A FEW LEAN MANAGEMENT TOOLS IN PRODUCTION AND PROJECTS
1 5S Eliminates waste that results from a poorly organized work area (e.g. wasting time looking for a tool). Organize the work area:
Sort (eliminate that which is not needed)
Set In Order (organize remaining items)
Shine (clean and inspect work area
Standardize (write standards for above)
Sustain (regularly apply the standards)
2. Andon Acts as a real-time communication tool for the plant floor that brings immediate attention to problems as they occur – so they can be instantly addressed
Visual feedback system for the plant floor that indicates production status, alerts when assistance is needed, and empowers operators to stop the production process.
3 Bottleneck Analysis Improves throughput by strengthening the weakest link in the manufacturing process
Identify which part of the manufacturing process limits the overall throughput and improve the performance of that part of the process
4 Continuous Flow Eliminates many forms of waste (e.g. inventory, waiting time, and transport. Manufacturing where work-in-process smoothly flows through production with minimal (or no) buffers between steps of the manufacturing process
5 Gemba (The Real Place) A philosophy that reminds us to get out of our offices and spend time on the plant floor – the place where real action occurs, Promotes a deep and thorough understanding of real-world manufacturing issues – by first-hand observation and by talking with plant floor employees
6. Heijunka (Level Scheduling) A form of production scheduling that purposely manufactures in much smaller batches by sequencing (mixing) product variants within the same process. Reduces lead times (since each product or variant is manufactured more frequently) and inventory (since batches are smaller).
7. Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment) Align the goals of the company (Strategy), with the plans of middle management (Tactics) and the work performed on the plant floor (Action). Ensures that progress towards strategic goals is consistent and thorough – eliminating the waste that comes from poor communication and inconsistent direction
8. Jidoka (Autonomation) Design equipment to partially automate the manufacturing process (partial automation is typically much less expensive than full automation) and to automatically stop when defects are detected. After Jidoka, workers can frequently monitor multiple stations (reducing labor costs) and many quality issues can be detected immediately (improving quality)
9 Just-In-Time (JIT) Pull parts through production based on customer demand instead of pushing parts through production based on projected demand. Relies on many lean tools, such as Continuous Flow, Heijunka, Kanban, Standardized Work and Takt Time. Highly effective in reducing inventory levels. Improves cash flow and reduces space requirements
10. Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) A strategy where employees work together proactively to achieve regular, incremental improvements in the manufacturing process. Combines the collective talents of a company to create an engine for continually eliminating waste from manufacturing processes
11. Kanban (Pull System) A method of regulating the flow of goods both within the factory and with outside suppliers and customers. Based on automatic replenishment through signal cards that indicate when more goods are needed. Eliminates waste from inventory and overproduction. Can eliminate the need for physical inventories (instead relying on signal cards to indicate when more goods need to be ordered).
12. Muda (Waste) Eliminating muda (waste) is the primary focus of lean manufacturing Anything in the manufacturing process that does not add value from the customer’’s perspective
13 Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) Framework for measuring productivity loss for a given manufacturing process. Three categories of loss are tracked: Availability (e.g. down time),Performance (e.g. slow cycles),Quality (e.g. rejects) Provides a benchmark/baseline and a means to track progress in eliminating waste from a manufacturing process. 100% OEE means perfect production (manufacturing only good parts, as fast as possible, with no downtime).
14. PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) An iterative methodology for implementing improvements: Plan (establish plan and expected results),Do (implement plan),Check (verify expected results achieved),Act (review and assess; do it again)
15 Poka-Yoke (Error Proofing) Design error detection and prevention into production processes with the goal of achieving zero defects. It is difficult (and expensive) to find all defects through inspection, and correcting defects typically gets significantly more expensive at each stage of production.
16 Root Cause Analysis A problem solving methodology that focuses on resolving the underlying problem instead of applying quick fixes that only treat immediate symptoms of the problem. A common approach is to ask why five times – each time moving a step closer to discovering the true underlying problem. Helps to ensure that a problem is truly eliminated by applying corrective action to the “root cause.
17 Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) Enables manufacturing in smaller lots, reduces inventory, and improves customer responsiveness. Reduce setup (changeover) time to less than 10 minutes. Techniques include:
Convert setup steps to be external (performed while the process is running)
Simplify internal setup (e.g. replace bolts with knobs and levers)
Eliminate non-essential operations
Create standardized work instructions
18. Six Big Losses Provides a framework for attacking the most common causes of waste in manufacturing Six categories of productivity loss that are almost universally experienced in manufacturing:
§ Breakdowns
§ Setup/Adjustments
§ Small Stops
§ Reduced Speed
§ Startup Rejects
§ Production Rejects
19 SMART Goals Goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Specific. Helps to ensure that goals are effective
20. Standardized Work Documented procedures for manufacturing that capture best practices (including the time to complete each task). Must be “living” documentation that is easy to change, Eliminates waste by consistently applying best practices. Forms a baseline for future improvement activities
21 Takt Time The pace of production (e.g. manufacturing one piece every 34 seconds) that aligns production with customer demand. Calculated as Planned Production Time / Customer Demand. Provides a simple, consistent and intuitive method of pacing production. Is easily extended to provide an efficiency goal for the plant floor (Actual Pieces / Target Pieces).
22 Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) A holistic approach to maintenance that focuses on proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational time of equipment. TPM blurs the distinction between maintenance and production by placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment. Creates a shared responsibility for equipment that encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects.
23 Value Stream Mapping A tool used to visually map the flow of production. Shows the current and future state of processes in a way that highlights opportunities for improvement. Exposes waste in the current processes and provides a roadmap for improvement through the future state.
24 Factory Visual indicators, displays and controls used throughout manufacturing plants to improve communication of information. Makes the state and condition of manufacturing processes easily accessible and very clear – to everyone
25 Mapping: Accurately charting your operations using diagrams and flowcharts to visualize problems and improvements
26 Corrective action and preventive action (CAPA), also called corrective action / preventive action) are improvements to an organization's processes taken to eliminate causes of non-conformities or other undesirable situations. CAPA is a concept within good manufacturing practice (GMP).
It focuses on the systematic investigation of the root causes of non-conformities in an attempt to prevent their recurrence (for corrective action) or to prevent occurrence (for preventive action).
Corrective actions are implemented in response to customer complaints, undesired levels of internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or adverse or unstable trends in product and process monitoring such as would be identified by SPC.
Preventive actions are implemented in response to the identification of potential sources of non-conformity.
To ensure that corrective and preventive actions are effective, the systematic investigation of the root causes of failure is pivotal.
CAPA is part of the overall quality management system (QMS). A common misconception is that the purpose of preventive action is to avert the occurrence of a similar potential problem. This process is all part of corrective action, because it is a process of determining such similarities that should take place in the event of a discrepancy
Corrective action is a reaction to any of the cause/non-conformance mentioned above & can be divided in two phases of action:
1) Identification of root cause: for this purpose TQM tools such as fish-bone or cause & effects analysis can be practiced. Your CAPA would be appropriate & effective if & only if you have identified the root cause of problem.
2) Taking necessary actions: in order to address the root cause take necessary immediate action/s. The effectiveness of the corrective action taken has to be verified periodically through a systematic approach of PDCA (Plan - Do - Check - Act) cycle.
Preventive action is prediction of problem & trying to avoid the occurrence (fail safe) through self initiated action/s & analysis related with your processes / products. This can be initiated with the help of active participation of staff members / workers through improvement teams, improvement meetings, management review, customer feedback & deciding own goals quantized in terms of business growth, reducing rejections, utilizing the equipments effectively etc.
27 Eight Disciplines Problem Solving is a method used to approach and to resolve problems, typically employed by quality engineers or other professionals. 8D has become a standard in the Auto, Assembly and other industries that require a thorough structured problem solving process using a team approach
D0: The Planning Phase: Plan for solving the problem and determine the prerequisites.
D1: Use a Team: Establish a team of people with product/process knowledge.
D2: Define and describe the Problem: Specify the problem by identifying in quantifiable terms the who, what, where, when, why, how, and how many (5W2H) for the problem.
D3: Developing Interim Containment Plan Implement and verify Interim Actions: Define and implement containment actions to isolate the problem from any customer.
D4: Determine and Identify and Verify Root Causes and escape points: Identify all applicable causes that could explain why the problem has occurred. Also identify why the problem has not been noticed at the time it occurred. All causes shall be verified or proved, not determined by fuzzy brainstorming. One can use 5Whys or Ishikawa Diagram to map causes against effect/Problem identified.
D5: Choose and verify Permanent Corrections (PCs) for Problem/Non Conformity: Through pre-production programs quantitatively confirm that the selected correction will resolve the problem for the customer.
D6: Implement and validate PCAs: Define and Implement the best corrective actions.
D7: Prevent recurrence/Corrective Actions: Modify the management systems, operation systems, practices, and procedures to prevent recurrence of this and all similar problems.
D8: Congratulate your Team: Recognize the collective efforts of the team. The team needs to be formally thanked by the organization.
28 KPI
Using KPI requires KPI definitions and attributes to set up their implementation using the above templates. For KPI implementation, there will be a number of stages that need to be addressed. The following outlines those stages. In practice, it will be necessary to undertake a scoping exercise to ensure that all items necessary are taken into consideration. The size and cost of this exercise will depend on the nature of the requirement. The scoping exercise will outline the areas under consideration. The following items will need to be addressed, either at the scoping or in the KPI set up phase:
· Identify and enumerate all KPIs
· For each KPI, establish what is to be achieved by the use of this KPI
· For each KPI, define the method of measurement
· For each KPI, define what data will be used to measure and where that data is
· For each KPI, define the algorithm that converts data to KPI
· For each KPI, define the normalization or criteria
· For each KPI, identify the organisational units to which the KPI applies
· For each KPI, define the organisational reporting hierarchy
· For each KPI, define the reporting requirements (table output, graphical output etc)
· From the KPIs, identify and enumerate all data sources
· For each data source establish how “live” the data is and define its input
· For each data source establish the connection mechanism to its KPI object
· As appropriate set up a data connection mechanism for the data source
· Define an appropriate security model that will allow appropriate personnel access to appropriate data
The user interface will need defining and implementing, but this is like putting the bodywork on a car. How it looks is important, but what the engine and unseen parts do is what makes the difference between a performance car and a runabout.
Key performance indicators (KPI) are high-level snapshots of a business or organization based on specific predefined measures. KPIs typically consist of any combination of reports, spreadsheets, or charts.
They may include global or regional sales figures and trends over time, personnel stats and trends, real-time supply chain information, or anything else that is deemed critical to a corporation’s success.Without measurable quantities, successful management is hardly possible. They allow goals to be observed, met and perhaps exceeded. Relatively generally formulated goal descriptions are made more concrete through the use of measurable quantities. The measurable quantities can then be allocated to the strategic goals in the perspectives and organizational units
