Smoothed Production

The topic of discussion today will be the so-called smoothed production. It is integral for customer satisfaction as it is a part of the ordering and complete fulfillment process. It makes sure that the supply chain capabilities are enough for stable production.

Smooth production benefits you by having a proper influence on your workplace configuration. It does this by helping to create a stable output with optimized inventory via a pre-condition. This presupposition/pre-condition simplifies your workplace based on the following conditions:

• Standardized work processes

• One-Piece Flow within the workstation

• Complete processing

• Stabile customer TAKT TIME

• Minimal TAKT TIME loss

• Maximum Output

• Flexible deployment of workers

• “U-Shaped“ layout

• Set-up time optimization

• Quicker material change

• Two-Bin-Principle

The smooth production is structured in the following:

• Planning Strategy

• Constant lot sizes

• Stabile material needs

• Fixed production times

• Flexible inventories

• Fixed timelines

• Higher delivery dependability

It is implemented by:

Material flow

• Scheduling methods

• No part shortages

• Pull-principle

• Supermarket

• Route traffic

• Small containers

Warehouse Organization 

• Full transparency

• FIFO-Principle

• Minimal warehouse levels

• Set assembly

• Bar codes and Data Matrix Codes

You may be asking the question, “but why do we need smooth production?”

It is a well-known fact that smooth production has many veritable advantages. With that said, there are also some potential drawbacks, but those can be eliminated or at the very least mitigated in the implementation phase. 

Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks of smooth production:

The next question you might be asking is, “how does one implement smooth production?”.

Following are some of the requirements for smooth production:

• Variable worker allocations should be the basis for the production power of the system. The variable shift models are first optimized for maximum output and then implemented specifically.

• Two factors determine the minimum inventory of safety stock for a part number. The first is the variability in customer ordering habits. The second factor is the degree to which the program is successful in the production line. To hit the right spot between these two factors will require systematic optimization with the help of a mathematical model.

• To determine what the maximum inventory of each part number should be, we should look at the delivery cycle of that said part number. This is essential for weekly pick-ups or delivery.

• The production equipment inventory should be in accordance with necessary tool changes and set-up times.

• The weekly production plan should be consistently released to the concerned parties once the production macro planning has been finished.

• An information board at the assembly areas will contain all the planned orders.

• The material requirement determination should solely be on the basis of the production plan.

• Assembly areas should be designated for the online measurement of production units. A data matrix system should be implemented for reducing errors in the documentation process.

• The ability to control production is a must if there are any noticeable short-term reactions arising due to discrepancies between the expected outcome and the actual outcome of the production plan.

• Any daily deviations must be dealt with proper countermeasures. The production plan must be flexible enough to allow time to deal with backlogs. Meeting shipping deadlines is the primary goal.

• A time-saving approach must be implemented in moving full racks from assembly areas to warehousing. 

• The requirements of the long-term sales plan should be integrated into the production plan so that production capacities and worker allocation are determined. 

• It is imperative that order calling and Just-In-Time delivery schedule data be automatically transferred to the resource planing system so that production planning can be done.

• The production planning for the system will determine the specific production calendars with your organizations shift models. 

• All underlying data in the system must contain related shipping dates or the dates can be transferred from the demand data as well. 

• To control the complete system, the updated inventory trend with planned shipping dates, for example, weekly and monthly, should be represented graphically.

• All possible scenarios should be simulated, because it is important to determine optimum capacities, performance, etc. for universal or shared production areas.

So, what factors make smooth production successful?

The two factors are planned output realization and controlling of supply

1. Production plan fulfillment as a part of planned output realization (source: Information board at production area as part of shop floor mgt)

2. Performance grading of workers in the production area that is done on the basis of the number of Dollars created in exchange for optimal material usability and worker effort (whether overtime or temporary workers)

3. Material usability of purchased parts, WIP, and raw materials when assembly time bears the cost or parts become short (Source: Information board at production area as part of shop floor mgt)

4. Special trips for the respective assembly area as a truthful Dollar figure

5. Supply capabilities and service grade for finished goods are measured using the number of delivered parts and the number of delivery dates met as a result of customer requests when demand data is transferred. (Source: Information board at production area as part of shop floor mgt)

Alternative measures for the success of smooth production:

• Usage of constant customer feedback to determine customer satisfaction as used by companies e.g. from the automotive industry 

• Iterative comparison of customer feedback with important shipping and delivery figures

• Target values of no customer feedback are used to get parameters to measure with

With the help of Kaizen workshops in conjunction with the introduction and implementation are used to create optimal basic parameters of success:

• The finished goods inventory levels are available transparently to be used as an early warning signal

• A minimal failure rate is strived for in the overall process of making sure of data from the production and logistics division

• Over-production of products is reduced by ensuring that upstream assemblies are only producing the right amount of product to be used by the downstream processes

• With the implementation of workshops, the set-up time can be reduced drastically

• Constant reduction of purchase parts does not diminish the availability of the material in the production line while also reducing downtime 

• Optimal balance is achieved for assembly lines and areas and the requirements are met for variable worker allocation

• The specifications of operator qualification shall determine how the qualification and training of workers should be conducted

• There has been evidence of improvement in production flexibility in comparison to the past

The Osborn List

Brainstorming with the the Osborn Checklist:

When it comes to getting new ideas - the so called Osborn List is a great method to steer the process. This creative idea generation technique is named after its inventor, Alex Faickney Osborn. Osborn is also regarded as the father of brainstorming.

The Osborn List is a simple method to support the process for concept creation, it thereby is a comprehensive list of questions about ideas and problems which can be used either individually or in groups. The main goal is to encourage creativity and divergence in concept generation.

The series of simple questions need a point of focus, which can either be an existing solution or a proposed concept to a designated problem. During the brainstorming session writing each statement on a card will help you to structure the approach itself. Randomly take a card while discussing alternative solutions.

When you have your topic, product or process you want to discuss, go through the checklist. The Points are:

• What else can it be used for?

  • New ways of using it? Other use when modified?

• Can it be adapted?

  • Is there anything out there similar to this? What other idea does this suggest? Was there anything similar in the past? What could you copy? Who could you emulate?

• How can it be modified?

  • New direction? Change in color, design, motion, form of shape...? Any other changes?

• Can it be magnified?

  • What can be added? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Larger? Longer? Thicker? Heavier? What value can be added? Duplication? Multiplication? Exaggerate?

• Can it be minified?

  • What can be taken away? Can it be smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Narrower? Lighter? Streamline? Split up? Less frequent? Understate?

• Can it be substituted?

  • Can it be replaced? Who else could do it? Other components? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other time?

• Can it be rearranged?

  • Carry over parts? Interchange components? Other pattern? Different layout? Different sequence? Change cause and effect? Different place? Change schedule? Earlier? Later?

• Can it be reversed?

  • Change positive and negative? What about the opposite? Turn it backward, upside down, inside out? Reverse roles? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Change shoes?

• Can it be combined?

  • What about a blend, an alloy, an assortment, an ensemble? Can units be combined?

Often the Osborn List is remembered with the mnemonic aid of "SCAMPER" which thereby stands for - Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify/Magnify/Minify, Put it to different use, eliminate, reverse/rearrange.

The Osborn List will support you to gain a new perspective on existing ideas, products and processes. Please be aware that the list helps you for improvement sessions but shouldn't be used in the beginning of an innovation process itself.

Layered Process Audit

Today we will talk about layered process audits.

LPA, or Layered Process Auditing, is a quality technique developed for manufacturing management. When used correctly, LPA brings your organization to improve quality, minimize scrap and rework, plus reduce customer rejections by driving cultural change throughout your company. To gain a better idea and to understand what LPA means we will have a little deep dive.

Layered Audits are a defined approach that devotes time and resources to ensuring that high-risk procedures and error-proofing mechanisms are consistent and functional. Therefore, three important components make up a Layered Process Auditing System:

• Full focus on High Risk Processes (HRP) by a list of defined audits

• Depending on layer of audit the audit itself is performed from various levels of management

• A system of reporting and follow-up to ensure that containment is maintained based on specific needs. But also, to maintain and drive the continuous improvement process in your organization

A full stack of audits

This part of a Layered Process Auditing System is straightforward. Audits are merely a set of questions aimed to investigate machinery or processes. An LPA system's audits should concentrate solely on parts of the value adding process where deviation poses a high risk of producing defective products. E.g. if you have an end of the line quality check station that is measuring crucial parameters or functions that are critical to customers of your product and the calibration is wrong, you are producing in Takt defective or non-conforming products. No need to mention that you should keep an eye on that process. With the help of a proper LPA system you will have the EOL station within the layers allowing containment and corrective action as soon as the station surpasses set tolerances.

Multiple layers of audits comes with multiple layers of auditors

Multiple layers of authority from across your manufacturing department conduct audits on a regular basis, at a predetermined frequency, in an LPA system. For example, once per shift, the Shift Leader conduct an audit that checks the parameters or settings of your EOL-Station. Another layer of management, which may include process engineers, maintenance staff, or even the human resources department, would circulate through the system performing the exact same audit. The sample audit might be performed once a week or once a month by someone in the layer by assigning a number of auditors to this layer and establishing a timetable that cycles through the system's audits. Yet another layer of management, such as the plant manager or even executive staff (the number of levels in an LPA system can vary enormously from facility to facility, depending on your organizations demands and needs). This extra layer of auditors performs the same collection of audits on a rotating schedule, concluding the example audit once a month or once a quarter, for example.

Countermeasures, Containment Actions, Reporting and Improvement Process

In order to have an effective, a Layered Process Audit system you’ll have to combine analysis, measures and improvement process.

If an auditor observes a non-conformance during an audit, the auditor should not only document their findings but also take quick appropriate action to ensure that defective products do not leave the facility. In order to help with the documentation and immediate actions you can use the A3 report and methodology. Simple but effective. You can find it here. Anyway, the findings should be documented and made readily available to management for further analysis. An LPA system is a handy tool for debugging problem areas and identifying areas that are suitable for improvement actions when combined with a strong system for recording and reporting these audit results. A systematic approach will be discussed in the Shop Floor Mgmt. article.

Though Layered Process Audits may be developed to meet a customer or corporate demand, effective LPA systems are built, implemented, managed, accountable to, and owned by your participatory manufacturing management group. A solid LPA system may help you to take proactive control of your manufacturing operations while also enhancing product quality and business bottom line.

Coaching

There is no denying that the abilities of a coachee to perform and learn are enhanced when they are encouraged by a coach to form solutions to the problems which they are confronting. This is exactly what coaching is. A coach may not be an expert, but for sure they can be regarded as the technical point of contact and are asked for their opinion and advice.

It has now become quite common to see supervisors coaching their employees. There can be a five steps procedure been seen in order to define and achieve goals.

At this point I want to recommend the book written by Anne Loehr and Brian Emerson, "A Manager’s Guide to Coaching" demonstrates how managers or supervisors can help their employees enhance their skills and develop themselves without the need for any additional training.

An employee’s success depends on “aptitude, attitude and resources.” Attitude matters most. In fact, a better outlook can make up for shortfalls in skills or materials.

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But let us go back to the five steps of the coaching process.

Step 1: Define the target state

In Step 1 we focus on defining the required outcomes. Get the clarity to define goals or future states. It is proven that those individuals who are clear regarding their goals are most likely to achieve them to those who have not defined their goals in a clear manner. Not having well-defined objectives can result in unpleasant side effects, for instance, preoccupying yourself with details. A successful and effective goal must be created by the coachee itself and must concur with their personal values. It is important to make certain goals a bit challenging, as easily achieving results cannot sometimes prove to be less motivating. On the flip side, it is also essential that some goals must have manageable and realistic partial steps so that, in general, it can be considered as achievable.

Step 2: Status Quo

The main aim in the second step is to identify the delta between the current state and the ideal solution within the structure of the current situation analysis. It is also important to assess the psychological and real cost that comes to light, especially when the client is clung to their current situation. Doing this can challenge the client to provide the energy required for the change. With that being said than just a small amount of time must be spent on assessing the Status Quo, and most of the focus must be given to achieving the desired outcomes. You should not expect any solutions at this particular stage.

Step 3: Costs of Opportunity

At this stage, the client needs to develop feelings for their own resources and their possibilities of gaining control of it: "When you feel resourceful, you feel in control, and when you feel in control, you feel confident." The feelings of control are mainly developed on the basis of the knowledge that there are different options and choices. The coach motivates the coachee to identify various options, by which the probability of determining between the non-action and action would already be recognized and appreciated. For the purpose of identifying different options, brainstorming has proven to be extremely helpful. It involves writing everything which crosses your mind regarding the particular subject in a creative and playful manner without evaluating them. The next step involves coachees opting for the options that look more beneficial and effective. These options are then assessed, and their consequences are analyzed concerning various criteria. Because one thing is certain – every option comes at some cost. Make sure that the coachee is willing to pay it.

Step 4: Taking Action

It is time the coachees make their mind as to which one of the options looks better to them that can help them achieve their goal. At this point in time, the role of the coach is to motivate the coachee to state exactly what they intend to do. It must be understood that it is the responsibility of the coachees themselves to execute the individual steps. The duty of the coach is to identify the signals from the coachee that shows resistance. In such scenarios, it is helpful to refer back to the first stage of outcomes for the purpose of confirming whether the objective and goal is extremely unrealistic or obscure.

Step 5: Review

By assenting to review the plan of action after a certain period of time, a little bit of pressure is applied on the coachee to take action. The critical thing for the success is the genuine conduct of the review rather than just an announcement. It is essential to take the first step in the near future in order to avoid losing the planned actions in the daily activities of the business. For that reason, the momentum for the forthcoming actions can stay consistent. The senior-level personnel or the coach can take help of the review in order to keep the obligation and track the coachee's progress and can also regard it as, for instance, for their own superior. The coach ultimately continues to maintain control, and the coachees becomes capable of achieving clarity regarding their own activities.

Deviation Management

Deviation Management is simply said the pure ability to identify deviation of a process according to the standard work process and you have a structured approach to tackle that issue.

5 Reasons to work with Deviation Management

1. Improve compliance and ownership of defective goods or processes

2. Continuous feedback to operators and staff of their deviations

3. Structured process for deviation documentation, tracking of counter measures and problem solving

4. Prioritization of improvement measures

5. Data collection to engage external suppliers and customers

Brown Paper Method

What is the Brown Paper Method?

In this article we want to talk about the Brown Paper Method (BPM) in the context of process management.

The Brown Paper Method is an easy to use tool for process development or management for your organization. During a workshop processes are drawn on a large piece of paper (typically from big brown paper roll sticked to a wall) and then analyzed.

Important: Draw the process as they really are not as you think the are. Do a Gemba Walk before this session.

So let us take it as a tool for process management. To be able to understand processes and procedures in your organization and to find out the weak points of them, it is depending on details. Getting those details can be tricky as they might be hidden in the process or in your employees minds and not always so obvious. As mentioned take the Gemba Walks and have a close look on the processes because it usually comes with a taste of complexity. With the Brown Paper Method you then have a simple tool to visualize the complexity in a simply way.

The Brown Paper Method is a pragmatic and result-oriented approach for process audits, presentations or analysis. It is based on a workshop where all involved persons of a process come together in person and collect their findings and doings on brown paper and draw the big picture of the process in total. Through the discussions, that will appear during the workshop, details will be pointed out that matter and defects or weakness will be described and visualized.

With the BPM, the actual process is collected, visualized and analyzed. Target processes can be also developed together. With the Big Picture of the process on brown paper all becomes clear for those involved and the tricky parts of the process are worked out and presented.

Based on the findings of the initial workshop the results are taken to the next level of process modeling. This includes the definition of the target process, implementation of automated workflows and process optimizations.

The process representation on the wall covered with brown paper can contain the following process characteristics:

1. What triggers and ends the process

2. Single process steps

3. Events 

4. Suppliers and customers

5. KPIs can be important for the process flow (Defect rates, process times, etc.)

6. Process Input such as raw material, semi finished goods, pre-assemblies, toolings but also information and data such as reports or KPIs

7. Output and outcome such as finished goods or services

8. Employees actually executing process steps in the process flow

9. Employees that have an indirect influence on the process

10. Other teams or departments related to the process

11. and so on…

For the upcoming analysis following parts of the brown paper are discussed, additional information added and highlighted:

1. Critical activities that have a direct impact on the final result of the process including costs and time

2. Missing or missleading inputs such as information or defective parts

3. Wrong process steps that are distort the result

4. Incorrect or missing process step outputs

5. All potential to improve the process e.g. Kaizen activities marked with a KAIZEN flash

Which of these characteristics finally are listed in the process representation is up to the team as well as the weighting of each. This will then prioritize the potentials identified and when they will be tackled.

Lighthouse Project

When talking about Light House Projects this means nothing less than that a small sector of your organization e.g a department is already turned around. By that we are talking about living already the ideal state, that you defined for the complete organization.

Processes and structures can be seen as guidance for your organizations’ lean journey. It provides directions, shows what is possible and therefore is the kickstarter for a successful roll-out as people can convince themselves with their own eyes.

Just keep in mind that the lean journey with its process of continuous improvement is never over. The pioneer has to lead the way.

Continuous Improvement Process

Well known, not only in the lean world is the continuous improvement process (CIP). As it says it is a methodology to continuously improve your processes and procedures in your organization. In short = there is always something that can be improved. CIP is not only a saying it is a mindset and should be deeply anchored in your organizations DNA. Therefore it is a must to be lived and demanded by management as well as to be trained and implemented. As per definition the continuous improvement process has no ending it follows the cycle of PDCA over and over again. The basic principle behind CIP is to consistently observe and analyze your processes, take in consideration employees ideas for improvements, implement those and reassess the results if they are according to planned outcome.

Where das CIP come from: A short excursion in history.

In the 1950s, Japanese companies, best known Toyota, started to integrate the "KAIZEN" philosophy of life in operations. The Japanese word KAIZEN stands for "change for the better". To sum it up it means the continuous improvement process by small steps, every day. The ultimate target above all is to reach the highest customer satisfaction possible which guarantees economic success and is achieved by highest quality of goods and services. So they have to be constantly improved. Just think about the KANO - Model.

From the 1980s, European and American car manufacturer started to adopt the CIP methodology to increase their quality and by this their performance of finished goods.

Since the 1990s the CIP methodology made its way from the shop floor into the offices and has a straight impact on an organizations culture. With the so called PDCA cycle it is a never ending process and supports your whole organization on the path of sustainable growth.

Nowadays it is even part of the ISO9001 that defines the continuous improvement process as one of the "seven principles of quality management".

How to apply CIP

As discussed, CIP means improving through a consistent path of small following steps. Basic prerequisite is the ultimate will of your organization's management and the involvement and motivation of all employees in your organization. Focus on customer satisfaction > What is the customer willing to pay for? Everything that has no value for the customer must be seen as waste and has to be eliminated.

In real life organizations take the CIP approach to conduct regular audits by the Lean/Opex-Team. They analyze current issues or challenges and make suggestions for improvements. Typically the following approach can be seen as a rough guideline.

1. What should be improved?

2. Define the process, area or procedure

3. How should it be like and what is it like now? > Define the Delta

4. Numbers cracking > Go through the figures, actual and target state.

5. Describe the deviation or problem

6. What is the outcome by this deviation?

7. What are the costs of the deviation? Loss of quantity, rework, etc.

8. What is the root cause of the problem?

9. Analysis

10. What are the potential solutions?

11. Idea and Solution Mgmt. through teamwork and brainstorming sessions

12. What solution is the best?

13. Evaluation of the best solution defined

14. What measures need to be taken?

15. Cost-Benefit analysis

16. Results are presented to decision makers

17. Defined measures are adopted

18. Who does what, with whom and at what costs?

19. Measures are implemented

20. Verification of effectiveness through KPI tracking

21. If necessary re-evaluate measures to meet targeted outcome

You see, the methodology is very close related not to say a spin off the PDCA cycle.

The endless, repetitive PDCA cycle basically means permanently observing the processes, analyzing bottlenecks and weak points, develop solutions for improvements. To get a better understanding of PDCA read the article here.

In short:

Plan

Recognition of improvement potential, analysis of the current situation, development of improvement measures

Do

Implementation of defined measures

Check

Check the effectiveness of implemented measures with predefined KPIs

ACT

Constantly monitor and review the improvements through audits or reporting. When expected level of improvement is reached adjust the standardization to new level. If you failed on the expected outcome restart the PDCA cycle.

After the PDCA cycle is finished your area of improvement focus will change. E.g. your bottleneck process will move along the complete process.

Key Performance Indicator

Key Performance Indicators are measurements utilized to indicate the performance level or progress with regard to important objectives or defined success factors within your organization. To make it short KPIs are used to track or monitor the progress of your existing daily management system.

So how do measure our progress of our organization? How can we define what type of indicators we should use and what they tell us about the current state of our processes? And so on…

These are just some questions that might rise when thinking about implementing KPIs in order to better understand your organization and define a path to go for improvements. What processes are truly adding value to the final product or service the customer is willing to pay for and what is just waste?

Before you start implementing KPIs in your organization a helpful way is to categorize KPIs in two ways: leading and lagging indicators.

Leading Indicators
Leading Indicators are Performance Indicators that are tracking your process. So these are real time figures showing you deviation to given standard or if there is something missing in order to produce your goods or services. They have a real time effect on your delivery performance. The fun part with leading indicators is that you have real time results why it can also take months for a report showing how your organization is doing in general.
For example, talking about injuries, when an operator is involved in an accident during a process step. This incident will be documented on an incident rate report of the organization, for e.g. factory. So when you think about it you recorded an incident after it happened. This is a necessary process in the majority of organizations due to governmental regulations and safety laws. The question to ask is now what do you do with this information? Do you really know what caused it? The information is quite old. This is why the incident report is not a leading indicator but a lagging indicator.

Lagging Indicators

As just mentioned Lagging Indicators are result-oriented, because of this they are shown after something happened. With lagging indicators you react after an amount of time as you are reacting on something that is already in the past. Coming from automotive this is typically a customer claim in the field, you will have a lot of work to do to find out what actually caused the failure, if no proper traceability is installed. Attention: With those failures it is often miss leading that through assumptions symptoms are fight that are not real. Everybody from Task Force Managers to shop floor firefighters knows that. In this case you are not adding any value nor do you implement a sustainable solution.

Having this two categories in mind we can say that the majority of KPIs are lagging indicators. This is not only in the field of manufacturing. The most miss leading assumption thereby is that with Lagging Indicators we get the most information.
But openly asking - isn’t it better to prevent the accident before it happens? This is absolutely speaking for Leading Indicators - and by focusing on Leading Indicators your focus in daily operation will shift to your process and not the overall outcome. In fact: when focusing on improving your process as a side effect the overall outcome will increase automatically.

Where to start with KPIs?

First things first - don’t overdo it!

Start to ask yourself what is your daily business? What processes are constantly and repetitive in use? The same principle with Gemba Walks go to your employees and talk to them - ask what is doing well and what not. What can improve their work?

The situation can be daily checked with line reviews or the so called meeting cascade. Where on the lowest level with the shift hand over performance KPIs are reported and issues during the shift are addressed. This figures are then visualized on the e.g. “Cell Board” near the outline of the cell itself. Typically if you have an U-Shape Layout at the spot of raw material and finished goods.

If something goes wrong latest after one shift the focus will be on this process. This automatically prevents new incidents from having a threatening impact. This is the advantage from getting things done right away or afterwards when the game is already over.

Finally to bring it in a nutshell, try to bring your KPIs from lagging into leading. This will shift the focus on the whole organization towards daily processes and improving them with the help of daily Kaizen activities. Measuring the process constantly in real time gives you the opportunity analyze trends and adjust processes to be ahead of the game instead of being surprised by the market.
Analyze your data existing decide what to go for. Implement your KPIs and make sure they go hand in hand with a meeting cascade. This ensures the consistency of data used and that they are actually used to trigger actions. Based on the KPIs you will be able to drive focused improvement actions through shop floor management, visual management, standardized work and structured problem solving.

Visual Management

Hej there! Great to have you back! In this article we want to show how visual management can help you to keep track in daily operations.

Generally speaking Lean Management can be seen as a clearly organized workflow that defines the way your organization should work following given principles. Above all principles existing lies to avoid waste in any kind following the 5S Principle as foundation: 1 Sort out 2 Set in order 3 Shine 4 Standardize 5 Sustain.

For a clear visualization of running process in your organization, cleanliness and orderliness is the main part of it. Clarity of your processes on the shop floor is the foundation for all lean manufacturing activities. Having the clarity the implementation and maintaining of visual management methods will guide you to a real state of flow.

In the following we want to describe key basic visual management elements that every production, following the lean principles, should have.

Boards, Notes, Infographics, Brochures and even Movies

Don’t panic and try to explain all those Japanese words it works well without being too technical. Many instruments of the Lean Manufacturing Methodology are very useful to raise the awareness of your employees about lean management. Once implemented and continuously driven by the management the incentives are there to drive daily improvement measures.

The target with visual management and those methods are all the same:

1. Create transparency

2. Visual representation of procedures processes and services

3. Making problems (or bottlenecks) visible

Kanban Boards

Kanban can be literally translated as “card” in the context of a production system. No matter what processes you have, it all starts with a customer’s order. The Kanban card is then used to inform upstream processes about the need of materials, pre-assemblies or process steps. This automatically leads to a cycle that triggers itself through the complete value creation chain.

This is the so called pull principle the advantage if this principle is that, in best case, you have no work in progress which means you have no stock of semi finished goods built up, because only what the following process steps need is produced.

A3 Reports

The term A3 Report comes simply from the size of paper which is used for the documentation of the report. The structure itself follows the PDCA methodology.

The A3 Report is the representation of a problem to be solved. In this case the responsible person from the quality department takes the A3 Report, starts the problem solving actions and follows a systematic structure that makes it possible to describe the effects that are currently leading to a deviation from the standard. Using the A3 only makes sense when you don’t know the root cause yet. If you already know the root cause don’t waste your time. Fix it and go back to normal.

Andon: Lean management with boards and ripcords.

Andon again a Japanese word meaning “lantern”, at least in the context with lean manufacturing. It is a visual aid that is there to draw attention to problems on the shop floor when machines or processes are causing defects or simply stop working.

You might think you have seen them all by walking through production and seeing all those PLC signal lamps indicating green or red, but there is so much more. Just have a look at the Andon article.

Just want to name administration, maybe there is nothing to indicate, but when you think about a document that is needed in a different department, waiting for this is one of the TIMWOODS MUDA. The time waiting is probably the best indicator to start with lean admin activities.

Andon Cords - Please pull the rip cord in an emergency!

Andon Cords are rip cords or a simple button straight at the operation on the shop floor that gives the operator in the process the possibility to instantly stop the line when problems or defects occur.

Andon Boards

Andon Boards are displays or nowadays mainly TV screens that are showing the actual status of the manufacturing line e.g. PPM, down times, etc. Typically it is automatically feeded by the machineries of the production line. With the standard defined color indication everyone sees if they are doing great or not so great. In the second case an automated alert to supervisors or maintenance is triggered.

You see there are many possibilities, but the target is always the same. One hint at the end: Make your boards, infographics or brochures as simple as possible! (or just use mine ;))
WHY? As with processes > it is only a good process when you can’t cut anything more away from it. In other words: What is the value you get from something that nobody understands?

If you take the principle of visual management seriously it will help you to bring all processes in your organization to live.

Waste

Waste (MUDA)

Waste or MUDA is the opposite of value creation. Waste describes all non-value-adding activities the customers are not willing to pay for. The two main categories are obvious and hidden waste. While obvious waste can be eliminated, hidden waste can only be minimized.

When talking about waste there is no way around the 7 kinds of waste according to Taiichi Ohno most known in the lean world as TIMWOOD. Feel free to read the complete article on TIMWOOD(S) - yes you are right - where is this S coming from… keep on reading and you will see.

The 7(8) kinds of waste:

1. T = Transportation

2. I = Inventory

3. M = Motion

4. W = Waiting

5. O = Overproduction

6. O = Overprocessing or - engineering

7. D = Defects

8. S = Unutilized stuff

It is important to be aware of these kinds of waste in the list. But overproduction is the worst and typically initiates the other types of waste.

To read more in detail about TIMWOOD go here.

Production Diary

With the help of a production diary, based on a pre-defined shift planning all other functions and outcomes are planned and tracked. This includes the mgmt. team as well as all supporting functions. In order that everyone is aware about the upcoming week the production diary is openly displayed on the shop floor. With the production diary and the pre-set structure of daily meetings of the shop floor mgmt. all daily activities are carried out. Best known part is e.g. Gemba Walks and the included problem solving activities e.g. A3 or just confirming that all processes run as planned.

With this big part of shop floor mgmt. it is clear that all regular meetings planned along the production diary are set. All other unplanned activities or extra meetings need to be conducted respecting the fixed schedule of the production diary.