When lean production was introduced in the 1950s, it aimed to deliver better quality products to customers in the shortest time possible at less cost. Each step taken in continuous improvement put manufacturers one step ahead of their competitors.

The 14 principles of lean production began to be used to improve flow and standardize business processes with a way of thinking, methodology and the most applicable tools by eliminating waste. Lean production, which added a new color to competition, reached its suppliers with the introduction of lean principles and turned into a giant value cluster.

Creating orderly warehouse and operation areas with 5S, drawing flow charts of value at every point with VSM, making all processes visible and traceable with visual factory, standardizing processes with SOT, achieving the best quality value at once with on-site quality, reducing type changes to single minutes with SMED, saying goodbye to breakdowns with the establishment of preventive and autonomous maintenance with TPM, allowing employees to improve themselves with line management, paving the way for continuous improvement with Kaizen and Kaikaku… Getting faster and faster… Like learning to ride a bicycle, after a while we see all the vehicles in the set of our habits.

Time and time again, we first defined the value, then created the value stream, and then set out on a journey of excellence by assembling the continuous flow and the pull system to develop environments where no accidents occur, to be high quality, to be fast, and to develop processes that are free of waste and cost less. We learned to see and we managed what we learned.

We were uplifted with each value that turned green on our scorecards, we established new Kaizen teams in our blushes. We met Gemba and declared the environment we work in a living space. We were applauded after each presentation or we became more socialized by applauding. Sometimes we managed a lean tool team, sometimes we participated in team work as a team member. We learned to listen to those who made mistakes at Skorkart meetings and to applaud and congratulate those who were aware of their mistakes. We hung “we love making mistakes because we are constantly trying” signs in our rooms and businesses. We learned that the word “knowledge” turns into the verb “to be able to do” when it is combined with “to do” ten hundred million times. We had to do it because competition was based on producing quality, reaching fast delivery times and reducing process costs.

The 14 principles of lean production now have a more competitive and yet essential goal: SUSTAINABILITY.

Scientists believe that the planet Venus probably had a climate similar to Earth’s in the past, with a surface temperature similar to Earth’s today. It probably also had rains and oceans, and it is even possible that life once existed on its surface. But with climate change and the increasing influence of greenhouse gases, the temperature of the planet today is 460 °C. Most of the atmosphere is made up of CO2. Greenhouse gases, which act as a blanket, have completely ended the water cycle. Instead of oceans, there are mountains of fire.

The way of thinking of lean production, which eliminates waste in all processes, forms the cornerstone of sustainability. The intersection points of the social, environmental and economic clusters of sustainability have started to determine the new goals of lean principles. The new name of competition is more sustainable businesses, more sustainable processes and designs. With sustainability, businesses will become more competitive and more resilient to possible crises.

The global competition brought about by the increasing world population and the rapidly decreasing world resources show us that all the work we have done so far for the lean production philosophy is actually a preparation, and that we need to make more effort for sustainability in all areas we live in now. We no longer have 1 cm³ of space, 1 watt of energy, 1 m³ of water, 1 man-hour of work to waste. As the world’s population, in 6 months we consume our entire world resource ration for the year. Worse, we are filling our atmosphere with greenhouse gases as we deplete our resources. To avoid becoming Venus…

Let’s get moving… Now… All together…

We can do it….