Preparation for Production Using Lean Methods

Preparation for Production Using Lean Methods

It would appear that all industrial companies are currently making efforts to implement the Lean Philosophy, which was developed and perfected by the Toyota Corporation. Lean manufacturing has also made its way into areas that are not directly related to manufacturing. 

Sadly, a large number of businesses do not have a full understanding of what the term "lean manufacturing" actually means. Putting it succinctly, "continuously improving your processes to eliminate waste" is the definition of lean manufacturing. This may appear to be obvious, but the reality is that many businesses won't be able to become genuinely lean because they lack the culture and infrastructure necessary to implement and sustain lean.

The majority of people have the misconception that Lean is nothing more than a collection of waste reduction techniques (such as One Piece Flow, JIT, Kan-Ban, 5S, Six-Sigma, Kaizen Teams, Push/Pull Systems, and so on). But lean is more than just a collection of tools; it's also a way of thinking. 

If a company has significant problems with staff turnover, employee morale, product quality, product delivery, equipment uptime, plant housekeeping, and other areas, it will be extremely challenging to transition the personnel to a new way of thinking and performing business. To put it another way, if your workers have to spend their entire shift putting out fires, they won't have time to adopt lean in an effective manner.

Take care of the most evident issues first

It is necessary to "fix the obvious problems first" in order to get ready for Lean. The majority of the time, employers are aware of both the problems and the potential remedies. They just do not possess the necessary time, finances, or motivation to repair them. If you own a vehicle that is prone to frequent breakdowns as a result of a malfunctioning transmission, you should get it fixed! It is recommended that the transmission be fixed or replaced. 

Do not attempt to fix the car by using a lean strategy. Just have it fixed. Lean is not used to mend processes that are already broken. Lean is a methodology that aims to continuously improve operational operations in order to reduce waste. When all of the obvious issues with that vehicle have been resolved, it will then be time to fine-tune it so that it operates more effectively. It is time to investigate different strategies to reduce waste, which will ultimately save money.

A Few Words About the Six-Sigma Method

Some firms now require their employees to solve problems using the Six Sigma methodology. Unfortunately, Six Sigma is not always applied in the appropriate manner. The goal of Six Sigma is to find solutions to difficult problems that involve a large number of different factors that lead to variation in a process, which in turn leads to faults. 

Six Sigma is a quality management methodology that makes use of statistics to methodically determine what the effects of the process's many variables are and to discover potential solutions. It removes the need to speculate as to what might be generating the variances. Once more, you should focus on fixing the most obvious issues first. In order to find solutions to many issues, it is not necessary to perform an analysis. In many situations, the answers are straightforward; for example, if the light bulb has burned out, you should replace it with a new one.

Consider the worth of your constituents

In common parlance, businesses are referred to as "entities" by the public. Although we refer to IBM, General Motors, and Microsoft as entities, these companies are actually made up of groups of people. The people who work for GM are the ones who really construct the automobiles.

Companies first need to come to the realization that they must grow, nurture, and value their people in order to achieve the same level of cultural success that Toyota Corporation has achieved. People need to be personally invested in the work that they do in order to foster an environment where everyone strives for ongoing advancement. 

They need to have the impression that the company values them. They have to have the impression that their efforts are recognized and rewarded in some way. In the end, the organization needs to place a high value on maintaining a low personnel turnover rate in order to achieve consistency. A lean environment cannot be successfully maintained in a business that experiences high personnel turnover.

In the modern-day world of business, cultivating an atmosphere similar to this one is not a simple task. There are many factors contributing to the low levels of loyalty that exist between U.S. firms and their workforces. Some businesses consider their workers to be an expense rather than an asset, since expenses are easier to remove than assets. 

If workers at a company don't believe their contributions are valued by their employer, they will look for work elsewhere. It is challenging to successfully adopt a lean strategy over the long run in the modern company environment. It is true that a corporation can mandate its workers to utilize lean tools in order to reduce waste, but in order for that ideology to be maintained over the long term, the workforce needs to be involved, loyal, and consistent.

Foster the growth of powerful leaders and conserve them

Poor managers act like tyrants, whereas good managers act more like coaches. A competent manager is one who believes in the concept of a team, in which each member of the team is significant and the opinions of each member of the team are valued. A good manager would respect his or her staff members and be aware that in order for the manager to achieve success, it is necessary for the team to achieve success as well. A bad manager will impose their will on their workforce, which will inevitably lead to chaos. 

If a lousy manager is put in charge of a good, efficient, and high-morale business unit, it won't take more than a few weeks for the unit to completely fall apart. The lack of good leadership qualities is the primary reason for the failure of poor managers. They are lacking in the people skills, communication skills, decision-making abilities, and delegation skills that are necessary to build and maintain productive teams. Strong leaders must be able to sell the lean strategy to their staff while also being aware that the employees working together as a team are ultimately responsible for making the strategy successful.

Think and behave on a world-class level, even if you aren't quite there yet

To achieve world-class status, one must adopt a lean mindset. One may tell they are not in a world-class facility when they enter a place of business that has a sloppy and disorganized place of business for employees to work. It is not necessary to examine the levels of productivity in order to decide whether or not the facility possesses world-class standards. As soon as you step in the door, you can tell whether or not a plant is world-class simply by looking at it.

A facility that uses lean manufacturing is extremely well structured. Standards provide a lucid definition for each and every procedure. The production is managed through the utilization of highly distinct visuals. A facility with actual world-class status possesses the discipline necessary to maintain organization. If the working environment is not clean and well organized, it will be unappealing to external auditors, potential clients, and staff alike. It is not difficult to maintain a clean and well-organized work space; unfortunately, many businesses ignore this straightforward responsibility.

Take actions based on reasoning, not political considerations

The majority of the time, choices made by senior management are simply put into action without being questioned, regardless of whether or not the decisions make sense. Way too frequently, decisions are made by top management without their having a complete comprehension of the process or the problems at hand. 

In the end, lower-level managers are the ones responsible for putting into action concepts and tactics that are not founded on logic but rather on politics. They will carry out plans regardless of whether or not they personally believe in the validity of the plans. Because of this, there is potential for a wide variety of challenges, which makes it challenging to apply lean strategies.

Communication should be clear and concise throughout the entire organization before any decisions are taken. Senior management should not just mandate but rather sell their ideas and be open to questioning and suggestions from lower-level managers. 

Senior management should also be open to questions and proposals from employees. The senior management team should have a complete understanding of the problems and procedures by having clear and productive communication with the managers working at the various levels. When it is at all practicable, major decisions ought to be arrived at as a group as opposed to by a single person.