Lean Manufacturing and The Stuff That Matters
Here’s the 3 things that matter when it comes to lean manufacturing
Remember the KISS principle. That’s right, the Keep It Simple Stupid principle. There are a 100 complex things about lean, but here’s something almost no one realizes. Those things really don’t matter until you
take care of the basics. And luckily the basics will probably do more for your bottom line than those 100 complex things. So what are the things you really need to be paying attention to? Glad you asked…
The first thing you need to remember is that you have all the expertise you need right in your facility. I don’t care if you make red widgets, if you’re a hospital, make food, or electronics. The employees on the production line are really the only experts you need. At least as far as your operation goes. They know the things they’re doing that don’t “add value” or make sense. They just need a little training to realize it, and some leadership to support it’s elimination.
See, here’s where it gets a little sticky. When the “lean manufacturing” guy comes in and says, hey let’s get rid of all the stuff you do that doesn’t matter… The operator on the line probably rattles off a list of about 100 things. This piece of paperwork, this inspection, did you know I have to walk 60 feet to get a wrench and if I don’t take it right back I get written up, etc. Before long you’ve got a huge list of things that obviously add no value. But then…
But then the “lean guy” goes to the “boss” to talk about all these great findings. And the conversation usually goes like this…
Lean guy: Hey boss, I just discovered a way to eliminate 100 hours/week of non-value added time.
Boss: Great, what’s stopping you?
Lean guy: Well, some of these things are things we consider pretty important today.
Boss: Like what?
LG: One example is our triple super duper quality inspection.
Boss: Yeah, obviously we could never stop doing that. I mean our customers demand quality product.
LG: You’re right, what was I thinking…
Okay, I think you get the point. So here’s the second thing that matters…
The Decision Makers Have To Buy-In To Lean Manufacturing
This is actually probably more important than #1, but I needed to make a point. If you’re serious about making a difference using lean manufacturing principles, techniques, and concepts, then the decision makers have to be on board. It’s that simple. If they’re not, don’t start. I don’t care what you do, your efforts will fail and there will be nothing but frustration.
When I say they need to be on board, I mean really on board. They need to understand lean and what it’s all about. I don’t mean they need to know the specifics of 5S, I mean they have to understand what value is, what it’s not, and why the only thing that matters is getting rid of the non-value added work going on. Once they fundamentally understand that, and fully support it, you’re ready to be successful.
The Third Critical Element To Lean Manufacturing Success
Think Big… Aim For Perfection… And Only Work On WHAT MATTERS MOST
If you want to make a difference, quickly, then think big. If you try to improve performance by 10%, guess
what. You’ll improve it by 10%. But what if your goal is 50% improvement? A funny thing happens. You will find a way to improve it by 50%. Don’t believe me? Try it and see…
Aiming for perfection should be your goal, period. “But we’ll never get there” “My team will be discouraged” and whatever other excuses you’re coming up with right now. JUST STOP! Here’s a little secret. Simply educate your team on why perfection is the goal. This is why the right team building activities are so important. You have to get them on-board. Always aim for it… then celebrate milestones along the way. You see there’s never an end game. There’s never a “well we made it” moment. So you need to set smaller milestones along the way and celebrate them to keep people engaged and working on the right stuff.
Speaking of working on the right stuff. ONLY WORK ON WHAT MAKES THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE. So I guarantee this is
either already happened or will happen. It’s so classic. You implement 5S in an area that really needs it, let’s say your parts room. And man, everyone loves it. They can find parts, stuff is in stock, things are clean, etc. Who wouldn’t like it?
Then the boss starts pushing to “5S” the plant. So everyone gets real excited, you paint a bunch of squares on the floor, you make up tool boards, you audit, audit, audit… Only to find out no one is following the rules. Then you spend all your time figuring out why, you audit more, you write up employees, you make your supervisors “focus” on it more.
Here’s the deal… In the early stages, it’s impossible for people to understand why a trashcan being inside a square is important. They have product to produce, a real job to do. Essentially you’re not solving any of their problems by making them put a trash can in a square.
That’s why it’s so important to ONLY FOCUS ON THE STUFF THAT MATTERS MOST. Everyone knows what they are, and when you take care of those things it makes sense to people. Then the snow-ball starts to build, and eventually you get to a place where people understand why putting that trashcan inside the square matters.
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If you want to learn a little more about the history of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Production, continue reading…
Lean Manufacturing | Lean Production: A History and Overview
Lean manufacturing, also known as lean production, got its start in the mass production era. Specifically, Henry Ford’s standardization of tools and parts was the basis for what we call Lean Manufacturing today. Ford’s system utilized the principles of “Scientific Management,” it was these founding principles that were used as a basis for lean.
Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System, was the visionary responsible for refining Ford’s system and taking it to the next level. Ohno’s system was based around eliminating waste (known in Japan as Muda). Ohno considered anything that did not add value, waste. TPS was solely focused on eliminating waste, or non-value adding activities. This focused elimination of waste is what makes Toyota to be one of the best manufacturers in the world.
Where Did The Term Lean Manufacturing or Lean Production Come From?
A team of MIT researchers in the 1990s in the book, The Machine That Changed The World, came up with the term Lean Manufacturing.
Lean Manufacturing / Lean Production Beliefs
People: A core belief in lean is that people are an organizations’ most important asset. When engaged and leveraged properly, your people are your competitive advantage. More specifically, the way in which you value those people are your competitive advantage. Keeping them safe and providing excellent working conditions help show this value.
Quality: Producing defect free product is critical to eliminate waste. A core belief in Lean is that a product should never be sent to the next step in the process if there is a defect. This means you will need robust systems in place to ensure this.
Delivery: Get the right products to the right place at the right time in the correct quantities. That sums up delivery in a Lean organization. One key difference in Lean is idea that inventory is waste. The days of hoarding inventory to make up for production shortfalls are over. Just in time delivery is a core component.
Cost: Waste increases cost. At the heart of lean production is the elimination of waste, in turn the elimination of cost. Make no mistake; eliminating or reducing costs is important in any organization.
What is waste and how can you eliminate it with lean manufacturing?
There are 8 wastes and understanding them and how to eliminate them is crucial to your success. Here is a short explanation of each type of waste and a tip for eliminating it.
Waiting: Think broadly when trying to see waiting. Are your people standing around waiting to do something? Do you have equipment that is waiting on product? Is your distribution department waiting on production? These simple questions will help you start to see the waste of waiting. Tip: match work load to cycle time in order to reduce waiting.
Transportation: The simplest example of this is unnecessary conveyance. Companies love to convey product, but keep an eye out for over using it. Tip: Place machines closer together or change to a cell layout to reduce transportation.
Inventory: Any WIP above or finished product that is just being stored is considered waste. It’s a huge expense. Tip: Take the inventory out of your system and highlight the problems it was masking. Get to the root cause of those problems and fix them for good.
Motion: A common example is an employee having to walk 20 feet to get a tool. This is wasted motion. Tip: Place the tool close to the employee and eliminate this waste.
Overproduction: Producing more than is ordered, or producing it sooner than necessary. Tip: If you have inventory, you have over production.
Over processing: Doing more to the product than the customer is willing to pay for. An example might be putting on 6 coats of paint when 3 will do. Tip: A lot to times over processing can “feel like the right thing to do” because you think the customer will appreciate it. But it will increase your cost, and it’s doubtful the customer will let you pass that cost onto them.
Defects: This one pretty self explanatory. Look for rework piles and you’ll find the defects. Tip: Take all defects seriously and work to get to their root cause.
Wasting Talent: Not utilizing the talent of your people. Think of your employees as partners and engage them in your business. They are full of great ideas; they’re just waiting to be asked. Tip: make sure before you start engaging them that you’re serious about getting their help. Nothing kills morale like getting everyone excited to help and then not acting on it.
Understanding some of the core beliefs of Lean manufacturing / Lean production will help you be successful in your journey. Focus your efforts on eliminating waste, and do so by engaging your employees. Everything else will fall into place.
