5 Lean Techniques to Improve Production Processes (2026)

Lean techniques give manufacturers a proven way to identify and eliminate waste in production processes while increasing efficiency, quality, and value delivered to customers. Lean production is a business philosophy that aims to identify and eliminate factors that cause waste in business processes, providing value to customers by increasing efficiency and quality. According to Lean, waste is anything that does not add value to the customer and for which the customer is not willing to pay. Identifying and eliminating these inefficiencies gives businesses many benefits, including customer satisfaction, cost savings, profitability, and quality. These benefits are why Lean Manufacturing has been adopted across so many different sectors. In this article, we cover 5 lean techniques that improve production processes, and how each one works in practice.

What are Lean Manufacturing Practices?

Lean manufacturing practices are techniques that businesses in manufacturing use to strategically overhaul their operations and increase process efficiency. Lean production happens by integrating Lean principles and techniques such as 5S, Kaizen, Total Productive Maintenance, and Gemba into business processes. The aim of Lean is to eliminate waste sources such as excess inventory, waiting, overproduction, transportation, overprocessing, motion, and defects within business activities. Eliminating these inefficiencies is considered a significant success for the business.

5 Lean Techniques Used in Manufacturing

Lean thinking is a continuous effort to eliminate factors that don’t add value to the product, in other words, to reduce waste. Here are the five lean techniques businesses use most widely to get there:

1. Kaizen

Kaizen is formed by combining the Japanese words “kai” and “zen” and means change for the better. Kaizen focuses on small changes rather than major changes made all at once. The Kaizen technique aims to increase efficiency and achieve improvements by making small, regular, and incremental changes to processes. Kaizen philosophy accepts that small changes create big effects over time.

Proactive participation of employees is essential to implementing Kaizen. Kaizen values suggestions and ideas from employees, because everyone on the floor has a stake in the business’s success and should be striving to improve processes. Our guide on how Kaizen events are done walks through running a structured Kaizen event step by step.

2. 5S Methodology

The essence of the 5S technique is based on “everything has its place and everything is in its place.” This technique focuses on maintaining order and safety in the workplace. Incorporating 5S as part of daily tasks means ongoing cleaning, maintenance, and inspection activities become more efficient. The aim of 5S is to create the discipline necessary for continuous improvement by building an efficient and effective workspace.

5S, as its name suggests, consists of five basic principles:

Sort (seiri): Determine which workplace items are necessary versus unnecessary, and remove what’s unnecessary. This leaves only frequently used items in the workplace and creates more space by eliminating clutter.

Set in Order (seiton): Arrange the items that remain efficiently and effectively. Each item should have a specific place, and items should be easy to find.

Shine (seiso): Keep the workplace clean and orderly. This means establishing cleaning routines, assigning cleaning tasks, and carrying out regular checks.

Standardization (seiketsu): Standardize the first three principles so they’re maintained continuously rather than practiced once.

Sustain (shitsuke): Maintain the other four steps in a disciplined manner over time. Only this discipline keeps the workplace organized, safe, and efficient long-term.

3. Gemba

In a business or production context, Gemba refers to the physical location where work is done. When implementing lean manufacturing, the Gemba technique involves managers going to the site where work is being done to identify problems in a business process or production line and see the actual status of the process. The purpose of a Gemba walk is to understand the current situation through direct observation and questioning before taking any action, rather than relying on reports alone.

4. Total Productive Maintenance

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a management approach that aims to maximize the efficiency of production equipment and systems to ensure business success. TPM covers a broad strategy to improve facility maintenance in order to eliminate equipment failures, defects, accidents, and waste.

The goal of TPM is to increase overall efficiency by optimizing equipment availability. To achieve this, TPM requires preventive maintenance, ongoing training, and effective collaboration between production and maintenance personnel.

5. Root Cause Analysis

Root cause analysis (RCA) focuses on systematically uncovering the root causes behind problems to identify appropriate solutions. This approach emphasizes preventing and resolving underlying problems rather than simply addressing immediate symptoms and managing crises. RCA helps reveal where processes or systems are failing and why, using structured techniques and methodologies rather than guesswork.

How These Lean Techniques Work Together

These five lean techniques rarely work in isolation. A typical rollout starts with 5S to create a stable, organized baseline, then layers in Kaizen events for targeted process improvements, Gemba walks to keep leadership grounded in what’s actually happening on the floor, TPM to keep equipment reliable, and root cause analysis whenever a recurring problem needs a permanent fix rather than a workaround. Our guides on what Kaizen is and 5 steps to continuous improvement go deeper into how these pieces fit into a broader continuous improvement program.

5 Lean Techniques: FAQ

Which lean technique should we implement first?
Most organizations start with 5S because it creates a visible, immediate improvement in workplace organization and safety, which builds momentum and buy-in before introducing less tangible techniques like Kaizen or root cause analysis.

Is Kaizen the same as Lean?
No. Lean is the broader philosophy of eliminating waste to maximize customer value, while Kaizen is one specific technique within Lean, focused on continuous, incremental improvement through small changes rather than large-scale overhauls.

How long does it take to see results from these lean techniques?
Visible improvements from 5S and Gemba walks often appear within weeks. Techniques like TPM and root cause analysis, which address systemic issues, typically take several months of consistent application before their full impact on efficiency and defect rates becomes clear.

Do these lean techniques apply outside of manufacturing?
Yes. While they originated in manufacturing (largely from the Toyota Production System), 5S, Kaizen, Gemba, and root cause analysis are widely applied in logistics, healthcare, software development, and office environments to reduce waste and improve process quality.

References

• ASQ – 5S Tutorial
• Kaizen Institute – The Ultimate Guide to 5S and 5S Training

Kübra Taşcı Kardaş

Marketing Team Leader

Kübra Kardaş, as a B2B marketing specialist, manages holistic marketing operations in the world of e-transformation, SAP, and financial software. She adds value to brands’ growth journeys by leading strategic planning, multi-channel growth processes, and communication efforts that will strengthen brand awareness and generate lead generation.