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Lean Tip #2236 - Eliminate Waste
Lean
principles aim to identify the waste found in nearly every business and
minimize or completely eliminate it, if possible. Using the acronym “DOWNTIME”
reveals the 8 types of waste Lean Manufacturers target:
- Defects can lead to
rework/salvage and scrap. It is arguably the most costly type of waste,
especially if a defective product makes it to the customer.
- Overproduction is making more
product than that which is ordered, potentially causing an inventory
shortage and wasting labor hours that could be used elsewhere.
Additionally, the manufacturer runs the risk of having obsolete inventory
if the customer that generally uses the product decides not to order more.
- Waiting comes in several
forms. The most obvious, perhaps, is a line shutdown while waiting for
parts or equipment repair. Finally, there is in-process waiting that
occurs when an employee has to wait for a machine to process before he or
she can take the next step in the process.
- Not using people’s
talents is
a waste of their abilities, and it could hold a manufacturer back when it
comes to innovation.
- Transportation happens
throughout the manufacturing process, from the supply chain to material
delivery and specific production areas.
- Inventory has five major
categories: finished goods, sub-assembly, raw component, office supplies
and Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO). Obsolete or overlooked
inventory can build up in all of these areas, taking up valuable space.
- Motion includes
bending, reaching, lifting and walking. Something as simple as sharing a
tool between workstations can lead to a lot of wasted motion in retrieving
it.
- Excess processing happens whenever
time is spent on product features that do not impact part functionality.
For example, painting a part that won’t be seen is non-essential and excessive,
provided it still functions properly without paint.
As
you read through the DOWNTIME definitions, did a few examples of waste within
your facility come to mind? If so, be proactive; make detailed notes about the
inefficiencies and work to minimize them, asking for help from your colleagues
as needed.
Lean Tip #2237 – Organize with 5S
Through
the continuous improvement process, the more organized a manufacturer is
dictates process efficiency. Start from the top down, building value streams on
the production floor based on assembly complexity and volume. Then, divide
those value streams into work cells for each assembly. Within those work cells,
every tool and work instruction are identically placed in order to implement a
one-piece flow, based on the Lean Manufacturing 5S organizational methodology:
- Sort
- Set in Order
- Shine
- Standardize
- Sustain
The
5S principles are proven in keeping any workspace — offices included — running
efficiently.
Lean
Tip #2238 - Discard Conventional Fixed Ideas
Part
of problem solving is thinking “outside of the box.” Encourage fresh
perspectives and ingenuity in your team in order to develop innovative ways to
forward Lean manufacturing without changing what is already efficient and
successful. With such a rapidly evolving climate in manufacturing, sometimes
conventional thought is what leads to the problem in the first place!
Lean Tip #2239 - Don’t Just Talk About it, Do it!
Once
you have a Lean strategy in place, put it into fast and thorough action. Naturally,
implementation is what ultimately yields results and improvement. The last
think you want is to devise and formulate a Lean campaign that then sits on the
shelf and collects dust. Run with your Lean plans as soon as you have
everything nailed down.
Lean Tip #2240 - Concentrate on Bad Processes, Not People
By
concentrating on the processes and building continuous improvement, you will
have the culture change that you are looking for. Also, correct mistakes
immediately. Don’t wait for the next shift, the weekend or maintenance to do
it.
Lean Tip #2241 - Use Kaizen Workshops to Teach
and Make Rapid Changes
Use a talented and experienced facilitator who
has a deep understanding of lean tools and philosophy but keep training focused
on a specific problem. This helps to keep the training relevant to real world
situations and ensures that there are tangible outcomes from training activity.
The kaizen might have an objective to reduce setup time from 80 minutes to 60
minutes in four days, for instance.
Lean Tip #2242 - Organize Around Value Streams
In most organizations, management is organized
by process or function. In other words, managers own certain steps in a process
but nobody is responsible for the entire value stream. In the second edition of
Lean Thinking (2003), the authors recommend a matrix organization where there
are still heads of departments but also value stream managers, similar to
Toyota's chief engineer system. Someone with real leadership skills and a deep
understanding of the product and process must be responsible for the process of
creating value for customers and must be accountable to the customer.
Lean Tip #2243 - Keep Leadership Focused on Long-term
Learning
A crisis may prompt a lean movement, but may
not be enough to turn a company around. Once the crisis has passed it can be
all too tempting to go back to business as usual. Company leadership has to
stay focused on Lean for the long term – not just to solve one problem.
Lean Tip #2244 - Create a Positive Atmosphere
Be tolerant towards mistakes committed in lean
environment with a supportive and learning attitude. Have patience with
progress as this will be key to get results and also try to create a blame free
supportive environment. Have courage to take risks at crucial stages to push
things and resources to meet the plan and achieve results.
Lean Tip #2245 - Set up a Lean Enterprise
Steering Team
This team would be responsible to provide
support in the planning, resourcing, implementation, and follow-up
accountability for implementation. The steering team is often identical to the
normal line management team. The internal resources and external consultants
would provide consulting support to the team. This infrastructure would resolve
inter-departmental issues.
Lean Tip #2246 - Benchmark with Other Companies
Visit other companies that have successfully
implemented lean to get ideas and understanding; other companies are often
delighted to present their lean implementation progress. Networking is key to
ensure global understanding with other companies implementing Lean.
Lean Tip #2247 - Identify Lean Stewards Who are
Passionate About Lean. They Will Continue to Fuel the Fire.
Adoption of any tool and process takes
commitment and an open mind to evolve and grow.
We find that without people that are passionate about the process, teams
can become complacent. Although anyone
can take on the role of Lean steward, we have found transformation works best
when the project management office owns the process and the tool. With project
management owning the process, organizations can aim for continuous improvement
and a consistent process across functional teams.
Lean Tip #2248 - Use Visual Management To Control
The Workflow
Use visual management principles to provide
visibility of work-in-progress (i.e., status of orders, projects, reports,
etc.). A visual communication system ensure that standards are in place so that
work is completed on schedule. Visual Management should be implemented in the
office areas as well as in production areas.
Lean Tip #2249 – Share More, Not Less.
Even in a small company, silos emerge. A policy
of more sharing will help everyone stay in touch with what others are doing,
and create a collective expectation. Keeping everyone pointed in the same
direction is hard; sharing more about what’s going on, how you’re doing things,
reasoning behind decisions, etc. will help.
Lean Tip #2250 - Plan/Do/Check/Act (PDCA).
Part of building an innovative culture is
letting people experiment. So, plan what you’re going to do, do it, then check
to see if you get the result you wanted. If you see success, then you act on
it. You don’t want to put something into practice without knowing that it will
achieve the desired result. Checking results before you act allows you to
ensure that you’ve worked out all the kinks before you implement change.
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