What is meant by the Lean Principle of 'Pull'?

The Lean Principle of 'Pull' refers to the approach of creating products only as they are needed. This principle is central to lean manufacturing, which aims to improve efficiency by reducing waste and ensuring that production closely aligns with actual customer demand rather than forecasts.

By using a pull system, organizations avoid overproduction and excess inventory, which can lead to unnecessary costs and resource misuse. Instead, they focus on producing goods in response to specific orders or signals from the downstream processes or customers, promoting a more streamlined workflow and ensuring that resources are utilized effectively.

The other options represent different strategies that are not aligned with the Lean Principle of 'Pull.' For example, producing based on forecasted demand can lead to overproduction and excess inventory, which lean principles seek to minimize. Similarly, maximizing production rates and expanding production capacity may not address the need for efficiency and responsiveness to actual demand, potentially leading to waste rather than optimization.