The last few posts on our blog focussed on Value Stream Mapping and other lean tools used for waste removal.
Removing waste is the main focus of lean manufacturing.
Value Stream Maps allow lean practitioners to get a true picture of activities done in a process. These maps make waste visible so that it can be removed.
Waste can be removed using lean tools.
In today's world, production volumes change based on customer demand and customer demand fluctuates. Plants practicing Just In Time start producing only when the customer signals for parts. Plants cannot possibly respond to such high variations in demand. So they carry some buffer stock for finished goods.
There may be raw material inventory or WIP necessary to prepare for such demand fluctuations.
Carrying enough inventory is the key to meet customer demands. If plants carry too much they are creating waste and hiding problems.
That is why it is important to level the load so that plants produce at a uniform pace without causing stress to equipment or people. Stressing the equipment could cause breakdowns and stressing people may cause errors or accidents.
But what is load leveling?
Load Leveling is the process of producing the same quantity and mix of parts without responding to every fluctuation in customer demand. This reduces unnecessary stress on equipment or people working in the plant resulting in fewer breakdowns and errors.
The question is how to level the load?
We will try to answer this in our next post.
Showing posts with label VSM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VSM. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
VSM makes problems visible
Lean principles talk about making problems visible so that they can be solved. Value Stream Mapping focuses on charting activities as they happen in the process. The main goal of VSM is to make problems/waste visible.
But what happens next is equally important. Problems need to be acted upon. Lean practitioners need to identify what how to resolve problems or remove waste.
The following approach may help practitioners with problem solving:
1. Identify the list of problems in your area.
2. Measure the impact of the problem on external and internal customers and the organization's bottomline.
3. Prioritize by impact of the problem.
4. Undertake root cause analysis using 5 Why analysis or cause and effect diagram.
5. Identify root causes and corrective actions that can be implemented.
Problems are everywhere. Sometimes very prominent staring you in your face and other times hidden. The key is to find them as soon as they appear and fix them.
This actually resonates with what Philip Crosby said "It isn't what you find; it's what you do about what you find".
What problem solving technique do you use in your workplace? How do you identify problems? Send us your comments at info@sybeq.com.
But what happens next is equally important. Problems need to be acted upon. Lean practitioners need to identify what how to resolve problems or remove waste.
The following approach may help practitioners with problem solving:
1. Identify the list of problems in your area.
2. Measure the impact of the problem on external and internal customers and the organization's bottomline.
3. Prioritize by impact of the problem.
4. Undertake root cause analysis using 5 Why analysis or cause and effect diagram.
5. Identify root causes and corrective actions that can be implemented.
Problems are everywhere. Sometimes very prominent staring you in your face and other times hidden. The key is to find them as soon as they appear and fix them.
This actually resonates with what Philip Crosby said "It isn't what you find; it's what you do about what you find".
What problem solving technique do you use in your workplace? How do you identify problems? Send us your comments at info@sybeq.com.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Information on Value Stream Maps
Value Stream Maps are used to map the flow of information and material in the value stream. This generic statement explains the purpose the value stream maps.
But new users struggle with how much detail about the value stream should be captured on the VSM.
What should be captured?
How should this information be displayed on the map?
In this post we will try to answer these questions.
A value stream map is a picture of your value stream. It's purpose is to find what is happening now which will help identify waste in the value stream. Once waste becomes visible Lean tools can be applied to remove it.
The following information could be helpful if captured on a value stream map..
1. The layout of the area will become evident once the map is complete. The amount of distance between process steps or user motions at the step or the physical movement of material and information.
2. The amount of time required by the user to process a unit. For example time required to verify one insurance claim at the claims verification step.
3. The amount of wait time at the process step. Wait time could be people waiting for material/information (no parts or claims to process) or material/information waiting to get processed (Average wait time for raw material in the incoming warehouse or wait time for claims process to begin).
4. Total time per unit at each process step. This is the addition of processing and wait time per unit.
5. Total lead or throughput time for the entire value stream. This is the time needed to make a single part or process a single insurance claim.
6. Time for rework and repair activity. This information needs to be captured if rework/repair is being tracked as part of the value stream. If this is considered as another value stream this information can be left out.
7. Interruptions in the flow of value as reworked parts/claims get reintroduced at a specific step in the value stream.
What kind of information do you capture on Value Stream Maps?
But new users struggle with how much detail about the value stream should be captured on the VSM.
What should be captured?
How should this information be displayed on the map?
In this post we will try to answer these questions.
A value stream map is a picture of your value stream. It's purpose is to find what is happening now which will help identify waste in the value stream. Once waste becomes visible Lean tools can be applied to remove it.
The following information could be helpful if captured on a value stream map..
1. The layout of the area will become evident once the map is complete. The amount of distance between process steps or user motions at the step or the physical movement of material and information.
2. The amount of time required by the user to process a unit. For example time required to verify one insurance claim at the claims verification step.
3. The amount of wait time at the process step. Wait time could be people waiting for material/information (no parts or claims to process) or material/information waiting to get processed (Average wait time for raw material in the incoming warehouse or wait time for claims process to begin).
4. Total time per unit at each process step. This is the addition of processing and wait time per unit.
5. Total lead or throughput time for the entire value stream. This is the time needed to make a single part or process a single insurance claim.
6. Time for rework and repair activity. This information needs to be captured if rework/repair is being tracked as part of the value stream. If this is considered as another value stream this information can be left out.
7. Interruptions in the flow of value as reworked parts/claims get reintroduced at a specific step in the value stream.
What kind of information do you capture on Value Stream Maps?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
VSM during early stages of Lean implementation
How many Value Stream Maps should be created at the start of Lean implementation?
We typically hear this question from...
1. Users who have recently learned the Value Stream Mapping tool
2. Organizations who are new to Lean implementation, just starting out on their lean journey
Start the Lean implementation with a few (say 2 to 3) value stream maps for processes that have the most non value adding activities (waste).
Why just 2 to 3?
Because of several reasons..
1. Creating Value Streams is a time consuming activity.
- Teams creating these maps have to walk the value stream and capture information
about material and information flows.
- Teams have to then create the current state map, identify waste and the Lean
tools they plan to use, create the future state map.
2. After creating the maps in the meeting room, now teams have to actually go and implement the Lean tools in the value stream. This is the most challenging part as this may take anywhere from a few days to few weeks. There are many aspects of the implementation like corporate culture, motivation level of people, management involvement, complexity of the process that could play a role.
3. Getting rid of all the waste in the process may require several cycles of going from the current to the future state. After all Lean is a journey of continuously removing waste.
How many value streams have you worked with? How many value streams did you start with when your organization was in early phases of Lean implementation?
Send us your questions or comments at info@Sybeq.com
We typically hear this question from...
1. Users who have recently learned the Value Stream Mapping tool
2. Organizations who are new to Lean implementation, just starting out on their lean journey
Start the Lean implementation with a few (say 2 to 3) value stream maps for processes that have the most non value adding activities (waste).
Why just 2 to 3?
Because of several reasons..
1. Creating Value Streams is a time consuming activity.
- Teams creating these maps have to walk the value stream and capture information
about material and information flows.
- Teams have to then create the current state map, identify waste and the Lean
tools they plan to use, create the future state map.
2. After creating the maps in the meeting room, now teams have to actually go and implement the Lean tools in the value stream. This is the most challenging part as this may take anywhere from a few days to few weeks. There are many aspects of the implementation like corporate culture, motivation level of people, management involvement, complexity of the process that could play a role.
3. Getting rid of all the waste in the process may require several cycles of going from the current to the future state. After all Lean is a journey of continuously removing waste.
How many value streams have you worked with? How many value streams did you start with when your organization was in early phases of Lean implementation?
Send us your questions or comments at info@Sybeq.com
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Where to begin mapping Value Streams?
In the last post we talked about the different questions lean pratitioners have about implementing Value Stream Mapping.
The question of where to begin mapping value streams actually requires understanding the definition of value stream.
Lean practitioners need to have the ability to clearly identify and define a value stream.
A Value Stream is a stream of activities required to satify a customer need. The value stream starts with the customer who may be external or internal and ends where it is has a logical end. What this means is...
1. Start with the customer. First, define who is the customer and what do they need.
2. With this defined, start Walking the value stream backwards one step at a time.
3. Stop wherever it seems to be a logical stopping point.
While doing the above steps do not restrict the value stream by functions or departments. This is because a value stream may cross multiple departments. The ultimate goal of value Stream Mapping is to map how the stream works starting with the customer first and ends where it is a logical stopping point.
Do you face the challenge of where to begin mapping value streams? Tell us about your VSM implementation. Email: info@sybeq.com
The question of where to begin mapping value streams actually requires understanding the definition of value stream.
Lean practitioners need to have the ability to clearly identify and define a value stream.
A Value Stream is a stream of activities required to satify a customer need. The value stream starts with the customer who may be external or internal and ends where it is has a logical end. What this means is...
1. Start with the customer. First, define who is the customer and what do they need.
2. With this defined, start Walking the value stream backwards one step at a time.
3. Stop wherever it seems to be a logical stopping point.
While doing the above steps do not restrict the value stream by functions or departments. This is because a value stream may cross multiple departments. The ultimate goal of value Stream Mapping is to map how the stream works starting with the customer first and ends where it is a logical stopping point.
Do you face the challenge of where to begin mapping value streams? Tell us about your VSM implementation. Email: info@sybeq.com
Monday, August 30, 2010
How to Map Value Streams in the real world?
Over the years we have heard many questions about Value Stream Mapping from people who are new to VSM as well those who have used VSM before.
Questions like these are not uncommon...
Where to begin mapping the Value Stream?
How many Value Stream Maps should be created to begin Lean implementation?
What about overlapping Value Streams?
How to handle parallel Value Streams?
How much information should be captured on the Value Stream Maps?
We will try to address the above questions in the next few posts.
In this post we would like to address the reason for the above questions. The primary reason for VSM questions is the way most people think. In Lean thinking, Value is defined by the customer and it flows across multiple functions. The focus of VSM is to capture the flow of material and information across the functions by actually walking the stream. Additional information like process and wait time along with information about the person working at the process step is also captured on the Value Stream Map. Overall lead time can also be calculated and displayed on the map.
Most of the confusion around VSM is because people think about process maps or about the function/department they work in.
This is because most organizations still think about department efficiency or process steps. Value Stream Mapping crosses multiple functions in the organization.
The steps to map Value Streams is explained in the article How to Map Value Streams?on our website.
Questions like these are not uncommon...
Where to begin mapping the Value Stream?
How many Value Stream Maps should be created to begin Lean implementation?
What about overlapping Value Streams?
How to handle parallel Value Streams?
How much information should be captured on the Value Stream Maps?
We will try to address the above questions in the next few posts.
In this post we would like to address the reason for the above questions. The primary reason for VSM questions is the way most people think. In Lean thinking, Value is defined by the customer and it flows across multiple functions. The focus of VSM is to capture the flow of material and information across the functions by actually walking the stream. Additional information like process and wait time along with information about the person working at the process step is also captured on the Value Stream Map. Overall lead time can also be calculated and displayed on the map.
Most of the confusion around VSM is because people think about process maps or about the function/department they work in.
This is because most organizations still think about department efficiency or process steps. Value Stream Mapping crosses multiple functions in the organization.
The steps to map Value Streams is explained in the article How to Map Value Streams?on our website.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A picture is worth thousand words - Part III
Would you prefer reading through the 14 step given below or just viewing the picture of the process?
Picture showing flow of material and information at company "Funplace" that makes toys
Steps describing the flow of information and material in Funplace
1.Funplace electronically sends a 4-week order forecast to XYZ toys. The quantities
are confirmed on a weekly basis and the purchase order is placed.
2.Based on this input, XYZ Toys electronically orders the parts from their
suppliers. XYZ Toys sends a 3-week forecast and confirms the quantity every week.
3.XYZ holds at least 2 days worth of raw material inventory in the warehouse.
4.Production control manually issues finished good quantities required on a weekly
basis. This information is sent to production.
5.Based on the production volumes required each week, the production manager
prepares for manufacturing. He gets his team together and the line leader Nick
plans for production. Per the daily production volume, Nick requests the warehouse
to issue raw material to the assembly line.
6.The assembly process consists of 4 primary steps…
- Gear assembly : putting gears in the plastic body of the toy
- Audio assembly : assembling the audio system in the toy
- Testing
- Packing
7. Everyday a truck shipment of 2000 toys is sent to Funplace.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A picture is worth thousand words...
I always thought that pictures were more effective and efficient in communicating a message. People around the world come up with more and more innovative ways to present business data as pictures that are easy to read and convey the message quickly.
In the Quality world, I deal with pictures in the form of charts(SPC charts, affinity diagrams, relation diagrams etc) or maps (SIPOC maps, VSM etc). These pictures (charts, diagrams and maps) capture lot of meaningful information about the
quality of the product or service. However, many quality practitioners struggle with proper interpretations of these pictures and fail to take necessary action to improve quality.
Control charts for example are designed to communicate what's happening in the process. They provide signals that indicate the presence of special causes in the process. All we have to do is pick up these signals and act on them!
Rather than looking through paper reams full of data that could take hours, pictures tell us the real story in just a few minutes.
A picture is truly worth a thousand words...but will be effective only if it is looked at by the right people, interpreted correctly and acted upon.
Do quality charts or maps help you find quality problems in your process?
Have you improved a process by acting on signals from SPC charts?
In the Quality world, I deal with pictures in the form of charts(SPC charts, affinity diagrams, relation diagrams etc) or maps (SIPOC maps, VSM etc). These pictures (charts, diagrams and maps) capture lot of meaningful information about the
quality of the product or service. However, many quality practitioners struggle with proper interpretations of these pictures and fail to take necessary action to improve quality.
Control charts for example are designed to communicate what's happening in the process. They provide signals that indicate the presence of special causes in the process. All we have to do is pick up these signals and act on them!
Rather than looking through paper reams full of data that could take hours, pictures tell us the real story in just a few minutes.
A picture is truly worth a thousand words...but will be effective only if it is looked at by the right people, interpreted correctly and acted upon.
Do quality charts or maps help you find quality problems in your process?
Have you improved a process by acting on signals from SPC charts?
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