Lean manufacturing basically developed out of discrete manufacturing with the goal of making it more continuous. This has resulted in continuous manufacturing (aka process industry) being challenged in how to look at their continuous flow as discrete flow so it can be more continuous!
While this seems like a circular argument, the brain contortions need to be focused on determining what is batch size in the process industry. Whereas the downstream packaging forces the nomenclature of a batch based on either a unit of time's production (IE one day) or a switchover of packaging material, this is often not the same batch size as the upstream, continuous process.
For many years now, batch sizes have been getting larger to fit "economies of scale", thus demanding that the required manufacturing equipment be larger and more powerful. In some companies, a batch could be considered to be anything produced in one year between annual overhauls or at least from one major upset to the next. Thus the true limiting step in batch processes is the batch size. And most companies feel they cannot change this as a lot of equipment capital and intellectual capital have been invested in the process.
There are several different ways a company can tackle continuous improvement under these circumstances and two popular methods are Six Sigma and Lean. Generally, Six Sigma is focused on the process itself; how to optimize process conditions, how to identify process upsets faster and how to control the process. It is also used in determining reasons for process upsets, setting up experiments for new technology or new products for the process. Lean is often used on the support systems; reducing changeover time when it does occur, improving maintenance through 5S and TPM, visual management, scheduling, capital project process and downstream in packaging and warehousing.
Unfortunately, in this age of flexibility, fluctuating demand and a more customer-focused agenda, true savings will not be made until the issue of batch size is dealt with. It is only from blending aspects of Lean and Six Sigma though, that the batch size will be able to be reduced in an optimal manner. You need to know how to measure the product quality, you need to know when your process is producing defects and you need to know how to be effective in your changes. More importantly, you need to take the time to make the financial calculations based on life cycle analysis and the changing markets to determine where your customer needs the batch size to be.
Learn how to improve your changeover times and to get your products to first grade as quickly as possible and reduce variation and your payback time for smaller tanks, pumps, filtration units, ovens etc will be short and well worth it. And your customer will be happier too!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Finding creativity within standardization
As long as I have been practicing process optimization - and that has been many years- I have always struggled with staying true to my creative side while standardizing the processes I use. The two seem to be at odds with each other and I know many others struggle with it too. In fact, this perception can be one of the critical barriers to buy-in for many.
Once I started to look at standardization differently, I felt a tremendous release, as suddenly I was able to balance both aspects of my own personality. How did I do that? Well, I started to look at standardization as a backbone and I also realized it was a great communication tool.
As a backbone:
When standardizing, you need to find the happy medium where enough detail is given to reduce error and waste but enough lee way is there to allow adaptation to individual physical needs and situations.
Consider the human skeleton and internal organs. Each of us is built the same way, under the same guiding principles, but we are all different. We all have to do the same basic functions but over time, we have used our creativity and improved on those processes and have shared these learnings.
For example - eating:
We have hands, arms, mouths, teeth, tongue etc to help us get food, put it in our mouths, digest it and send the right nutrients to our organs and the rest of our body. That is our standardized process. We have learned that tools can make eating much easier. So now, most people use forks, spoons and knives to get the food to us faster, with less dirt and contamination and less waste, as well as to make the portions easier for our teeth to masticate and our body to digest. The process of eating was standardized, creativity improved it.
As a communication tool:
If the person who invented the knife had never shared their idea with someone, where would we be today? We knew the requirements of process and the basics steps to it - grab food, try and make it small enough to fit in the mouth and chew. Someone found out that you can use a sharp tool to make the pieces smaller and it was easier to chew, you choked less and you could even spear the piece with the same tool. The person shared the tool, others standardized the use of it and then others used their creativity to improve the knife and innovate, using the knife for different processes.
So, standardizing a process allows the brain space and time to free itself to think about ways to improve the process, do things differently, find links and connections between disparate acts and in general, allow more creativity and more innovation.
Once I started to look at standardization differently, I felt a tremendous release, as suddenly I was able to balance both aspects of my own personality. How did I do that? Well, I started to look at standardization as a backbone and I also realized it was a great communication tool.
As a backbone:
When standardizing, you need to find the happy medium where enough detail is given to reduce error and waste but enough lee way is there to allow adaptation to individual physical needs and situations.
Consider the human skeleton and internal organs. Each of us is built the same way, under the same guiding principles, but we are all different. We all have to do the same basic functions but over time, we have used our creativity and improved on those processes and have shared these learnings.
For example - eating:
We have hands, arms, mouths, teeth, tongue etc to help us get food, put it in our mouths, digest it and send the right nutrients to our organs and the rest of our body. That is our standardized process. We have learned that tools can make eating much easier. So now, most people use forks, spoons and knives to get the food to us faster, with less dirt and contamination and less waste, as well as to make the portions easier for our teeth to masticate and our body to digest. The process of eating was standardized, creativity improved it.
As a communication tool:
If the person who invented the knife had never shared their idea with someone, where would we be today? We knew the requirements of process and the basics steps to it - grab food, try and make it small enough to fit in the mouth and chew. Someone found out that you can use a sharp tool to make the pieces smaller and it was easier to chew, you choked less and you could even spear the piece with the same tool. The person shared the tool, others standardized the use of it and then others used their creativity to improve the knife and innovate, using the knife for different processes.
So, standardizing a process allows the brain space and time to free itself to think about ways to improve the process, do things differently, find links and connections between disparate acts and in general, allow more creativity and more innovation.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Stakeholders - identifying and communicating
When a project starts, there are certain people who want to see it succeed, who have or will be investing time, money and people. There are others who want to see it fail and there are those who don't even know the project exists until the end product is finally available. And there are those, I believe a forgotten group, who are not the customers but are the ones who foot the true customers' bills and often are the transition step from customer to supplier and vice versa.
Who is this? Well, in the world of community sports, it is the parents! Any product related to children generally means a parent or other adult will be paying at least a portion of the expense. You can have a great sports program and the best coaches interacting with the kids but if the information isn't getting to the parents, then the kids don't show up, bills aren't paid and the chance of the child coming back the next year are very slim!
In the manufacturing world, we can look closer into the plant itself. The customer can be defined as the next step in the process be it a machine, a person or pipe. The transition step would be that which takes it from one step to the next - ideally should be a step itself.
Let's look at the case of a finished part moving from packaging Machine A to Warehouse B. Much work has been done to organize the warehouse and make it more efficient and accessible to pick orders for delivery to the customer. One of the solutions to do this has been to apply UPC codes that can be wanded in. To do this, it required the packaging equipment (Machine A) to be upgraded to print these labels onto each box. What was missed in the project was the fact that the operator had to put the boxes onto a pallet for the towlift driver to move into the warehouse where the driver then put it on the appropriate racking.
Why is this an issue? Because no one ever told the operator who put the boxes on the pallet that the UPC code needed to face out to be read by a scanner. So, sometimes the box was put on the pallet with the code facing in, covered by other boxes. Now, according to production the inventory levels were fine, but the warehouse numbers were off because cases were being missed. Sure it is a simple fix - communicate requirement to the operator. But....
If the operator had been consulted during the design phase of the upgrades to Machine A, it would have been noted that the boxes have a tendency to hit a rail and get turned around before they reach the end of the machine. And it would have been noted that the operator had to do a lot of twisting to put the boxes on the pallet. Lastly, someone may have realized that once the UPC code was on, the box travelled 4 feet along a conveyor for no reason. Involving stakeholders would have changed the way Machine A was operating, reducing labour costs, safety issues, operating issues and improving overall efficiency while freeing up vital floor space.
Even if the operator was not spoken to until just before implementation, during a failure risk analysis stage, work could have been done to make the improvements with a lot less cost added and some removed.
Communication is key. Let people know with enough time to digest the information and respond. Let people know the timelines required for feedback so they can prioritize appropriately. Never assume the person has received your message. If timing is that vital, follow up e-mails with a phone call or a visit in person.
Lastly, know your stakeholders. Some are not going to be as obvious so think of all the energy and people that can come into contact with your process - whether it be deliberate or accidental (ie use that walkway to get to the only bathroom!)
Who is this? Well, in the world of community sports, it is the parents! Any product related to children generally means a parent or other adult will be paying at least a portion of the expense. You can have a great sports program and the best coaches interacting with the kids but if the information isn't getting to the parents, then the kids don't show up, bills aren't paid and the chance of the child coming back the next year are very slim!
In the manufacturing world, we can look closer into the plant itself. The customer can be defined as the next step in the process be it a machine, a person or pipe. The transition step would be that which takes it from one step to the next - ideally should be a step itself.
Let's look at the case of a finished part moving from packaging Machine A to Warehouse B. Much work has been done to organize the warehouse and make it more efficient and accessible to pick orders for delivery to the customer. One of the solutions to do this has been to apply UPC codes that can be wanded in. To do this, it required the packaging equipment (Machine A) to be upgraded to print these labels onto each box. What was missed in the project was the fact that the operator had to put the boxes onto a pallet for the towlift driver to move into the warehouse where the driver then put it on the appropriate racking.
Why is this an issue? Because no one ever told the operator who put the boxes on the pallet that the UPC code needed to face out to be read by a scanner. So, sometimes the box was put on the pallet with the code facing in, covered by other boxes. Now, according to production the inventory levels were fine, but the warehouse numbers were off because cases were being missed. Sure it is a simple fix - communicate requirement to the operator. But....
If the operator had been consulted during the design phase of the upgrades to Machine A, it would have been noted that the boxes have a tendency to hit a rail and get turned around before they reach the end of the machine. And it would have been noted that the operator had to do a lot of twisting to put the boxes on the pallet. Lastly, someone may have realized that once the UPC code was on, the box travelled 4 feet along a conveyor for no reason. Involving stakeholders would have changed the way Machine A was operating, reducing labour costs, safety issues, operating issues and improving overall efficiency while freeing up vital floor space.
Even if the operator was not spoken to until just before implementation, during a failure risk analysis stage, work could have been done to make the improvements with a lot less cost added and some removed.
Communication is key. Let people know with enough time to digest the information and respond. Let people know the timelines required for feedback so they can prioritize appropriately. Never assume the person has received your message. If timing is that vital, follow up e-mails with a phone call or a visit in person.
Lastly, know your stakeholders. Some are not going to be as obvious so think of all the energy and people that can come into contact with your process - whether it be deliberate or accidental (ie use that walkway to get to the only bathroom!)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Brainstorming in a dairy
This past week I had the pleasure of facilitating a brainstorming session at a local dairy. Though the topic was a simple, straightforward one, it served to remind me of the exciting energy that is created when people listen to each and build on one another's ideas in a respectful way.
It is very easy in our fast-paced worlds to go to the same people when we want to bounce an idea around. Or we don't even take the time to pass it by someone else. What results is a good idea but it is not necessarily the best one nor will it necessarily take into account a good portion of the issues that would make it a successful one.
The 3 keys to brainstorming are:
1/ Don't judge ideas - look at each idea, no matter how far out and see the other person's perspective and consider the idea as a building block to add to - or simply think about why it is not a good idea (IE what are the barriers) and use that to build a new idea
2/ Have people from different backgrounds present - including the people who will be left to implement the idea and be responsible long term for it.
3/ Be aware that some people need to think out loud and some people need to think in their head. Allow both styles to flourish - it will be hard for the extrovert to give some quiet time and for the introvert to speak out loud before the thought is complete but it is most certainly worth it!
Leaving that meeting, my impression was that all parties felt that they had been listened to and that they seemed to leave the room a little lighter and happier on their feet! We will follow up on the action items over the next few weeks to make sure this good feeling lasts and the belief that everyone is being listened to and respected continues!
It is very easy in our fast-paced worlds to go to the same people when we want to bounce an idea around. Or we don't even take the time to pass it by someone else. What results is a good idea but it is not necessarily the best one nor will it necessarily take into account a good portion of the issues that would make it a successful one.
The 3 keys to brainstorming are:
1/ Don't judge ideas - look at each idea, no matter how far out and see the other person's perspective and consider the idea as a building block to add to - or simply think about why it is not a good idea (IE what are the barriers) and use that to build a new idea
2/ Have people from different backgrounds present - including the people who will be left to implement the idea and be responsible long term for it.
3/ Be aware that some people need to think out loud and some people need to think in their head. Allow both styles to flourish - it will be hard for the extrovert to give some quiet time and for the introvert to speak out loud before the thought is complete but it is most certainly worth it!
Leaving that meeting, my impression was that all parties felt that they had been listened to and that they seemed to leave the room a little lighter and happier on their feet! We will follow up on the action items over the next few weeks to make sure this good feeling lasts and the belief that everyone is being listened to and respected continues!
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