Zero defects are the basis for lean production

Times have changed and conventional mass production is a thing of the past. Particularly in the automotive industry, mass production as per Henry Ford is not always appropriate for today's variety of models. Instead of automating entire production lines for the overall production processes, it is now increasingly common to integrate semi-automatic production steps. It is the smaller production batches that are raising the importance of the lean production concept. The aim is to maximize the process efficiency of the production as a whole, while minimizing waste and thereby reducing production costs.