The Concept of Lean Manufacturing as a Tool for Improving the Process of Education

Abstract

Aim. The presented study aims to examine approaches to organizing the educational process in the system of general education in accordance with the basic principles of lean philosophy, better known in Russia as “lean manufacturing philosophy”, which has proven to be an effective tool for building business processes in industrial enterprises.Tasks. The authors determine the value created by applying the principles of lean education in the general education system, describing the value creation flow and its customer; examine the classification of losses in the value stream and identify losses in the educational process based on national standards for lean manufacturing and quality management systems; apply the described system to the educational process of Gorchakov MGIMO Lyceum.Methods. This study uses empirical (observation, measurement) and theoretical (abstraction, formalization, and modeling) research methods, as well as methods of grouping, comparative, structural, and functional analysis.Results. The study substantiates the authors’ hypothesis that the analysis of the educational process through the definition of value for the consumer/customer and the identification of different types of losses transforms the value creation flow into the “lean education” flow, which perfectly meets the needs of stakeholders. The maps of the current and future state of the value creation flow of the educational process of Gorchakov MGIMO Lyceum are modeled. A comparative classification of the types of losses in the manufacturing and educational processes is created. The results of testing the hypothesis in the educational process of the specified lyceum are presented.Conclusions. Application of lean philosophy (the concept of lean manufacturing) can improve various activities, including education. The study provides evidence for this by defining and constructing the value creation flow in accordance with the requests of all stakeholders in the educational process and also by identifying losses in the methods and processes of information transfer and further evaluation of the knowledge and skills of students.