# Efficiency (lean definition)

Operations · `Efficiency (lean definition)` · verification: source checked

Efficiency in lean production means meeting exact customer requirements with the minimum amount of resources. The document separates apparent efficiency, which counts as a gain only if demand rises alongside output, from true efficiency, which comes from producing the same output with less effort and capital. It also separates total efficiency across a whole process or value stream from local efficiency at a single step, and favours the total view.

## Specification

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Kind | metric |

## Study notes

- Ohno's example: 10 people produce 100 units daily; raising output to 120 units is an apparent 20 percent efficiency gain that is real only if demand also increases by 20 percent (Ohno 1988, p. 61).
- If demand stays at 100 units, the only way to raise process efficiency is to produce the same number of units with less effort and capital.
- Total efficiency covers the performance of an entire production process or value stream; local efficiency covers the performance of one point or step within it, and Toyota emphasises total over local efficiency.
- The source cross-references Overproduction and the 7 Wastes.

## Sources

1. [Efficiency - Lean Enterprise Institute](https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/efficiency/) (accessed 2026-10-25)

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