simulation has been used successfully in factory floor improvement, inventory management, capacity analyses, and process design. Benefits such as the following are not unusual.
- Postponing final packaging results in 30 percent inventory reduction with substantial service improvement to more than 97 percent.
- Shift/work center change allows reduction of staff from 7 to 6 days per week.
- Adding staff to a bottleneck work center reduces overall number of workers by 10 percent.
- Synchronized operations reduce cycle time from 18 to 13 weeks.