Continuous

Improvement Overview

The C.I. Focus

Cycle of Continuous Improvement
Standardize

Expose
Problems

CI

Implement New
Methods

Solve Problems
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Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement is an integral part
of successful manufacturing in todays
competitive environment. It can help your
company

Reduce waste
Increase efficiency
Improve quality
Reduce cost
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Continuous Improvement simple definition:

Continuous Improvement is
systematically
identifying and eliminating waste,
as quickly as possible, and at the
lowest possible cost.

Part 1: The Outcome of

Continuous Improvement

Improved Quality at the Process

Eliminated Bottlenecks
Increased Visual Management
Reduced Fluctuation
Increased Knowledge
Reduced Costs
Increased Efficiency
(Doing more with the same
or
Doing the same with less)

Improved Quality at the Process

Continuous Improvement enforces working instation, to standard operating procedures, as a key
factor in achieving quality at the process.
During workshops, opportunities for simple quality
confirmations are identified.
Participants learn to always consider the
impact to quality when making changes
to the process.
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Cycle Time (sec)

Eliminate Bottlenecks
Bottleneck processes are individual processes or
tasks that take more time than other processes and
slow production. Continuous Improvement workshops
60
focus on waste
48
reduction and
50 Takt Time
work rebalancing
40
35
33
to eliminate
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bottlenecks.
20
10
0
1

Visual Management
Being able to quickly identify and respond to
abnormal conditions is critical to managing a
manufacturing environment. Visual
Management tools are improved to

Increase awareness and response

Allow for quick return to stable
conditions

Reduce Fluctuation
Unstable processes are difficult to staff and
manage and inherently create waste in the
production environment. Identifying and
reducing process fluctuation

Reduces overall production time

Increases visual management
Allows for better allocation of
resources
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Increased Knowledge
Tools learned during Continuous
Improvements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Practical Problem Solving

Time Measurement
Elemental Wall
Ergonomic Checklist
Standardized Work
Process Stability Checklist
5S

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Reduced Costs
Traditional cost - plus approach
PROFIT

MARKET
PRICE

Add desired profit to costing in order to determine

selling price

COST

PROFIT

Cost reduction approach

Market establishes selling price
Desired profit is achieved through
reduction of cost.

MARKET
PRICE

COST

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Increased Efficiency
We Gain Efficiency Through:
Process vs. Results
Time Measurement
Speaking with Data

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Increased Efficiency is achieved

through:
Process vs Results
Results are always historical.
Yesterday
Last week
Last month

Improved RESULTS can only be obtained by improving

the PROCESS.
Process is NOW.

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Increased Efficiency is achieved

through:
Time Measurement
Production processes are completely focused on TIME

Takt Time
Cycle Time
Hours per Vehicle
Units per hour

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Increased Efficiency is achieved

through:
Speaking with Data
Dont assume - Go and see - Observe and measure
Analyze Data
Make decisions with data
Take action based on data
Check results with data

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Part 2: Focus on Stability

Standardization
Safety
Quality
Ergonomics
Lean
5S

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Standardization
Best, easiest, safest way known today
Basis for training
Basis for relentless root cause analysis
By standardizing processes, consistent results are produced in
Safety, Quality and Efficiency
Documentation of know-how

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Safety
A safe work environment is one of the
cornerstones of a successful business.

Continuous Improvement
supports the idea that no
change should ever be
made to a process that
has a negative impact on
safety!
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Quality
There are quality standards and expectations
demanded of any manufacturing product.
Changes to the process should never
decrease the quality of the product provided
to the customer!

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Ergonomics
The ergonomic impact of work should always be
examined to see if improvements can be made.
Part presentation that places heavy or awkward
parts within proper ergonomic levels
can decrease waste of motion and
fatigue.
Any changes to tools or processes
should be analyzed with a critical eye
towards any impact on ergonomics.
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Lean
Lean Manufacturing focuses on the
identification and elimination of the 7 forms of
waste:

Overproduction
Inventory
Unnecessary Motion
Transportation
Waiting
Overprocessing
Defects/Repair/Rework
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5S
5S improves organization, visual management,
and standardization. The 5S status of an area
is assessed in the first CI Workshop to help
identify potential problems and 5S should be
maintained as improvements are made.
SIFT

SANITIZE

SWEEP

SUSTAIN

SORT
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Part 3:
The Continuous Improvement
Workshop
The CI Workshop
Team Roles
Days 1 - 5
Presentation Format
Achieving Results: Example
Keys to Success
Moving Forward

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The CI Workshop
An activity/event to identify and implement improvements in a
designated area
A Standard method for Process owners, Supervisors and Engineers to
focus and learn about waste elimination methods and activities
An organized group of Team Members who identify and eliminate
production wastes through Continuous Improvement activities
A method for training groups of Team Members on the Continuous
Improvement process

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C. I. Workshop:Team Roles
A group of motivated people with complementary skills and
knowledge who are committed to a common purpose, set of
performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves
mutually accountable.
Team Leader - point of contact, organizes agenda and activity, orchestrates
team activities, keeper of all documentation, also a team member
Team Members - contribute fully to the project, share knowledge and
expertise, participate in all activities and discussions, carry out
assignments
Facilitator/Advisor - provides technical or planning assistance, provides
training, focuses on the teams process (how) rather than product (what),
works with team to eventually become self-reliant
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The 5 Day CI Workshop*

Day 1: Assess the current condition
Identify Opportunities
Develop improvement ideas
Focus on one cell or work area ideally no more
than 1-2 processes per team member
Conduct elemental time & cycle time studies
Identify waste
Develop a strategy & target to reduce waste and
eliminate bottlenecks
* Any required pre-training should be provided prior to workshop kick-off
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The 5 Day CI Workshop

Day 2: Simulate Changes
Ensure that ideas are viable BEFORE
implementing process changes!
Get ideas/opinions of multiple operators
Simulate changes and get buy-in / approval on all
shifts

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The 5 Day CI Workshop

Day 3: Implement Improvements
Put changes in place with minimal impact to
production.
Team members should be available on line while
changes are being made to help and answer
questions.
Any required change documentation / approvals
should be completed according to company policy
Any required process training should be
conducted prior to change implementation.
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The 5 Day CI Workshop

Day 4: Validate Impact
Conduct new time study to validate
reductions in cycle times.
Refine changes if necessary
Document changes
Prepare new line balance

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The 5 Day CI Workshop

Day 5: Present Results
Materials should be hand written and
displayed on flipcharts
Display both before and after data
Each participant should cover a
portion of the presentation
Use simple 5-7 page format

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CI Workshop Presentation Format

Section 1: Workshop location, team members,
targets, etc.
Section 2: Initial condition
Section 3: Waste and opportunities identified
Section 4: Highlight improvements made to
process
Section 5: Results (before and after)
Section 6: Open items
Section 7: Next Steps
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Achieving Results: Example

Balance Table - Before

Balance Table - After

60
48

46

Seconds

40

35

33

50

45

40
Seconds

50

60

31

30
21

20

10

10

0
2

4
Work Station

42
36

34

32

30

20

41

38

Cycle Time

0
1

4
Work Station

Target Takt Time

Cycle Time
Target Takt Time

Reduced max cycle time in cell from 48 seconds to 42 seconds

Reduced total cell cycle time from 259 seconds to 221 seconds
Reduced manpower by 1 operator per shift
Increased cell utilization from 77.1% to 88.4%
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Moving Forward

Train more employees in Continuous

Improvement.

Build a Continuous Improvement Team.

Spread Continuous Improvement to

other production lines or other
areas of the plant.

Build a culture of Continuous

Improvement within your
organization.
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The 5 Day CI Workshop - Keys to success

Create a sense of urgency
Have a vision, communicate it continuously
Focus on key process drivers
Remove all obstacles to achieve the vision
Create short-term victories
Dont declare victory too soon

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The 5 Day CI Workshop - Keys to success

Problems are Opportunities

Problems are a mountain of opportunities.
If no problem is perceived - there can be no improvement.
People are rarely the problem - they are the problem-solvers.
Processes and systems can only be improved by people
recognizing and eliminating problems.

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The 5 Day CI Workshop - Keys to success

Non-Judgmental / Non-Blaming
Eliminates the search for who to blame
Provides system improvement opportunities
Allows relentless root cause analysis
Increases trust
Improves quality of communication
Avoids shoot the messenger mentality
Avoids crisis orientation

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