Invisible actions that don’t add value at plant 

In daily routine at a factory some actions are not of use. They cause inconvenience, not so influential for the staff to correct them, but meaningful in general performance of an enterprise. 

A worker did not return a tool, and the other would spend time searching for it, and would start the operation later. Unsorted pallets hinder free movement, as well as garbage on the floor, which was not removed in time. Due to the lack of control, the worker may misuse the equipment: to process metal workpieces on a cardboard cutter. Unsurprisingly, this puts the cutter out of action and the production process is suspended until a new machine is put.

All these deviations from standards lead to variability, uneven production in time and quality. To eliminate these problems, lean manufacturing principles are applied. This allows manufacturers to achieve greater profit with the same resources, but simplifying the production process.

There is no secret that lean philosophy originates from Japan while it experiensed the breakthrough in industrial automation.  For the time being automation continues gaining popularity, and more and more companies are ensuring that machinery carries out tasks with minimum human assistance. You can find it useful to investigate some methods and best techniqques of inventory replenishing in manufacturing. 

To put it short, do more with less!