What does "Leaning out a process" mean?

With the success of Lean Manufacturing, it is common these days to hear people say we are Leaning out the process. But do people really understand what Leaning out means.
I have come to realize that the phrase Leaning out means different things to different people. Here is the list of some of them...
- optimizing material movement
- removing obstacles in the process
- re-arranging the area
- re-arranging people
- removing clutter
- doing more with less

Although all of the above are good interpretation of the term "leaning out". I think most people undermine the true meaning of the term which is to remove all non value added activities in a process to improve flow. But why is flow important? And above all what should flow?
I think the term "leaning out a process" is used rather loosely at all levels of the enterprise without understanding the true meaning.

Have you heard the term "Leaning out"? What thoughts come to your mind when you hear this term? Drop us a line at info@sybeq.com

How to level the load in production?

The concept of load leveling requires careful analysis of production volumes and schedules so that production makes same quantity of parts both by volume and product mix everyday.

The steps for leveling the load include:
1. Take the total volume of customer orders in a period by product type.
2. Determine the quantity of parts by product so that the same volume needs to be produced by product type.
3. Analyze the time required to make a part by product type and time required for changeover.
4. Plan a stable production schedule so that plant floor doesn't have to deal with fluctuations.

The goal of leveling the load is planning to work at a consistent pace in production making a mix of parts so that the equipment and people are working at the same pace without stopping or being stressed.
Because of this production is not rushed for deliveries giving production folks enough time to implement standard work and avoid errors.

The key to find the mixed model that works for your process/line. Once the mixed model is determined, production has to make the same quantity, mix of products and repeat it everyday.

Load leveling presents many challenges:
- The concept of load leveling is counter intuitive to batch manufacturing where the focus is to run a batch of same product as long as you can and run it efficiently. Load leveling on the other hand says it is okay to changeover from one product to another. In fact load leveling encourages multiple changeovers in a day or a shift.
- Due to the mixed model approach, there may be some amount of finished goods inventory when implementing load leveling. This may make some Lean experts unhappy as they view inventory as waste.
Ultimately it is important to look at the risk of carrying some inventory to satisfy customer demand or make the customer wait for the product they need.
- Load leveling won't be successful without having quick changeovers i.e. reducing changeover time.

Taiichi Ohno explained this with the story of the race between the tortoise and the rabbit. The slow and steady tortoise wins the race. Ohno said it is desirable to be slower but consistent tortoise as it causes less waste than the speedy rabbit who races then stops to rest.

Load leveling is key to becoming lean

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.

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.

Using a Pull system not so Lean

One of the key lean tools is implementing kanban which uses the pull system. Lean is all about moving away from the traditional push system toward the pull system. In a lean enterprise, it is always recommended not to push parts or information to the next process step. The focus is to pull parts when the downstream process step requests for parts/information.

Some Lean practitioners rave about the pull systems they have implemented. However experienced Lean practitioners don't give much credit to pull systems. This is because...
1. Lean is all about removing waste.
2. When waste cannot be removed, there is inventory in process or at the final stage. This inventory needs to be managed in the best way possible. In such situations, a pull system is used.

Implementing the pull system is an indication that waste is still present. This is a good starting point for reducing waste but it is definitely the final goal. The Lean implementation team should not stop at implementing the pull system. In fact the team should continuously work toward removing waste altogether and not use the pull system.

As rightly said by Jeffery Liker in the book Toyota Way "Flow where you can, pull where you must". The ultimate goal to make value flow as smoothly as possible.

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?

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

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

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.

Lean System requires eliminating Muda, Muri, Mura

We all have heard that lean is all about waste (or muda) elimination. Muda is any activity that does not add value. Lean methodology requires eliminating all such wasteful activities. Almost every organization that implements Lean talks about waste elimination.
Yes, removing waste (muda) is the most important aspect of Lean implementation. However, equally important are Muri and Mura. Actually Muda, Muri and Mura work together in a Lean enterprise.

So what is Muri and Mura?
Muri is pushing people or machines over the limit causing breakdown or defects.
Mura is unevenness in production due to fluctuations causing irregularities in production volumes. Fluctuations could be external or internal to the enterprise. External fluctuation is due to variation in customer demand whereas internal fluctuation is due to machine downtime, missing parts or people required to operate machines or defects.

Lean implementation requires a balance between Muri and Mura to remove Muda.

Have you thought about Muri and Mura in your lean implementation? How do you balance overburdening people/equipment and production irregularities to remove waste?
Write to us at info@sybeq.com about your lean journey.

And a video is worth ten thousand!

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.

A picture is worth thousand words - Part II

To convey a message, it is usually recommended to use pictures or diagrams rather than plain words. Are pictures really better than words?

We are used to learning faster with pictures.
Just like small kids learn to read looking at colorful pictures, adults understand better with pictures.

In a corporation, every level uses pictures that make sense to them and communicate what they need to know to do a better job.
Managers look at dashboards giving them information about an area, a location or the overall company.
Staff look at diagrams or charts to track critical process information. People doing the job look at pictures in their work areas as aids to guide them perform a given task.

Pictures enables everyone in an organization get the information they need very quickly. People looking at these pictures only need to be responsive when the picture calls for action.

Do you use pictures for getting critical information about your process, product or service?

How one company successfully sustained 5S?

It is well known that most companies struggle sustaining 5S. The last S stands for sustain in 5S is the hardest of all because it requires discipline and commitment to sustain 5S.

I always hear people complaining about how difficult it is to discipline their work force.

This company I visited few months ago was using 5S for years and was able to sustain it. Their plant floor was clean, full of light and equipment was within the markings on the floor, tools in their place and product flowing smoothly.
I discovered their secret to sustaining 5S by observing their process.

The layout of this plant was such that production was on the first floor and offices on the second floor.
Operators had 15 minutes to clean up their station before leaving for the day. Just before the end of every shift, the line leaders would go the second floor to observe the operators working on the first floor. They were specifically observing whether operators were following 5S that involved cleaning the station, removing unwanted material/product, putting tools in their respective places.

This simple action ensured that operators followed 5S everyday. Using the power of observation, this company was able to sustain 5S.

Track productivity losses

OEE or Overall Equipment Effectiveness is a lean metric that allows you to track the
loss of production due to equipment downtime. An equipment that is not running or is
producing defects or reworking parts already made causes losses on the plant floor.
Losses are due to...
- Poor Quality of parts made (defective parts that have to reworked or scrapped)
- Performance losses (Parts produced or time the equipment runs in a time period)
- Availability (time for which the equipment can run)

Tracking OEE allows floor personnel to determine loss of production due to equipment.
OEE also helps plan for maintenance - planned and preventive.
If used right OEE can guide toward better equipment maintenance.
This may help track tool wear and timely replacements may increase equipment life.
Use SYBEQ's OEE calculator to track OEE of your equipment.

From the other side of the table...

On my first job as a product development engineer for music systems, I was enthusiastic about work as any newbie would be. I had a senior colleague who had spent years developing music systems for the consumer goods industry. He was very successful at developing great music systems within the specified timeline.
Sometimes, he would sit on the other side of his desk and spend few minutes looking at his desk. He would also come to work on weekends and spend the entire by himself in the department. Often I asked him why he did that. He would reply that it gives him a new perspective of the project he was working on. He would go back in with fresh ideas and design better music systems.
I never understood how the "alone time" he spent helped him. When I started working with Lean tools, I realized the importance of stopping or slowing down to get a better handle of the project or to make problems visible.
The concept of andon lights used to stop the line to fix a problem in a lean enterprise explains how this tool can remove waste of scrap, defects and rework.