It is true to say base of lean manufacturing is its concepts. But lean tools are very important too.

They help in implementing, monitoring, and evaluating lean efforts and its results. On the other hand if used without proper understanding this can spoil your lean efforts. So it is very important to understand the tools before thinking about using them. So I thought of publishing a series of posts on these tools. I got the assistance of an experience contributor in making this series. Some of the tools we are going to discuss in this series of posts are listed below. I have no doubts you have been waiting for this kind of information. 1. 5S 2. Error proofing (Pokayoke) 3. JIT 4. Kaizen 5. Kanban 6. Pull system 7. Work leveling Heijunka 8. Work cells 9. Quick Changeover or SMED 10. TAKT Time 11. TOC Theory of Constraints 12. VSM Value Stream Mapping 13. Workflow Diagram 14. TPM Total Productive Maintenance 15. Visual workplace 16. Cause and Effect Diagram 17. 5 Why technique 18. Six Sigma 19. Hoshin Kanri 20. Jidoka 21. Genji Gembutsu 22. Andon

Lean Manufacturing Tools Series

Start Cleaning House with 5S A simple yet powerful lean tool

There are many parts to lean manufacturing. When you, or any of your colleagues, start thinking about lean, you probably begin with the aspect of paperwork reduction. Of course, we all feel the pain of excessive and tedious red tape, but lean processes, in fact, touch on every single part of manufacturing, and non-manufacturing, business practices. 5S is a perfect example of a bottoms-up approach to the lean methodology. There are many businesses, particularly in manufacturing, that are incredibly disorganized, leading to massively inefficient business practices, lost time, and sometimes even workplace injuries. 5S refers to the practice of workplace organization, and the methodical process of optimizing the layout of a manufacturing plant or workstation to become the most efficient, upbeat, and productive workplace it can become. Appropriately named, 5S is the name given to the process because each step starts with the letter S. Started by Toyota in the 1960s, it has framed the success of many manufacturing plants. The fundamental basis behind 5S is that a person or workstation will never waste time looking for tools and equipment because everything has its own place, is appropriately labeled, and flows to the point where the tool is within reach of where the worker will find themselves when working. If 5S is implemented properly, it is common to see efficiencies increase by a solid 20-30%. One of the more common missteps when a company implements 5S is to have the focus come from the top-down, with management recognizing the need for process improvement, but never consulting with the worker that will be practicing and implementing the 5S on a daily basis. Without buy-in from every person on the shop floor, a company will never truly achieve the goals outlined by a 5S method. The 5 Ss, while seemingly complex, are actually relatively straightforward and simple. They are best viewed as pieces and independent of each other instead

of holistically. If broken down into its fundamental parts, the 5 steps, you will find that they are nothing more than a standardized approach to optimization. As you can see in the Figure (1), the 5S concept is one in which every step should be intertwined within each other. If an organization is truly on board with the 5S process, the sustainment of the process should maintain a constant cycle of improvement, and each S

should merge with the other steps, making it near impossible to determine when one starts and the other begins. The first S is Sort, or Seiri. Management, or possibly the workers themselves, should go about the workplace and take note of which tools, equipment, and supplies are not needed for the everyday operation of the plant. If one is not needed, it is discarded, or at the very least, removed from the shop floor. Some tools and equipment will not be able to be discarded or removed because they are used, but only infrequently. If this is the case, then these tools should be noted as infrequently used, to be dealt with later. The next phase is oftentimes considered the most important phase of the five. This is where items are arranged, or 'Straightened' (or 'Seiton') systematically and methodically. All of the tools that were identified as unnecessary in the Sort, phase have been discarded, so this phase should be easy. You just simply place the tools such that workflow is maximized, and no tool is any more than 30 seconds away from even the least experienced worker. This step is best accomplished either by the worker that will be conducting the work or with their direct input. It may help to include a diagram of all tools and their locations that is readily accessible for reference for the worker during this step. The next, and least popular stage is Sweep, or Seis. This step is where the shop is cleaned, and a new policy of periodic cleaning is implemented. Most manufacturing facilities find that performing this step at the end of every shift is the ideal time for this action. The most important aspect here is to maintain the shop in the order in which step 2 has identified as being ideal. As discussed earlier, all of the processes described here are not worth anything unless complete buy-in by the average worker on the floor is achieved and practiced. This is where step 4 comes in, Standardize, or Seiketsu. This is the step in which all personnel who will be practicing the 5 steps on a daily basis are brought completely onboard and the practices are standardized by forms, procedures, personnel assignments, and workstation ownership. The final step is that of Sustain, or Shitsuke. This step focuses on the requirement to maintain a constant expectation of good lean practices through feedback systems, evaluation and mentoring, training, and auditing. The company has come a long way in improving the workplace, and maintaining it in that improved state is a necessity. It may not always be apparent as to when a company should use the 5S methodology to improve the workplace. Before any improvement is attempted, management should commission a study to improve their chances of finding the processes that should lead to a leaning of the workplace through 5S. The following is a good example of how the entire process can be conducted. A new manager was hired to help improve the processes conducted on the shop floor of a generator manufacturing plant. The second day on the job, he notices something that triggered his experienced eye: a worker was walking all the way across the floor, passing by two working cranes, to go to a toolbox and retrieve a specialized tool in order to perform one of the steps he had to perform in order to output a certain component characteristic to his workstation. The manager requested approval from his management to conduct a 5S study in order to identify places in which improvement could be achieved. For one full shift, he plotted out the path of the worker he took note of earlier. He found that not only did the worker go to the toolbox while walking under the crane, he also made a couple of stops to the grinding workstation to polish a part, which was on the other side of the shop as well.

The next day, the manager talked in depth to the worker, and helped go through his workstation. He found that there was about 11 tools that were old, outdated, and never used anymore. Thos tools were immediately discarded. After this, the manager helped the worker get a new set of tools that included the one he was going to the toolbox for. He also subtracted the polishing of the part from the process and instead added it to the procedures for the workstation that actually had the grinder at the station. This way, a separate trip was not necessary for the tool nor the grinder. After they went through and rearranged the tools such that they were always within arms reach for the worker, they came up with a schedule for the entire shift to clean the last 15 minutes of their shift. These were all written down and signed by every worker in every shift. This is a simple example, but most 5S implementations are this simple. If you have any interest in making your manufacturing plant more efficient, you have to start looking at each workstation as a conduit in which work should flow with no restriction. Do this, and your profits will skyrocket.

The purpose of Six Sigma is to reduce defects to an acceptable level more consistently. This can be accomplished with a focused attention and everlasting drive toward improving the quality of the processes that are used during manufacturing and other aspects of the business. Ufortunately, even the most lean and highest quality processes have one unavoidable, detrimental flaw. We are only human, and mistakes will always be made. But there is hope, as there is a certain lean tool that may actually assist in removing the human error factor from the equation. While it is impossible to completely eliminate the possibility of removing mistakes from the workplace, it can be possible to make the probability of them occurring so low, that they are virtually impossible. The technique of mistake proofing a process or workstation is called Pokayoke, and is one of the most effective ways of reducing the number of defects over the course of time. The basic premise of the practice is that the process or conditions involved are designed in such a way that it is virtually impossible for a human, no matter what amount or training or background, to make a mistake when attempting to perform the task. If the quality manager, or any manager for that manner, of a plant or process starts noticing an unexplained increase in the number of defects in a part of a process, the answer may lie in Pokayoke. The best way to decide whether this tool may be the right answer for your team is to decide whether the flaws that are happening are due to a careless error, or tend to happen at times that are prone to lapses in judgment, such as Mondy mornings, the end of shifts, or Friday afternoons. While this isnt a steadfast rule, experience shows that human errors occur at these times more frequently than others. Another way to approach the decision to use Poka-yoke is by interviewing the workers themselves. Frequently they have anecdotes that outline how easy it is to make mistakes that can only be classified as mistakes. Additionally, you can audit your processes and identify certain elements that are critical to quality (CTQ), or have CTQ characteristics associated with them. These are perfect candidates for mistake proofing because a flaw in a CTQ can be detrimental to the entire products performance.

Use Poka-Yoke to Rest Easy

The key attribute behind mistake proofing is to keep the processes simple, and anticipate the locations in the process where the mistakes are most likely to happen. Then you can use methods like shaping tools and putting tools on lanyards so that the mistakes cannot happen without the blatant change of the tools function or scope. Lets use an example of a manufacturing plant that is piecing together a piece of electronic equipment to place onboard locomotives, as can be seen in the before section of Figure (1). The electronic piece of equipment has a cover that must be installed using a grounded screwdriver, in order to prevent the discharge of static electricity into the card.

A manager started realizing an increasing trend in the breakdown of quality of the results that the electronic equipment was putting out. The voltages that were being produced were going out of specification much more frequently than before, and the manager decided to investigate. She found that the erroneous output was a function of a card that is installed by a workstation on the other side of the line from where the covers are installed. At first, it appeared that there was a severe manufacturing defect in the cards and the workstation that was producing the card. The manager decided to take a closer look, or a deep dive and find out through a fishbone diagram and root cause analysis what all of the possible causes of a faulty card could have been. After this was done, she realized that there was a possibility the cover was not being installed properly. It was this time that she monitored the worker installing the covers. 1 out of every 5 times, the worker used a screwdriver that was not properly grounded. This is shown in Figure (1) in the before section, where the worker becomes confused with which tool to use. Her immediate reaction was that this worker was being careless, or was not properly trained in the process that he was conducting. Because she was a good manager, she asked the worker why he didnt use the properly grounded screwdriver. The worker had explained to her that he thought he was using the correct screwdriver, since the both the grounded screwdriver and ungrounded one were on a lanyard and looked exactly the same in every other respect. Employing Poka-yoke, the manager shortened the lanyard for the ungrounded screwdriver such that it could not be brought to the workstation that installed the cover on the equipment without cutting the lanyard, as can be seen in the after section of Figure (1). By doing this, she made it virtually impossible to use an ungrounded screwdriver to install the cover in question, and in doing so dramatically increased the quality of the product. As stated before, Poka-yoke is not just for managers and business executives. If instilled properly, every worker and employee of the company should be properly trained in the best

methods of mistake proofing, and should provide input on how to eliminate the factor of human error. Mistake proofing is the most effective, and usually the most cost effective, way of increasing quality. The human element is always a variable in every quality equation, but with Poka-yoke, the impact of that variable can be reduced to a mere fraction of a percent of occurrences than if it were never employed.

JIT The Backbone of Lean Manufacturing

For many businesses, the biggest expense they face is inventory cost. The never ending struggle of having enough inventory to fulfill orders and leave room for growth while keeping enough cash on hand to meet any need they may meet is the number one cause for business failures, according to the Small Business Association. There are many ways around the skyrocketing costs of carrying a large amount of inventory, and a just in time, or JIT inventory management is one that can increase the businesss bottom line and return on investment. The JIT inventory management strategy is one that is based on the idea that a business can order exactly the right amount of inventory necessary to fulfill their upcoming orders and not a single piece more. This reduces the cost of warehouse space, transportation costs, and other costs that can be reduced by this form of lean manufacturing. The philosophy associated with this theory is that inventory is considered to be waste, and the lean process of JIT will eliminate that waste. By exposing the hidden causes of inventory, a set or series of signals can be developed that define what the company can use to measure and regulate the inventory necessary to meet the demand needs. Identifying the signals that guide the inventory demand and calculating, harnessing, and predicting the same signals is at the core of the JIT system. Couple this with todays modern day next day shipping capabilities, and you have a very capable JIT system. The signals necessary to make a JIT system successful are able to be generated with the modern UPC and online tracking systems. By tracking sales and the patterns that follow a business can plot the demand necessary, manufacture the products, and send them out next-day shipping. This model made famous by quite a few companies, but mostly by Dell computers, can greatly increase the quality as well as efficiency of a business. A second aspect of JIT manufacturing is in the setup of the manufacturing plant. The workers, as well as the machines in the plant are oftentimes multifunctional, allowing flexibility in the plants ability to manufacture parts as necessary, independent of equipment or personnel status. With small lot sizes, this is the perfect setup for a dynamic, demand-driven supply chain.

As can be seen in Figure (1), in a JIT system, customer orders are generated in a variety of ways. But each one of those ways generates a signal that is processed by the sales department, represented by the lightening bolts in the diagram. Many times, the sales department is nothing more than a remote server that is capable of taking and distributing orders in a JIT system. The necessary components and raw materials are calculated, and the signal is sent to the suppliers and the fabrication assembly to start manufacturing the product. As you can see, because each order generates a new signal, no inventory is incurred. Dell computers is a perfect example of JIT manufacturing. By getting started in the business by manufacturing computers out of his dorm room, Michael Dell quickly learned that he could not spend all of his money on stockpiled parts and equipment. He decided that his computers would be designed exactly to the specifications to the customer, and his selling point would be along the same lines. Without realizing it, his business was the perfect example of JIT manufacturing. His company was founded on the idea that any average person can log on to the internet, and with a little bit of assistance, can identify the parts necessary to build a computer from scratch. When the customer ordered the computer, Michael, in trying to come up with a solution for his dilemma of hot having any money or location to house all of the pieces needed to assemble a computer, stored a few few parts he would need to get the job done, then buy and manufacture new parts, jus as soon as the customer orders them. The raw materials are re-odered, sometimes automatically, and the end user gets a computer that they build online within 15 minutes! Sometimes the end result effects are not always as perfect as planned. When Toytoa decided to shift to a JIT manufacturing process, they hit quite a few bumps in their process capability. The problem that Toyota found is one that will plague all JIT systems that do not make contingency plans for a quickly generated, unannounced increase in demand. Since the entire supply chain system is built around the flexibility and speed of a company to respond to a demand, they do not have the ability to meet large quantity orders quickly. Normally, this is fine, since the large quantities can be forecasted by the signals generated and production increased to meet the demand. However, sometimes demand rapidly increases without any significant explanation. Sometimes it is due to unplanned media coverage, and sometimes it is just due to the viral success of the product. Whatever the reason, the entire supply chain has to be redesigned and pushed to its capacity when one of these unexpected increases in demand shows. JIT manufacturing was the wave of the future a few years ago, and while it has actually worked for some companies, most have unsuccessfully tried to implement it into their systems. In order

to success, JIT manufacturing requires the perfect combination of speed, management, and product something not many companies have. However, those that do find themselves on the receiving end of severe quality increases and cost decreases.

Kaizen The Wheel Keeping Lean Running

When Tiger Woods won his first Masters championship, what did he do the next day? Did he rest on his hands and take a few days off, congratulating himself because he officially was the best in the world at that very moment? No, instead, he was on the golf course, fixing the very few things that he noticed wrong with his swing during the 72 holes of golf he had just finished playing. Businesses can learn something from Tiger, and it probably isnt what you think. Instead of resting on his laurels, Tiger decided that he would constantly be improving his game. As you can probably guess, this is one of Tigers few secrets to becoming the absolute best at his sport. While businesses can learn from Tigers skill, perseverance, concentration, and focus, more importantly, businesses should learn to focus on Tigers example of constant improvement. Luckily, there is a process that already exists that systemizes the ability to constantly be improving ones business. Enter the Kiazen business practices. Kaizen, as you can imagine, got its first start in Japan, and can be directly traced back to account for a large portion of Japans success as a country in the days following World War II. It is now accepted as common culture within most places of business and is adopted by the most successful people and business without fail. It is also used in the self improvement area of development, but the main focus of this article is in the business management application. Kaizen is the process of constant improvement in all processes, procedures, and methods that drive a business by focusing on small, continuous improvements in everything every single employee does in that company. While it is easy to chalk this up as a very helpful production tool and lean manufacturing tool, the reality is that Kaizen starts to truly come alive when it is incorporated into daily business practiced by every single member of the company, from the CEO all the way down to the most untrained, new line worker. As can be see When taken on board, Kaizen teaches people to think about every single aspect of their business at all times. In this day of automation and consistent, repetitive tasks, this usually poses the biggest hurdle for the process to take effect. When the workers finally do decide to internalize the efficiency process, they are taught to keep an open mind about every single thing they do, and then use the scientific method to identify, deduce, troubleshoot, and improve any

inefficiencies that they may see. As demonstrated in Figure (1), Kaizen is a constant business process, with each stage in the cycle feeding and merging in with each other for a constant state of improvement, leading to the leanest company and processes possible with the most self propelled improvement culture allowed. The end result of using this business practice is a more streamlined business that has employees that continue with the process of improvement almost automatically, whether you tell them to or not. In the following example, youll see how the Kaizen business practices can be incorporated into the everyday life of any business. Frank works in an office cubicle in which he processes a 2 page claimant form for returns of a companys product. This claim form is a document that is filled out by the customer, Frank himself, or the customer service representative that talks to the customer over the phone. Franks job is to review the claimants form, decide whether the claim is a valid claim for reimbursement, refund, or denial. A few forms even end up going to the legal department because either the customer is threatening legal action or there is a vulnerability in the legal policies of the company that may someday lead to a lawsuit. Unfortunately, Franks job is very tedious and after reading over 100 claims per day, he quickly becomes tired, bored, and unhappy with the monotony. He then was ordered by his manager to attend Kaizen business training. When Frank came back, he realized there were quite a few problems with the way they were going about processing claims. First, Frank noticed that he was finding that there was a lot of unnecessary information requested on the claim form. By restructuring the form, Frank got the size of the form down to one page, saving the company money on paper costs, as well as time needed to process the claim. He also found that the decision to send a claim to legal was one that anybody could make, with a certain amount of training and guidance. He suggested to his manager that the customer services representatives, which accounted for over 80% of the forms, should be trained to decide whether a form goes to legal or him, and cut him out of the loop of reviewing the forms. This saved the company tens of thousands of dollars as well as cut about 2 days of processing time off of those applications.

As you can see, the process can be practiced by anyone in the workplace, not just CEOs or lean managers. In fact, when Kaizen is internalized by a company, it will only become effective if every single member of the company jumps on board with the changes. Because of the small change nature of the practice, if this is not internalized by all, the company may only see small changes in their bottom line. If practiced correctly, a business that employs Kaizen thinking will always have an improving bottom line. They will be constantly thinking of ways on the worker level to improve their own jobs, even if it is slightly and borderline immeasurable. After a short period of time, however, many small changes turn into big changes (for the better) to the bottom line.

Kanban Push to Pull Processing

Just in time manufacturing (JIT) is the practice of maintaining and manufacturing just enough inventory to fulfill the orders that have been placed, and not a single piece more. With the advent of next day shipping, modern tracking systems, and worldwide interconnectivity through the internet and satellites, JIT is not only possible, but some businesses could not run without it. Their margins are so razor thin that they would go out of business if they had to allocate any more money toward inventory than they already do. If JIT is the entire system that defines the pull version of production and manufacturing, then Kanban is the signal that triggers the production. Kanban is the path toward JIT achievement, and consists of cards, balls, or other devices like markers or trolleys. It can also be an electronic signal, and many companies are using RFIDs as the signal in Kanban. Developed by Toyota, Kanban is an integral part of Lean manufacturing and is best used alongside Kaizen and JIT. Unless the company that wants to use the Kanban tool is fully versed in lean manufacturing and all of the tools associated with it, it should not be used. To fully and properly implement the process, they have to coincide with each other and require a complete analysis of the manufacturing plant and all of the processes associated with it. When the Kanban tool is properly used, the JIT manufacturing plan can effectively work. This means that a company can use all of its inventory to send to the end user, instead of stacking it on their shelves, freeing up capital for the company so they are able to expand and improve their bottom line. The effective use of Kanban can be demonstrated with a simple example. An auto parts manufacturer wants to expand their product line to include brake pads, but they do not have the cash necessary to purchase the equipment needed to start manufacturing the quality brake pads they want to start building. Management then got together and decided they would try to slim down costs by implementing lean manufacturing processes. After accomplishing a few other things, they turn toward JIT manufacturing to start producing some of their larger parts, one of them being pistons. They have accurate sales data for the previous year on their piston line of products. They decide to cut back on the manufacturing so they can get rid of their backlog and inventory and shift to the JIT system. One of the companys major customers has decided to help the company in employing their JIT system. They have agreed to help them use the Kanban system by keeping track of their inventory and using the companys standardized Kanban cards. These cards contain all of the information about the pistons their model number, their dimensions, weight, color, etc. There is one card for every 50 pistons.

When the customer runs out of pistons, they send the company one of their Kanban cards This triggers the manufacturing of more pistons and subsequently more pistons are made 50 to be exact. The Kanban card represents a signal from the customer that more inventory is necessary in order to keep up with demand. The 50 pistons are not manufactured until the company that needs them is in need of them, and this is the epitome of JIT manufacturing. It should be pointed out that a true JIT manufacturing system is an incredibly complex system that can quickly force complex issues that may turn out to show significant costs or losses to the company that they may not be able to handle. A perfect example of this is the creation of a bar code, internet processing, and assembly line manufacturing system. When introducing the internet processing system, there is an entire system that is now being utilized by the company that requires upkeep, maintenance, and quality assurance. Without these, the system will quickly render itself ineffective. Of course, because of these requirements, additional costs are incurred and the costs saved by switching to a JIT system may not be realized. The bar code is represented by the yellow lightening in Figure (1), which portrays the signal that is generated anytime a customer requires an order. That signal, or The Kanban, goes straight to the supplier to order more material, as well as the fabricator to begin assembling additional product.

Additionally, the timeliness and quality of the product may be effected when switching to a JIT system. Because they are waiting for an item to become depleted without ordering more of the inventory, the order will always be rushed and with that comes the hurried atmosphere that is the backdrop for errors and waste. The company may also lose its unique selling position if they are to fall behind their competitors in speed of delivery of a product, and they may lose the market share associated with those types of customers.

While it is not the answer to every problem a company faces with their supply chain, JIT manufacturing is a great tool that some businesses may find very useful to integrate into some, if not all, of their processes. It is strongly recommended that upper level management be the ones who decide the implementation strategy of this effective tool, and a complete redesign of

the supply system be rethought.

JIT, if done properly, has the potential to save companies a substantial amount of money, particularly if they are involved with manufacturing and distribution. By reducing the inventory necessary to meet the demand of the customer, the company is investing in their own business through cost reduction.

Pull System A Key Lean Concept

It is common for many businesses to think that lean manufacturing ends on the manufacturing floor. There are way too many who also believe that lean manufacturing can only be used to maximize efficiency in production and reduce costs. Of course, as you can imagine, that is not true, as lean manufacturing can be used to manage the supply chain in conjunction with the manufacturing process. With Just in Time Manufacturing, or JIT, the amount of inventory is reduced and a product is only manufactured when a product is necessary. By using Kaban and other lean tools, JIT can become the ideal supply chain system, greatly reducing costs for the business and making it easy for companies to react to demand signals with agility and speed. This is a great example of a pull system, which is the ideal way of running a supply chain., as compared to a push system.

A pull system is exactly what it sounds like. The production of a product or system is varied depending strictly on the demand from the customer or the market, not from forecasts or previous performance. While most businesses strive to use a pull business model from end user to shop floor, it is rare for this to happen, as there are usually some aspects of the supply chain that are push systems. A pull system is one in which the supply chain sends a product through the supply chain because there is a specific demand for that one product, as opposed to creating inventory and pushing the product out to distributors, wholesalers, vendors, or customers so they have to keep inventory, or worse, the production company has to keep inventory. A push supply chain is the exact opposite: they consist of many warehouses, retail stores, or other outlets in which large amounts of inventory are kept to satisfy customer demand on the spot.

As previously mentioned, it is very rare to see a system that is completely run on pull versus push methodologies. For example, one supply chain may be run on pull methodologies from the distributor to the customer. When the customer orders a product from the distributor, the distributor turns that order around immediately and orders that product from the manufacturer. The product is never sitting on the distributors shelves, and the supply chain from the distributor to the customer is strictly a pull system. However, the manufacturer has been producing that product steadily for the last 6 months, whether there has been a demand or not. When a distributor orders the product, they pull it off their shelves and send it to the distributor (or possibly the customer). This is not based on demand from the customer, and is a great example of a push supply chain integrated with a pull supply chain. When a business employs JIT and the pull model of business, they are taking on a few risks, but at the same time they are reducing costs dramatically. Because they do not have to stock inventory at that point in the supply chain, there is no risk of lost investment in that inventory, and they will not be scrambling when a demand signal changes based on seasonality, current events, publicity, or any of other reasons why customer demand and purchasing behaviors change. On the downside, pull supply chains are much more complex and harder to manage. In order to meet the ever increasing demands of the customer with respect to customer service, and accurate, timely delivery of products, complex systems are necessary to track the status of orders and deliveries. While this has been made easier by modern technology, it is still a fight to maintain these systems in their ideal working order. A perfect example of an almost ideal pull supply chain is the Dell business model. Michael Dell started manufacturing computers out of his dorm room while in college. The difference between him and his competitors is that he did not own a storefront or a manufacturing plant. He had to keep his inventory down to a minimum, if any at all, and did not have room for parts storage, no matter how small the components may have been.To counter these constraints, Dell created the ultimate business model: customers built their computer's specifications on the internet, and using those specifications, the computer was built. Not a single spare part was left over, and Dell had no inventory, as each computer was shipped out the door as soon as it was manufactured. There are many businesses that can benefit from the pull methodology of supply chain management, and it should be the goal of most businesses to make as many aspects of their supply chain pull systems instead of push systems as possible. The businesses that can most benefit from these strategies are manufacturing, more so than any other business. Because they run the greatest risk of losses when they have unsold inventory, they benefit the most from this incredible lean tool.

Distribute the workload evenly Heijunka

In a classroom, it is easy to assume that demand for products remains constant. All of the models for supply chain management work out very well and demand can be leveled and predicted when it happens at a constant and predictable rate. In reality, however, demand is anything but constant and predictable, and needs a system or practice that mitigates the fluctuations in demand so the manufacturing can process orders on the supply side at a more constant rate.

It should come as no surprise that a varying demand produces waste. By encountering peaks and valleys on the assembly line, large groups of parts are backed up and lead to downtime, idle workers, and excess inventory. The entire objective of all supply systems, led by heijunka, or work leveling, is to make sure that the assembly line produces a product in a constant, flowing manner. The basis behind production leveling is to manufacture as small a batch as possible, so that fluctuations in demand do not affect the output very dramatically, and the production line may be given time to adapt to unexpected changes. This can be accomplished in a few ways, but one of the more prevalent ways is to set up an assembly line such that variation is accomplished inside of the line. By doing this, the same equipment will manufacture different models or different classes of products with the same machinery. Unless there is a major swing in demand that affects the entire industry, the line will be sheltered from fluctuations, more constant output will be achieved, and waste will be reduced dramatically. Of course, heijunka cannot be made possible without the advent of modern machinery and processes that allow for one assembly line to be able to output multiple products. Henry Ford, when he revolutionized the manufacturing process, built his entire philosophy around the philosophy that an assembly line can be more efficient if one worker was able to perform their work as efficiently as possible and became an expert at one task. According to his system, this could only be accomplished by repetitive tasks that are accomplished by skilled employees repeatedly. As one can imagine, this was completely changed in the last two decades with the advent and industrialization of robots that can perform multiple tasks just as efficiently as it can a single task. This makes heijunka a much more viable possibility, as no time is lost when the production line shifts focus from one product to another. This lean tool can be used in many situations. It does not have to be specifically geared towards manufacturing, but like most other lean tools, was created for it. Heijunka can also be used when involving paperwork reduction projects, project management, cost saving measures, and many other business related situations. Any time a company wants to streamline their processes such that an increase or reduction in demand for a product, whether that product is a service, a form, or a project output, they should be able to benefit from the process of production leveling. The best way to demonstrate what is possible with heijunka is by illustrating with an example. A car manufacturer has 6 different car models that come out of the same plant. Up until now, there were 6 different assembly lines that put the cars together. The assembly workers were great at putting together their specific piece of the puzzle, and were always able to handle whatever was thrown their way. About 7 years ago, demand for all cars, in general, dropped dramatically. The need for 6 assembly lines to be putting out cars is not necessary. However, in order to cut back in production, the car company had to close one of their production lines and stop making one of their models, something that they did not want to do strategically. They employed heijunka to help them solve this problem. They closed two of their lines, and reprogrammed the other four so that they could each put out the 6 models that defined their business. This was evident when there was a large decrease in the demand for one of their models. The companys competitor came out with a new, more efficient model that is comparable to one of the models the company puts out. The senior leadership knew that demand for their model would be dramatically reduced, so they started producing less of that model. All they had to do in order to accomplish that was to tell the assembly line to skip that model every fifth time it came around. Their production of that one model was reduced by 20% and the production of the other 6 models was unaffected. They were able to immediately react to the shift in demand, one of heijunkas end goals.

This tool, while used frequently in the assembly line, can also be applied by middle to upper management in many different aspects of business. As stated before, there are plenty of processes that can benefit from heijunka, and it should always be a tool inside the box of a good, capable manager, that should be evaluated from time to time.

Work Cells A building block of lean manufacturing

If Lean Manufacturing were a building, then the bricks that lay the foundation of lean manufacturing, particularly with assembly lines, would be work cells. The fruit of the work cell implementation is a more efficient, stronger assembly line with higher quality products, happier employees, and a safer work environment. Work cells belong to a type of manufacturing referred to as cellular manufacturing. The concept behind this type of setup is exactly how it sounds: on a certain floor or line, there exists a string of equipment and workstations that promotes an efficient flow of inventory and materials from raw material to final, assembled product. The important aspect to note about cellular manufacturing is the idea that it minimizes transportation and waiting time, which makes the process ideal for quality leaders to implement. Using the concept of cellular manufacturing as a base, then the work cell is a group of equipment, workstations, and/or personnel that are physically located in a single area and allows for the group of workers and equipment to produce an entire product or group of products completely from start to finish. It can be thought of as a small version of the entire assembly line, complete with its own specific processes, teams, equipment, operating guidelines, and quality standards. The alternative to cellular manufacturing is the batch and queue system, in which the product is produced in stages, then allowed to sit for a period of time in a queue while it is waiting to get to the next workstation, as can be seen in Figure (1). If the production line is large enough, this leads to large amounts of inventory waiting in various queues, incurring costs to the company and taking resources away from the production line. Additionally, the line must become much more complex because additional machines and personnel are needed to transport the product between batches. With cellular manufacturing, the work cell absorbs the queue and ensures that inventory is kept to a minimum by constantly producing a quality product inside of the cell, which is demonstrated in the bottom half of Figure (1).

The company that should be most interested in using this tool is the one that finds themselves bogged down by excess inventory and slow processes. Another, less obvious telltale sign that cellular manufacturing is necessary is workers that are unhappy with their job, because production is directly proportional to job satisfaction. The company will also find themselves very slow to react to demand changes and cost reduction techniques. The excess inventory directly drives these factors.

Not every company is a good candidate for shifting to work cells and cellular manufacturing. Some companies simply do not have a manufacturing process that is long and complicated enough to justify work cells. Other companies produce products that are not able to be split into different assembly steps, leading to a convergent line at the very end of the line, and not allowing any room for work cells. While these are a couple of situations in which work cells will not necessarily be the best choice for a company, a large majority of companies would benefit greatly from the positive impact this model has on their inventory and production costs and times.

A good example of the work cell model is with a generator manufacturer. In its most simple form, a generator consists of a rotor, a stator, the casing, and the control systems. Each part consists of many subassemblies that are reflected in Figure (1) by the different processes, Processes A-C.

Up until now, the manufacturer was using the batch and queue model of manufacturing in which each station puts out its product, and then sits in the up and coming queue of the next process. These queues are represented by the yellow boxes in Figure (1). As you can see, with

the batch and queue process, there is a lot of inventory sitting around for no reason other than waiting for the next process to take care of it and process it.

The second part of the diagram, the work cell, is the model that the manufacturing plant moved to when they decided to finally lean out their processes. The work cells are constantly processing product, and dont have a queue. There may be a few times where a bottleneck happens and there is an excess inventory because of a slow workstation, but in general, there should be no inventory stacking up in a work cell system.

This is all because the work cell is constantly running their process, and the previous and next work cells are taking their inventory, also completing their processes on a continual basis. If running correctly, the work cell method should resemble a conveyer belt or assembly line, with a few stops for the processes, but otherwise running fluidly and continuously.

Work cells should be designed at the highest levels. While the workers must be trained in the conduct of business inside of the work cells, the actual system should be designed with a 30,000 foot view. Managers should also be trained to operate their cells efficiently to keep the bottlenecks to a minimum.

If utilized properly, a work cell system can reduce and possibly eliminate the need for inventory. It will also foster higher quality due to constant improvement and a continuous worker from one end of the cell to the other.

SMED Makes Lean Flexible

When looking for places to lean out the manufacturing process, many managers skip over the concept of Single Minute Exchange of Die, or SMED. Quick changeover, as it is called in many circles, should always be a concern, particularly when it comes to assembly lines and manufacturing. The actions needed to take, while simple, have a long lasting impact on the business and the quality, speed, and capability of the line to react to demand changes. To completely understand SMED, you have to understand assembly lines in exacting detail, and it helps to know what the objectives of lean processes in general are. Primarily, assembly lines produce a very specific product by utilizing specific work cells or work stations that produce pieces of that product with a high degree of efficiency, quality, and speed. Unfortunately, while this may be able to produce the product quickly, one of the major drawbacks is that the line is only able to produce a single class of product.

For example, an assembly line that produces stator windings cannot be turned around to produce control circuitry. Therefore, in order to produce a wide variety of products and models, or even a single, very complex product with many assembly stages, a company must run many assembly lines, which takes up a large amount of space, and space costs money. Even if the company wants to produce many variations of the same product, such as a product with different features or model specifications, many times, a single assembly line cannot handle these requirements. The general concept behind lean processes is to reduce or eliminate waste and cut costs by simplification or process changes. Now that you know about the skeletal model of assembly line manufacturing and lean processing, you should be able to see the value of enabling a single assembly line to produce many different products or variations of products. By doing this, the company reduces the amount of space necessary for them to occupy, they are able to react to demand shifts in product lines, and overhead is severely cut down so many products become profitable for the company to produce. This is where SMED comes into play. If a company were following the SMED philosophy exactly, they would be able to produce a company and manufacturing layout that could change the dies and robotic programming in the assembly line so that the assembly line can shift from producing one model to another in a very short amount of time. By doing this, the company will not need as many assembly lines, or as many branches on a single line, therefore reducing the square footage necessary to manufacture a wide line of products. They also will not need a completely different set of employees to keep the assembly line moving, and will not need to upkeep, buy, or power any additional equipment associated with the second or third line. Finally, since the company can quickly adjust the line to manufacture which ever product they would like, they can quickly change the assembly line to manufacture the product that is seeing a higher demand and cut back on the product that is seeing a lower demand. By achieving this incredibly agile position, a company can easily manage its inventory and maintain a large amount of liquidity in their company. The first time a company embarks on a quest to enable SMED, they will not be able to change over the manufacturing lines as quickly as they would like. The end goal is to be able to shift the assembly line from one product to another in less than 100 minutes, therefore reducing the amount of downtime associated with the shift. The company will not realize this significant progress until a few months of lean studies and process evaluation. Thank about the various models of GPS units that are on the market. Some of the market leaders have dozens, if not hundreds, of models to manufacture, in order to meet the demands and wants of the customer. There isnt a single assembly line in the world that can manufacture such a large variation in products, but they can manufacture two, or a few, very similar products. The GPS manufacturer has 12 assembly lines and decides to pursue SMED with the end goal of reducing to 4 lines. They estimate that this will cut costs by 60%, reduce downtime by 20%, and make them able to increase revenue by 30% by expanding their markets by offering additional models to their overseas customers. As shown in Figure (1), they commissioned a study and found that they can consolidate their 12 lines into 4, as they had wanted. They then were able to commission the other lines to produce the additional models without incurring any significant additional overhead.

Figure (1) While this is something that anybody can suggest, it is a very high level concept that has to be evaluated not only at the manager level, but at the upper management level as well. The effects are far reaching, and without careful planning, a company can possibly negatively affect their output capacity, leaving a shortage of inventory in the supply chain. SMED is a very effective way of significantly changing the way a company does business. It should be fully explored, particularly if a company is in the manufacturing business.

Do you know how long it will take you to read this article? If you glanced at your watch before you opened this article, look at it again when you are done. Then, read ten more articles and take the average reading time. Is that fast? Or is it slow? Should you be reading faster in order to meet your reading goals? Or should you slow down to maximize comprehension and quality of the reading? Takt time can answer this question. Takt time is derived from the German work, Taktzeit, and can be literally translated to mean cycle time. Using the previous example, if your boss came to you and told you to read an article next week, you would know exactly how much time you would have to block out of your day to read articles. If you werent feeling well, or thought you were particularly distracted, you could compare your time to the time you just derived. Traditionally, Takt time is the maximum time per unit that a production line is allowed to produce a quality product in order to meet demand. After it is benchmarked, it sets the pace and the standard for further production from the same line or workstation. It can show managers and quality teams where to focus their attention and resources in attempting to improve the overall process. It can also alert managers to bottlenecks and choke points that need attention to process resources. The Takt time is computed by dividing the time demand (units required per day) by the net time available to work (minutes of work per day). This will give you a unit of minutes of work per unit required, and provides for a good description of what Takt Time really is. The end goal of determining the Takt time is to produce products at a pace that mirrors what the customers demand is. By meeting the demand from the customer, the inventory is kept to a minimum and thus costs are also minimized. Of course, no machine or person is perfect, and there are inefficiencies in every process, so a good manager and quality specialist will take these variations into account when determining the required rate to run the line at. Sometimes it simply takes trial and error to find the ideal rate to run the line at. Additionally, most companies

Takt Time the Rhythm of lean manufacturing

will have the ability to adjust the required time by adjusting daily working time, increasing workers, and other things that will indirectly affect the line time. It is very important to realize the difference between cycle time and Takt time. Takt time is only determined by the demand and the amount of time available to work. It actually is not affected by the actual performance of the line or workstation whatsoever. Cycle time, however, is the amount of time it actually takes to complete the production of the unit. They are separate, and most people, particularly those who are relatively unfamiliar to lean processes. While they are not the same thing, Takt time and Cycle time should always be compared to each other for a relative gage of your processs ability to meet the necessary demand. When a car company comes out with a new model car, they perform market analysis, surveys, and forecasts that decide what the demand for the new model will most likely be. This, along with the supply chain management team, can determine what the production goals will be for a certain factory, and consequently, the line. For example, lets say that they will need 30 new models per day. In order to get the production team off the ground, produce quality products, and provide training to the team, management has decided to limit amount of production time available to the line to 5 hours per day. Therefore, the Takt time is 30 units per day / 5 hours per day, or 6 units per hour required to produce to meet customer demand, and can be further broken down to 1 unit every 10 minutes. This will lead to every car that comes off the line being shipped and no inventory being held at the factory the ideal way to run the business.

Figure (1) This can be further broken down to workstations. For example, the door installation workstation for the new, 4-door model car would also need to put out one car per ten minutes. However, since there are 4 doors, the workstation will have to install one door every 2.5 minutes. While this may seem obvious, what may not seem obvious is that this is beyond the capacity of a single workstation, and will lead to a bottleneck , and subsequently a focused lean project which will bring the cycle time to the Takt time, leading to an efficient process. Takt time can be used in many applications that arent necessarily the traditional line manufacturing application. It can be used in order processing, call center operation, project management tasks, or anything in a business that can be measured by processing time. A good tool to have in your toolbox, Takt time will give a company an insight into what the capacity of a method or process must be in order to meet the demand a customer places on it. By doing this, the company can set a benchmark that will guide the company toward the ideal situation of perfect supply chain management.

Theory Of Constraints (TOC)

The Theory of Constraints is a tool that came about in 1984 from the Israeli physicist and business management author Eliyahu M. Goldratt. The theory and philosophy was born from the appropriately named Goldratt book, The Goal, which proclaimed that all systems and processes are driven by a goal or a few goals which are limited in their capacity only by one or a very slight few constraints. It goes on to claim that the only way to fully achieve this goal or goals is to identify the most limiting constraint and either reduce it so it is no longer the limiting constraint or eliminate it altogether. While the focus of the theory and the ensuing improvement is the constraint, there are important assumptions that are considered vital to the success, or to some the downfall, of the theory. Goldratt asserts that all organizations and processes can be measured by three characteristics: Throughput, Operating Expense, and Inventory. Of course, by measuring these three characteristics, we can then track and therefore control them. The variations that are inherent in these is what leads to the constraint. A good example is to look at an organization and its three characteristics. Throughput can be viewed as sales, or even the revenue generated through these sales, Operating Expense is exactly that, and Inventory is reflected in the investment in goods or services that the organization participates in to sell their own goods and services. By measuring all of these characteristics, and tracking and controlling them, we can identify the constraints upon which this theory is built. These constraints are the heart of the theory, and state that there is always at least one, and at most very few, constraints that are holding the organization back from either fulfilling the goal or limiting the rate at which the goal is achieved. These constraints may be internal or external. Some examples of internal constraints are equipment, people, and policy. The key to success, Goldratt claims, is to follow five focusing steps, which assist in identifying the constraint and destroying it such that we are no longer constrained by that specific constraint and instead another constraint takes its place. It is imperative to understand that a constraint always exists, but the limiting constraint may change as they are identified and improved or cleared. If you assume that the goal is clearly articulated, then the five focusing steps are: 1. Identifying the constraint. This is the resource or policy that is preventing the organization from achieving the specified goal. This is found by monitoring the three characteristics as defined previously. 2. Exploiting the constraint. Ensuring the constraints full resources, attention, and intention are dedicated toward the goal. Then, identifying ways in which more resources, attention, and intention can be focused solely on the limiting constraint. 3. Subordinating all other resources and processes. This entails taking full inventory of the processes and resources available to the organization and dedicating them toward supporting the exploitation determined in step 2. This usually includes aligning the entire organization around the decision behind step 2. 4. Elevate the constraint, if necessary. If necessary, dedicate more resources or processes toward eliminating the constraint outlined, or perhaps place more resources on the constraint so the constraints capacity is increased. 5. Re-evaluate the constraint, and repeat with step 1. Over the course of accomplishing steps 14, the constraint may have shifted or changed. Re-evaluate the constraint and start again from step 1. One very important characteristic to note is the propensity to continue with step 4 indefinitely, not recognizing that there is a new constraint. If managed correctly, this is a constant cycle which is repeated indefinitely, and is identified by Goldratt as the Process of Ongoing Improvement (POOGI).

Like anything else, there is always variation when we measure our three characteristics. Because of this, Goldratt preaches the use of buffers, particularly during the exploiting and subordinating stages, to eliminate or reduce the variation effect on the constraint. According to the TOC model, the organization should always be able to output up to the capabilities of the constraint. With the buffers, that constraint is constantly the constraint, ensuring no other piece of the organization becomes the constraint. The Theory of Constraints can be used by any complex system or organization in which the desired outcome is a goal that is either achieved faster or more cost effectively. By systematically reducing the constraints that keep us from attaining this goal, we dedicate more resources toward the constraint and less toward other operations that are not constraining the process. You should use this tool over others when your organization cannot define what the single most constraining process is that is affecting your organizations process capability. A good example is one of a widget manufacturing line that has been manufacturing widgets for the last 20 years. The company has used lean and six sigma for the last 10 years to bring its costs down significantly, and is now the leading manufacturer of widgets across the country. A manager has been brought in to analyze the process used to manufacture the widgets and recommend areas for additional improvement. The manager, has decided to use TOC as a tool. He then took about 16 weeks to measure the throughput of every workstation and has found that a single workstation is the constraining factor. They are constantly working on a backlog, and while lean processes have cut their production time by half, they are still the weakest link in the chain. Management decided to put a second workstation dedicated to that constraining factor, therefore doubling the capacity of the constraint, and thus increasing the capacity of the line. While the cost was increased twofold, so was the production output, allowing the organization to increase their sales offerings and double their revenue. The Theory of Constraints is a process for ongoing, continuous improvement of a process or organization. By taking this tool onboard and implementing it, you will find the most constraining factor that is holding back your company from its best performance.

It should be obvious that an ideal business and manufacturing process should run smoothly without any interruption between steps or departments. The quickest way from point A to point B is in a straight line, and the easiest way to achieve that straight line is by using Value Stream Mapping, or VSM. VSM is used to identify the areas in which a large amount of waste exists. This gives the quality team a good idea where to focus their efforts and lean processes. By practicing VSM, a company can also streamline their business processes and achieve record levels of productivity.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) Visualize the Value

More commonly known as Material and Information Flow Mapping, VSM seeks to analyze and optimize the flow of materials and information necessary to bring a product or service to a consumer. As you might expect, the simpler, more straight-line, and clearly defined the processes or value stream is, the more efficiently the company will run. If used correctly, VSM can be used in many different industries and processes, from customer service, to consulting services, and from optimizing manufacturing lines to paperwork reduction. No matter what industry, effort, or process, there are a few steps which outline the processes necessary for mapping the different value streams. Many times, VSM is used in conjunction with the first S, Sort, in the 5S model. It can also be used when trying to achieve a visual workplace, something else that goes after the same objectives. In fact, the Sort phase of 5S talks about finding out what the most efficient stream of information and parts flowing is and how to achieve that by removing the unnecessary tools and equipment are on the shop floor. While it may seem like a simple task o do, often times, management does not realize that they do not have a firm grasp on the conduct of the processes within their own organization. When they attempt to start mapping out the flow, they are shocked to find that a lot of them are highly inefficient and contain many unnecessary steps, actions, and diversions. They end up having to interview their own employees about the processes that are in place to find out exactly how they are conducted. If the workplace in question is a manufacturing or assembly plant, it is advantageous to get to a vantage point in which the manager can see the entire shop floor and all of its equipment, personnel and other resources in motion. The manager should be able to view the entire production as it is happening. Much like a conductor of an orchestra, this will give them a birds eye view of the actual conduct of the operations inside of the plant as they happen, instead of talking about what is supposed to theoretically happen inside of a boardroom or office. When it comes time to implement the VSM techniques, it should be employed in four stages. The first is to identify what it is that is to be mapped, or what the target will be. Second, using the helpful hints from above, the current state of the process should be drawn. The steps, information flows, and delays that are necessary to deliver the target product or service should be included in the preliminary map. The next step is where the magic happens. Management should be brought in to assess the current state of the value stream map it possibly identify areas which need work in creating flow by eliminating waste. And lastly, taking into account what was found in the previous step, the future VSM should then be drawn and implemented. An example of this process can be seen in Figure (1). As you can see, this company has decided to outline their value stream. There are many places in which the company can improve the flow of information and parts.

Figure (1)

Luckily, the management was able to identify the areas that can be improved. They noticed that process B1 was taking 8 hours, while taking up resources of 5 people. Part of this is due to the fact that the process in this figure sent 83% of the inventory through process B1 instead of B2. Management also noticed that there was a solid 18 hours of delivery time, or 20% of the products cycle time. The team thought that putting Process B1 in the same location as Process C would improve delivery time, and it did. This way, the 8 hours of delivery time from B1 to C was removed, leading to a 10% decrease in production time. Process B2 was also dissolved, but the best practices from the better performing cell were incorporated into Process B1, leading to value improvements that led a chain reaction of savings.

While it is usually a management-lead initiative, in order to effectively create an accurate VSM, a company must employ the cooperation of its line workers to help the management create an effective VSM. Like a house without a strong foundation, without a good VSM to start with, the rest of the process will be useless.

Value Stream Mapping is one of the best ways for a company to understand its own processes and procedures. As most managers will be surprised at the inefficiencies, it is good to put them on paper so they can be addresses. Just as it can be used to identify the weak areas, it can also be used to project what the ideal VSM would look like, and use that as a reference when

employing other Lean tactics to improve the performance of the company by eliminating waste. The end result is usually a stronger, leaner company that is streamlined to the point where it produces its maximum output with the least amount of defects.

Workflow diagram An important lean tool

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. In the case of business and process management, this couldnt be any more true. When it comes time to lean out a process, system, or business, the question of visualizing the process always comes up. Luckily a tool exists to bring everyone on the same page as well as visualize the processes involved, and this tool is a Workflow diagram. A workflow diagram is like the secret decoder ring that will result in the teams understanding and focused improvement. Just as it sounds, a workflow diagram is a visual depiction of a workflow, using visual representations such as flowchart symbols and annotations to show the different steps and decision points in a workflow. A workflow is a sequence of operations or processes as defined by the work of a person, a machine, a group of machines, or a group of people, organization or staff. The work itself may actually be a virtual representation of actual work, such as a decision, processing of a document, or a procedure that is conducted. The flow part of the workflow is oftentimes depicting a transfer of a document or piece of a product from one step or workstation to another. The workflow itself is not a great lean tool. While depicting the process helps to visualize what is happening inside of the company, it does not show the places for improvement. Like a roadmap, it maps out the different destinations and paths to get to and from a destination. Also like a map, it does not show where the roadblocks, bumpy roads, heavy traffic, or bad weather is. Just as a map can be used as an underlay for a weather map or traffic map, the workflow can be used as the building block on which other assessment tools are based. The workflow can be used as a great learning tool, especially for newcomers to the organization, which is an ISO requirement. Additionally, they should be characteristic to the company with its own terminology such as silos, teams, projects, and hierarchies. In reality, it is often hard to trace the exact path of a task or document, especially when functional tasks and operational teams are not clearly defined. The workflow will often be better represented by a series of intertwined webs instead of clearly defined paths and flowing roadmaps. It is very common for a company to employ the use of software to help in defining and managing the workflows associated with a company. After it is defined and improved, the end result is usually a better overall understanding of the companys processes as well as improved efficiency, less complicated processes, improved process control and better quality and standardization. If all of the members of a workflow and business understand where their place is in the workflow and how they are supposed to interact with other teams and organizations inside of the workflow, the results are sometimes amazing at the level of improvement that is possible. When a company first decides that it wants to employ lean processes, they usually start with a workflow diagram. Most managers and company executives are shocked to find out the inefficiencies that occur inside of their organizations. It is also a great way to make a big difference quickly by reminding, or informing all personnel that operate inside the workflow of what they should be doing with respect to processing the documents or materials that they handle.

Figure (1)

An example workflow diagram is given in Figure (1). The workflow depicted outlines a company that produces software. The specific workflow depicted here is that of the customer service workflow. In another words, what happens when a customer calls this software company?

Figure (1) should be relatively straightforward, but the company would like to lean this process out. In order to conduct the lean process properly, they hire a lean expert who documents the workflow you are looking at. Immediately, the lean expert sees some room for improvement.

The first issue addressed in the lean report was the fact that an operator, in the first step, is basically used as a call screener. They waste valuable time ensuring the call gets to the right place, oftentimes with no further action necessary on their part. The lean expert recommended that this step be replaced by a PBX system, which will reduce the amount of time an operator spends handling a call. In turn, they can handle more calls more frequently.

He also notices that the form 1182 and 1187 are used in very similar situations. He recommends combining the 2 forms into one that is applicable in every situation, whether it is a complaint that can or cannot be resolved by the operator. While the company may have alternative reasons for having two separate forms, this is a lean opportunity, and should be evaluated as such.

Someone who is well versed in lean processes should complete the workflow diagram. By diagramming even the smallest details, an opportunity for improvement may be realized where it

may not have been readily apparent in prior attempts. If it were left up to the person who is actually completing the process, they may have a bias as to what they think they are actually doing compared to what they are actually doing.

Workflow diagrams are very powerful tools in the fight against waste. It should be obvious by now that they are not necessarily the end tool, but instead a tool to visualize the processes that are already in place. Many times managers and supervisors are shocked to see what actually happens compared to what should be happening.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

The saying goes that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Nothing symbolizes that more than the concept of Total Productive Maintenance, or TPM. As a newer concept to hit the marketplace, it is used to help maintain the plants and equipment at a company. If successfully conducted, TPM can rapidly increase the production associated with a production line while making the employee job satisfaction and morale hit new highs. Maintenance of equipment is a part of life, particularly if a company is running a manufacturing plant. TPM will bring maintenance to the forefront of the business and ensure it is a top concern for management. With TPM, maintenance can be viewed as a profit activity, generating real dollars as the maintenance is conducted, and therefore is always allowed to squeeze in some maintenance related down time in the manufacturing day. Before TPM, maintenance would be conducted whenever the machine was down because it was broken, or whenever it was down for another reason. Once the TPM program is put into place, the uncontrolled down time due to emergency or unscheduled maintenance is kept to an absolute minimum. TPM can accomplish many things, but there are five primary reasons a company will switch to the TPM mode of thinking. First, it can reduce cost by reducing the amount of unscheduled downtime associated with a piece of equipment or possibly even an entire production line. Next, quality will either be maintained or increase while the production quantity will increase. Because the equipment is more reliable, not as much inventory will be kept on hand, leading to lower inventory levels, therefore reducing the costs incurred by a company that has to hold this inventory. Of course, because it is a lean process, it will also avoid the waste associated with pieces of equipment that are not optimized to their highest performance levels. This also costs the company money, time, and sometimes customer satisfaction. Lastly, along the same lines as product quality, the goods that are delivered will be in top shape and send to the customer without defect. There are four different types of maintenance associated with TPM. The first, breakdown maintenance, is when an equipment fails, the maintenance is purely conducted to bring it back online and in a condition that it will be sustained online indefinitely. These repairs are typically very costly, result in a large amount of downtime, and occur at random, unpredictable times. It is in the best interest of most companies to keep the breakdown maintenance to a minimum.

Preventative maintenance is exactly what it sounds like. It is maintenance that occurs on a periodic basis, whether it be monthly, weekly, or daily, and is designed to maintain a piece of equipment in the best working order possible, and prevent the occurrence of breakdowns. It also extends the lifetime of the equipment dramatically. Unlike breakdown maintenance, it can be scheduled to coincide with production cycles and planned downtime. Two subsets of preventative maintenance are periodic maintenance and predictive maintenance, with both serving very specific functions in the TPM plan. Corrective maintenance is another form that fits into the TPM puzzle. With corrective maintenance, the equipment is improved to make up for design flaws or inefficiencies that are associated with the manufacturing, supply, or design process. A good example of this would be upgrades for software which patch vulnerabilities discovered after the software is released. The last form of maintenance is in a different class, and is called maintenance prevention. While the other three forms are actively fixing problems that have already occurred, maintenance prevention is fixing weaknesses that are going to prevent defects, safety, and failure prevention. It is the act of proactively changing the design at the manufacturing plant such that these changes will effectively improve the product.

Figure (1)

Figure (1) demonstrates how other quality tools are intertwined within and work in conjunction with TPM. While TPM can be seen as a higher level concept that incorporates all of these tools, the reality is that these tools support the TPM idea and without them, TPM would be nothing more than time wasted. Take note that 5S is considered the strong foundation that a solid TPM program is built upon. Without the clarity that 5S brings to the workplace, TPM is just another case of trying to find your way in the dark.

TPM is a very high level program that must begin at the CEO level. Because it effects all stages of the lifecycle and involves implementing large programs with very deep cuts into resources, as well as significant design, supply, and quality changes, it should be approved at no less than the highest level of management. Usually the best TPM programs have some method of feedback, however, in which the workers who will be performing the maintenance have the opportunity to voice their opinion and offer suggestions.

As stated before, TPM has the capacity to reduce downtime, improve product quality, improve

reliability, and make life for employees inside a company much more enjoyable. It is ,however, a very large program to implement, and in doing so many incur significant upfront costs that dont always have immediate recognizable returns on investments. In the long run, however, TPM should be integrated into every companys equipment life cycle plan.

Visual Workplace

When you are driving, do you normally follow the laws of the road by listening to auditory cues, or do you normally use visual cues to guide you through the maze of roads, walkways, turns, and curves? Of course, you primarily use visual cues, paying attention to the signs, markings, and lights that coordinate the dangerous and fast moving flow of traffic. This is the basis behind the implementation of a visual workplace. Human beings are naturally visual beings. While many people are able to learn through various methods such as auditory and kinesthetic learning, when it comes down to reactionary measures and movement planning, almost all humans use vision to guide their actions. Nothing could be more applicable in the workplace, particularly in the atmosphere of a manufacturing environment, where focused attention is absolutely necessary at all times, and room for mistakes is very slim. Any sort of diversion or distraction will lead to a possible mistake, with quality and safety possibly hanging in the balance. A visual workplace results in a work environment that will sort through the clutter and produce a clean, well organized, and efficient. Often times, it clears a path for more advanced improvement efforts, but in itself it is a powerful tool that will lead to improvement, sometimes almost immediately. A visual workplace is the first step in the 5S system. Seiri, or the Sort step in the 5S system is what brings the organization to a system or workplace. It starts at the worker level and continues upwards to the upper management level. The first action that most companies take is to go through the workplace and look through the tools, equipment, and supplies that are not used on an everyday basis. With cooperation from the workers who operate the equipment, it should be relatively simple to identify the excess that exists around the plant. Using red markings to mark the tools and objects that are not necessarily an integral part of the manufacturing process is usually the first actual step in the right direction. Often times, a lot of excess inventory are marked with a red tag, indicating that it is waste. This can lead to identifying bottlenecks and parts in the manufacturing process that may need additional resources. Next, middle management will come in and map out the paths that the workflows follow and ensure that they are clearly marked, as straight as possible, and definitive. They will also ensure that there are no conflicts between workflows and workstation locations. Just as importantly, the astute manager will take information and tooling flow into account as well. Sometimes it is impossible to get a good grasp on how important a visual workspace is until you are standing above the workplace from a good vantage point, often called the machining vantage

point. Like a poorly coordinated intersection on the roadway, it is sometimes abundantly clear that better coordination is necessary. You may see workers crossing paths, information not flowing as optimally as it could, or tooling that is in the absolute worst place possible. All of these things should be changed before any further issues are addressed. When a company finally gets serious about creating a visual workplace, they can expect to see dramatic changes in the way that parts, information, and personnel flow. The company usually sees a large reduction in defects, increased morale, and greater productivity.

Figure (1) A good example is shown in Figure (1). In this example, a chip manufacturing company has decided to take the visual workplace concept seriously. In the first part, anyone can clearly see that the plant has a lot of equipment, an entire workstation in fact, that is left over from a bygone era, in which they used it to produce an older style chip that they never use anymore. Instead, the equipment just sits obtrusively on the floor, slowing the flow of the assembly line and creating safety hazards. What cannot be seen from this example is that all workstations still have the tools necessary to produce and work on the old chips. The chip manufacturer never removed those tools and left them at the workstations because it would incur a cost to remove them. While it will incur a cost, most managers will recognize that the tools are actually detracting from the current manufacturing of the chip, and the amount saved by choosing not to remove the tooling was long lost in the way of inefficiencies and lost productivity. Once these steps were taken to clean the area and adhere to the 5S methodology of improvement, the visual workplace can take effect. Many times 5S is described as the method used to prepare for the ultimate goal of a visual workplace. Once implemented, a visual workplace is able to keep itself orderly and is self-regulating and self-improving, all because visual solutions have been developed.

Figure (2) If a workplace is a truly visual workplace, a person off the street that has absolutely no knowledge of the area can know exactly where each piece of equipment and each tool is located because it is clearly identified and marked, as shown in Figure (2). Figure (1) also demonstrates the importance of a visual workplace in safety, as can be seen by the yellow tape on the shop floor. Visual workplace goes beyond labeling tools, however. It also includes such initiatives as coloring buttons that turn equipment on green instead of red, as well as maintaining yellow as a cautionary safety only color. As stated before, a visual workplace is most effective if it starts on the ground floor. The workers who use the equipment every day will know best what components are and are not necessary. From there, it can move into more high level thought, such as reducing machinery, cutting out steps in a workflow, or even removing manufacturing processes altogether. These are usually accomplished at a much higher level than the worker level, but as you can see, obtaining a truly visual workspace can only be achieved if every member of the company is involved. Most companies are surprised to see how inefficient their processes and manufacturing lines run. When they finally make a commitment to running a truly visual workspace, they will usually see a dramatic improvement to their bottom line. The most common reaction that companies give is one in which they could not believe they didnt tackle it earlier.

Cause and effect diagram (Ishikawa Diagram)

A company has a problem that they need solving. For sake of example, it is a quality issue. So the company gathers a team together to figure out what is happening to truly cause this problem. They have all heard of a root cause analysis, and would like to find the true root cause that is causing this problem. They gather together in a room and start to brainstorm what the possible causes are. But they quickly realize that their brainstorming session isnt focused at all, but they keep going. They come up with what they think is the true root cause, and find a corrective action for it. They implement the corrective action, only to find out later that while they have helped the

problem, they havent actually found or fixed the root cause. This is the hazard of not using the cause and effect diagram during a root cause analysis. A cause and effect diagram, simply put, provides a way for the average manager or office worker to be able to effectively come up with a true root cause of a problem. It is a process that can be repeated by anyone with a basic level of understanding of the system or the processes involved. It also allows the team to be able to approach extremely complex problems and situations by breaking it down into the fundamental components of what usually goes wrong in most situations. The first cause and effect diagram was created in 1943 at the Kawasaki Steel Works to depict the work factors involved with a process. Because of this, they are sometimes called Ishikawa diagrams, after the original presenter, Kaoru Ishikawa. They are also called fishbone diagrams in some circles because of their resemblance to fish bones. It is very uncommon for a quality problem, or any problem in todays high tech world, to be simple. Often, they contain many different factors and interactions that are hard to conceptualize when sitting in a meeting room. A cause and effect diagram breaks these complex problems down into easier, more simplified components, so they can each be individually addressed for determining their root cause. A good diagram will break down the issue into major causes and sub causes, leading to the eventual discovery of root causes, which is the end goal of all six sigma processes. It will also provide a visual understanding of the problem for all parties involved, leading to a better understanding of the problem, and provides a way to focus on the correct issues to discuss and analyze.

Figure (1) There are very few instances of brainstorming sessions that should not include a fishbone diagram. An example of a fishbone is contained in Figure (1). The cause and effect diagram should always start with the effect that you wish to change on the right side of the paper, in the case of the above example, the Leaking Pump. You should then draw the backbone of the fish, a horizontal line from left to right. Include the primary causes, or even just a general category of cause on diagonal lines that are alternating between above and below the backbone of the fish. This can be seen in Figure (1) by the categories of Leaking Seal, Leaking O-Ring, Misaligned Leakage, Improperly assembled seal kit, Environmental, and Ruptured Seal.

From those lines, you should branch off into additional diagonal lines that indicate the secondary causes, or the causes of the primary causes. For example, in Figure (1), the Static vs. Dynamic and Cold Weather causes are the root causes. From there, you can branch off a third time from each secondary cause, which will indicate the root cause that should be addresses. Not every secondary cause is going to have a root cause, as the secondary cause is sometimes the root cause of the problem. Figure (1) doesnt have any third level causes, as the second level each contain the true root causes. Once you have done this, you should have a good, thorough, cause and effect diagram. From here, you should mark the causes that you plan on correcting, and then brainstorm a corrective action, or many corrective actions, that will address the root cause. Theoretically, if the root causes of a problem are eliminated, the problem will either disappear, or be dramatically reduced. In reality, what happens in many situations, is that the problem changes into a new problem with the same symptoms, making it look like the root cause was not the true root cause. What actually happens is that the root cause changes, but causes the same problem. Many times, the reason for this is that the new root cause was being masked by the bigger, original root cause. Many companies require all of their employees, from the hourly worker to the CEO, to be able to correctly make a fishbone diagram and participate in the root cause analysis. It is a simple process that can be understood by all, yet can lead to dramatic changes for the better. It is in a companys best interests to be able to fix a lot of their problems by using the cause and effect diagram by any and all personnel. If a company is interested in a process that is simple, straightforward, and more often than not attacks the root cause of the problem, all employees should be well versed in creation and execution of a fishbone, or cause and effect, diagram.

5 Why? Simple but effective lean tool

Just like any good mechanic, a good lean expert should have many tools to help them do their job. While a mechanic may be fixing something under the hood of a car, a lean expert will be fixing something under the hood of a business. Unlike a mechanics troubleshooting, sometimes the real reason why something is not functioning inside a business isnt readily apparent, and there isnt a manual to troubleshoot it. Additionally, it may be masked by other problems that appear to be the real reason, or root cause, when in truth, it is only a diversion. Avoiding this is a very important job of all people who work in a company, primarily a lean expert, or someone who works on the quality team. There are many ways in which the quality team can approach the problem, and the 5 why technique is one of them. It is designed to help get to the real root cause of a problem, so the cause can be addressed through a short term or long term corrective action. The corrective action, then, can be tracked for its effectiveness. The 5 why system is one in which the simple question why? is asked at 5 different levels of a problem to get to the bottom of the situation. It was first used in the early 1970s by the Toyota Company, who is often credited with being the pioneer of modern quality. If used correctly, it can provide a way to help identify the true root cause of the problem by using a feedback system. An added benefit is that it can be used both on an individual basis as well as a part of a group attack. It can, and should, also be integrated into the Kaizen, lean, and Six Sigma methods.

It can also be used in conjunction with other tools, such as root cause analysis software and fishbone diagrams to help aid in the discovery of the true root cause and identifying the cause and effect associated with it. While some other root cause analysis tools are complex and require experts to run them, even a two year old knows how to ask the question why, so the much more simplified approach is easy to adopt to the level of each individual worker. Of course, it may seem like the five why method is too good to be true: a simple, effective way to approach complex technical issues that anyone can apply? This is the exact argument that most five why critics have used against the system: it is not as effective as thought. The biggest argument is that, while it is purported to get to the foundation of the problem, in reality, most people stop at the surface level symptomatic issues that appear to be plaguing them on a daily basis. By asking the question why?, most will simply come up with another symptom instead of working their way back to the root cause. They will then fix the additional symptom, proclaiming to have found and corrected the root cause, when in fact the problem they were trying to solve never actually is fixed. Another pitfall that the critics of this system claim detracts from its effectiveness is the tendency for personnel to stop at their level of knowledge or comfort, instead of digging deeper and thoroughly investigating the limits of their technical knowledge. It is too easy for the five why method to reward and promote the quick fix answer of simply satisfying the question why, instead of more thoroughly finding a technical answer. Lastly, while simplicity is one of the merits of the system, it is also purported to be one of the downfalls. Because anybody can conduct the five why method, they actually do, and do not seek professional assistance in determining whether the why they submit is a true, actual why and not a surface level quick fix.

Figure (1) Figure (1) illustrates the typical conduct of solving the answer why does the pump leak. As can be seen, it addresses the fact that the seal inside of the pump bell housing is leaking fluid. While many companies and employees would stop there, instead, this technique requires the champion to go much further and address the reason why the seal leaks. Of course, there can be more than one why to every reason, as demonstrated by Figure (1). The seal could leak because of improper installation of the seal, or possibly an inadequate seal design. Each one of those has their own why branches, which address the more subsurface issue causing the why before it. As stated earlier, anyone can use this method. However, care and consideration should be taken to at least fully train the personnel who will be in charge of leading the five why inquisition, as it is very easy to scratch the surface of the challenge and never actually dig to the subsurface root causes. The 5 why technique is a great tool when used in conjunction with other tools as an aide in finding the root cause of a problem. Like any other tool, it should be wielded by someone who understands how to thoroughly investigate problems and conduct a solid root cause analysis.

Lean and Six Sigma

Whenever a process occurs, whether it is manufacturing a computer chip, drilling a hole in a piece of wood, or filing a piece of paper, there is a variance between the target value and what actually happens. When taken over a period of time or scaled on a large scale over many products, this variation causes problems with the end product. If a component of a product does not meet the required specifications, then it is naive to think that the product itself will function in the required capacity. Six sigma is the strategy concerned with reducing the amount of variation concerned with completing a process on a repeated basis, so that the overall product can function at a level that is acceptable to the customer. It is also the practice of constant improvement by identifying defects that can be brought under control in order to improve the functionality of the end product. While it may seem like six sigma is a highly technical skill, in reality it is used in many different sectors. It is not uncommon to see six sigma practices implemented into marketing, sales, and customer support organizations as well. Initially created and implemented by Motorola, most companies have implemented some sort of version of a six sigma program in most of their departments. There are some companies that even require all personnel to be trained in six sigma implementations and policies. It uses statistical methods integrated with quality and lean processes to measure the possible and recognized improvement in the process. If implemented properly, entire teams and sub organizational structures (i.e. black belts, green belts, etc) are implemented to guide personnel in the proper conduct of the six sigma process and bringing the culture to the workplace successfully. The idea behind six sigma is revealed in the name of the process through identification of sources of variation and cost, teams are formed to find what the sources are, and then the variation is measured and plotted. It is then analyzed to see if there are other, uncontrollable aspects of the data that may be effecting the way that the parameter is measured.

All of these are taken into consideration, and then the corrective action that is supposed to bring the process to within six sigma of the target value is implemented, or in other words, the process is improved. Over time, the process is conducted with the corrective action in place, and the parameter, once again, is measured. This measurement is plotted, just as it was prior to the corrective action implementation, and the corrective action is analyzed for its effectiveness. The team then discusses what actions can be implemented to ensure the quality improvements are maintained and the progress is not lost by a lack of control over the corrective action. The beauty of six sigma is that it can be used in any application, in any business, at any time. As stated before, there are plenty of documented case studies that show how six sigma can be effectively used inside of everything from sales and marketing to very complex manufacturing procedures. With the proper training and teams in place, the sky is the limit with regards to the amount of improvement an organization can realize by implementing the six sigma

infrastructure. As can be seen in Figure (1), there are five basic steps to completing a six sigma project. The first is Define, in which the parameter in that will be the focus of the project is identified. Additionally, the impact to the bottom line of the business is discussed and the potential savings is measured. It is at this point in which the company will decide whether or not to pursue further action in the improvement of the parameter, and whether the time and funding spent toward the improvement will pay off in the end. Next, the parameter is measured in the Measure phase. Statistic relevance is taken into consideration as well as other sources of variation such as gage error. It is determined how well the actual parameter can be brought under control by measuring it with respect to the sigma value of a normally distributed curve. Take, for example, a process that has 1000 opportunities for a defect. Of these opportunities, 2 defects emerge. This obviously means the process has .002 DPO, or defects per opportunity. From that, we can figure out what our DPMO, or defects per million opportunities. To do this, we simply multiply the DPO x 1 million. Our process has a level of 2,000 DPMO. This means that for every million pieces of this product we produce, 2,000 of them will be defective. From the DPMO and our DPMO/ table, we find that our value is 4.37. By looking at Figure (2), you can interpret this to mean that you will have a 99.73% chance of having between 1,987 (3) and 2,014 (+3 ) defects for every 1,000,000 parts produced.

Figure (2)

Once this is completed, the team comes together and analyzes the data in the Analyze phase. If the previous two phases were correctly conducted, it will show where the greatest room for improvement exists, and the corrective actions are identified with the estimated improvement calculated.

Improvement is measured after the corrective action is implemented in the Improve phase. This phase is almost identical to the Measure phase, but more strong influence is placed on the corrective actions impact on the final parameter variations.

Finally, the last stage is Control, in which the corrective action is either modified or changed such that a long term realization of improvement is shown. Many times the corrective action is temporary in nature and must be modified to be able to sustain the improvement.

While anyone can be taught to brainstorm and start six sigma projects, it should be noted that without a focused and well trained team, there is a very large possibility for failure inside of the six sigma project. It is recommended that a dedicated team be placed in charge of every project and assist the champion in making the project run smoothly.

Six sigma has been proven to set companies apart from each other with its effectiveness. It is

practiced in almost every major corporation and almost always results in a better, leaner, and more proficient company.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2010

What is Hoshin Kanri?

Before starting on hosin kanri let me tell you something. I am sure most of you have an eye on Toyota right now. Father of lean manufacturing is in trouble. Last weeks article on Toyota crisis and its relationship to lean has bought lots of responses. Most of the readers have emailed me their thoughts. I learnt through them, most of you do not blame lean for the problems Toyota have in their hands right now. If you havent read it already read the article by clicking the link above. Please leave your comments at the end of the article for the entire world will be able to see it. Now back to the topic. Every organization exists for a reason. One of the main reasons is to earn profits. There can be other reasons for existence as well. On the other hand every organization has their resources like capital, organizational structures, processes, and people. You may be a follower of lean or not, but I am sure you will agree with me, it is very difficult to align all your resources to achieve what you want to achieve, especially when your organization is larger. If you are working with only handful amount of people it is mighty easy to achieve your goals. You can see each other working. You have a direct control. But when your organization is large, you will have different clusters, departments and divisions etc, etc. there will be hundreds or even thousands of people who are working for you to achieve your goals. Everyone needs to be pulling in same direction in order for you to achieve your goals effectively. But I am sure you would know, it is not easy as it sounds. Only very few people in an organization would be aware of the goals of the organization. Even if they know it only a handful would know how your organization is going to achieve them, or your strategies. Even if they know how they are going to be achieved, most of you will not know what is the part you will have to play in order to achieve your organization goals. Sounds familiar isnt it. Best part is, even if you know what you want to achieve, you wouldnt know how you, yourself and others are going to measure it. So every organization has to answer few questions when they set up their goals and cascade them down the chain. 1. What is our goal? For an example we want to be the #1 car manufacturer in the world 2. How are we going to achieve our goal? For an example we want to sell x million units of cars to become the #1 car manufacturer of the world 3. What do we want to achieve the target? For an example We are going to manufacturer the worlds lowest cost car so that everyone can afford it 4. How are we going to measure whether we achieved our objective? For an example Have sold y number of cars in this year as per our plan There may be several answers for the questions above depending on the goal you may set. But I guess you get the idea.

As you can see, setting the goals and cascading them down one step is hard enough. How about cascading your goals to thousands of employees. It will not be easy. But this is where Hoshin Kanri comes to play. Hoshin Kanri is a very important tool used in lean environment. It is known as a good policy deployment tool. It basically systemizes the process of passing information level by level so that all the components of your organization would be completely aligned to the overall goals of your organization. Every department will have their objective set by the Hoshin plan for their organization. Every sub divisions of the department will have their objectives set based on the goals their departments need to achieve. It will cascade down to the employee, and will clearly tell your employee what he or she has to do in order to achieve the goals of your organization. Isnt this cool? Again it needs to be said however, this process is not easy either. It requires mindset changes, thorough follow up and dedication. No one is 100% in this regard. But there is no need to be 100% in your hoshin efforts to realize its benefits. You may realize it on the go.

Jidoka Automation with a human touch

Jidoka is one of the main tools of lean. In fact it is treated as one of the main pillars of lean manufacturing. Although Jidoka is very important tool, as most of lean tools it stays simple both to understand and practice. Jidoka is often explained as Automation with a human touch. In other words this means automation with some degree of human involvement. When your machinery runs normally and processes are being followed properly, there is nothing you should worry about. But if your processes and machinery are not producing expected results, and if it continues to run, you have a problem in your hand. You will end up with tons of faulty goods. This is where the concept of Jidoka comes to play. If there is something wrong in your operation, Jidoka suggests you to stop immediately and then fix the problem before start running your process gain. This will ensure you remove the problem from the process so you will not be making piles of faulty items. Roots of Jidoka traces back to the early automated loom developments. When the looms were automated there was a major problem. When the yarn is broken, entire length of the woven fabric will have a defect. This is very costly. So you have to identify the problem (broken yarn) immediately and stop the loom to fix the problem to avoid this issue. This is where error detection techniques and automatic stopping devices were introduced. When you have a thread broken, there will be a mechanism to identify the error, and it will automatically stop the machine. This will alert the operator. He will come to the machine, fix the problem and then re start the machine. Although today there are new technologies is available to detect problems easily still the same old concept is followed. You identify the problem immediately; you stop the process and fix it. Later concept of Jidoka was applied on the processes like assembly lines. When an operator detects an error, they will try solving it themselves. If they cannot correct it themselves, they will call their immediate boss, line supervisor for an example. If the supervisor can solve the

issue within an allocated limit of time, line will not be stopped. If the supervisor cannot complete the job within the given amount of time, line will be stopped. Error will be fixed and the line will be re started. Jidoka is often used with Poka Yoke and Visual control concepts. Visual indicators are used to highlight the errors and Pokayoke is practiced to avoid the identified problems in future. Jidoka makes it very hard to hide problems. When you stop the line, you create a crisis. If you have no solution to the problem, you will not be able to continue with manufacturing. So solving problems becomes a must. Although it is simple enough to understand and implement, for an organization to come to the point of Jidoka implementation it take some change. Implementing Jidoka calls for a complete shift in traditional management mentality. Traditionally, stopping the manufacturing line is treated as a crime, something you should not do at all. People are encouraged to continue the work regardless of the problems which may come through. So changing the mentality will not be easy. This will be the main problem associated with implementing Jidoka in your organization.

Go and See for Yourself - Genji Gembutsu (Genchi Genbutusu)

We have discussed 20 lean tools so far. One of the main features of all these tools is their simplicity. Starting from 5S, lean tools are very simple and effective. Our tool today, you would agree, is a great example for this. Gengi Gembutsu is one of very popular lean tools. It is discussed in many forums, by professionals. But what really is this tool? What is meant to do? Gengi Gembutsu reduces time taken to complete your decision making process. It makes it easy to make the correct decision. How this tool does this? By taking the decision makers to the problem, and letting them to observe the problems and then coming to decision. It seems very simple isnt it? When you have a problem in your hand, how do you solve them? In a traditional organization, managers will ask all the relevant parties to come to his or her room. He will go through all the reports and figures. Then he will discuss with all the relevant parties and then will make a decision. This is not a bad way of making a decision, isnt it? But the problem is, when the facts and figures are reformatted by different people, the true meaning of them can get distorted. Sometimes important information might be left out on purpose or by accident. This way of problem solving encourages figure pointing and blame passing. So at the end of the process there can be a wrong decision made, if a decision is made at all. Lean encourages hands on way of problem solving. Even the managers are bought to the place where problem occurred. So they get the real picture and real information about the situation. Then they can discuss with the people directly involved on the process. Then the decision made will be much more accurate. Can you remember last time you made a decision based on second hand information and later found problem is completely misinterpreted and your decision made it even worse? If something

comes to your mind please leave it as a comment to this post. It will help all the people want to learn lean. So next time, when you have a problem to solve, go to the place where problem occurred, check the process for yourself and then make your decision. Check for the improvement of the quality of your decision.

Lean encourages and systemizes the process of unhiding and solving problems. There are many tools like 5S, visual factory in place to make sure wastes are unhidden and bought to spotlight. Sometimes the problem itself provides the trigger to start the problem solving action. For an example, if the inventory is piling up in one place, higher inventory on the work floor itself will catch the attention and will initiate the problem solving process. But on the other hand, there can be some instances where when you find a problem, quality or process related, you have to pass a signal to the respective people. For an example, if your machine is not functioning properly, you will have to convey that message to the mechanical or technical divisions to get it sorted. This is where Andon signals come to play. Main purpose of Andon is getting attention to the problem. Common practice is to use a light (In Red most of the cases). When there is a problem in a particular area, user will switch that light on. This will trigger the problem solving process. Sometimes, lights are combined with a sound making device (like a siren) to get the message out. These devices can be arranged in different formations like Andon boards or as work cell Andons. Some times Andon signal can tell in particular whose attention is required, while sometimes it can just convey the message Attention Required. For an example when there is a problem with a machine, the person who is reporting the error will be able to direct the problem to engineering department by selecting the relevant button. But if that person is not sure of who should be informed, he might just put up a common problem indicator so that supervisor or the team leader will be able to work to solve the problem. Andon can be built into machinery and other equipments as well. For an example, if your machine is overheated, there can be an Andon signal to indicate that to you. This can act as a problem prevention or PokaYoke as well. Although the common practice is to use lights, there are very high end solutions like computer integrated systems. They serve the same purpose, but the observers can get information from one screen. There can be very simple solutions on the other hand. For an example hanging a red colored card can serve the same purpose. Id doesnt matter what is the mechanism you are using, as far as you can send the message across. Andon is a critical part of visual factory concept. Mostly used with other tools like 5S, Poka Yoke, and work cells.

Andon, Bring problems into light