Often I get asked questions about how certain lean tools or approaches apply in different situations.  You see, even though the books make the improvement methods seem universal, understanding the thinking behind them is usually important to have effective sustaining over time.

Let’s look at two entirely different manufacturing situations – batch processing or assembly operations, and continuous run (web forming, chemical).  Batch processing in the first approach could entail doing a known quantity of parts that must be made.

As you know one of the goals in lean is to get to continuous flow.  You might look at improvements in the actual work content or tasks (value added) along with the waste in the process (non-value added).

The lean calculations (TAKT time, cycle times, number of operators) can be done in a straightforward manner.  You just need to know how many of the parts to make and how much time you have to make them.  From there you get the “beat” or the “pace” of the work activities.  You can look at the time it takes to do a single task or a string of them, and you can determine how many people you need.

It gets a little fuzzier when you talk about continuous run processes.  These could include making a batch of a chemical product; coating wire with an extruder; making high volume web products like paper towels, roofing shingles, or medical consumables; and food products or pharmaceuticals.

The idea of being able to calculate some of the same lean values gets difficult for some.

For example, what is the TAKT time of 6,000 yds of copper wire that needs to be coated with an extruded polymer coating?  You will need to have data like line speeds, yield rates, etc.  On the resource end, you begin to evaluate people and their internal and external work – those tasks that can be done while the process is running and those that have to be done in-between setups.  When you look at making improvements, you can look at making more “things” in a given period of time (line speeds) or getting change-overs done quicker.

So what does this have to do with barriers?  Well, just because a given lean approach works for one type of manufacturing, it doesn’t mean that applying them to another should be done without careful thinking.  I was helping a company that makes wires, cables, strands and various other continuous run products.  They had to treat the incoming copper wire, feed it directly into the process, coat the wire with a polymer extrusion, identify the wire with an in-line dot matrix printer, and finally spool the material onto cores.  Some of the products they made were three miles long!!

Even more difficult was doing the quality checks on such a large amount of contiguous material.  Try calculating DPU or PPM.  Many of the improvements we identified for them were around equipment and process capability.  However, we also made some changes to the way the materials were scheduled and set-up. For those of your who will be attending the Electrical Wire Processing Technology Expo May 8-9 at the Delta Center in Milwaukee, the Brady team will be exhibiting and showing examples of materials and applications to help with some of the solutions I am referencing. (And, tell them the blog sent you and use the code word “PermaSleeve” for a special gift.)

An example is given below.  Team members had to re-thread the equipment after every new product or breakage.  Making these steps visual improved both the time to complete the task and the first pass yield.

You can see in the first picture, labels were placed near the rollers.  In the second example, colors replaced the text.  I’ve seen two conventions for colors: blue to imply “water” or under and green to imply “grass” or over.  The second was exactly the opposite: blue to imply “sky” or over and green to imply “grass” or under.  Either way, the colors gave the team members a quick visual for re-threading.

You can see a barrier to our continuous improvement efforts can be our thinking.  Blindly applying a strategy without understanding the thinking behind it can be frustrating and can lead to erroneous results.  This can be true especially in the continuous run manufacturing environment.  If you have any questions on these ideas, let me know.  We are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of this blog!  We hope it has been valuable and if you are at the Expo this week, stop by our booth to say hello and share your experiences.   Until next time “see with open eyes, and understand with an open mind.”

Interested in understanding the differences and options available in label material? Check out this label material comparison guide for quick reference. 

Well.  I think my last blog hit a bare nerve with many people!  Especially the “there is enough blame to go around” theme.  The feedback was at many levels, and had pleas along the lines of “see, I knew it wasn’t all my fault” and “can you help my boss understand this?”  Remember from that blog, I highlighted your job in managing expectations and that you had to make crystal clear:

• How much of the problem we can we fix
• What are the resources that it will take to get there
• What is the timing of the deliverables
• What are the appropriate measures of success

There are many good ways to track progress in your continuous improvement journey, many of which fall into effective project management techniques.  In lean, we focus on standard work, so it is no surprise that managing our leaders’ expectations can be accomplished with – leader standard work.  An example of a template that shows leader standard work can be found here  It breaks down their responsibilities into daily, weekly and monthly tasks.  The first table gives some tasks and completion criteria for a daily rhythm.

Daily Activities 

The following table shows how those daily activities can be “layered” in to monthly activities.  The best standard work has this layered sustaining system.

Weekly Activities 

Finally, you can have monthly activities.  These actually could roll-up into some monthly metrics that you need for functional or operational reviews.  It might show the effectiveness of the weekly and daily performance.  What makes this approach so effective is that every layer in the organization – from team member, team leader, group leader, value stream leader, supervisor, manager, etc. – know what they need to do daily, weekly and monthly.  When all those activities work in concert, it’s a beautiful thing.

I am glad that I received the questions that I did and hope this diversion added understanding.  Back to the main stream of thought for next week.  Until then, “see with open eyes, and understand with an open mind.”

Check out more about lean visuals - 50 Must-Have Visuals for Improving Productivity & Safety in Your Lean Facility.

There is an old saying that goes something like, “do as I say, not as I do.”  I am not sure where this adage got its start, but I know many parents that use it regularly.  How does this relate to my current topic of standard work?  Well, on the surface, this seems to be the opposite of what we’re driving for.  As kids, we mirror and mock all of the behaviors that we observe.  As adults, we learn in different ways, and we can quickly forget what we’re told.

We dramatically improve the likelihood of sustaining a change if we apply all of our senses to the tasks.  The more hands-on, the better.

Often we find that the two basic training approaches – telling only or showing only – have limitations.  If we just tell people, it is difficult to determine if enough of the subject has been discussed or if what you have said has been properly understood.  On the other hand, if we just show people, it is difficult for trainees to grasp the key points of the job and the reasons why they are vital to the operation.

To get started, we need to prepare the team members for the training.  This first step includes, putting the team member at ease; finding out what the team member already knows about the process; getting the team member interested in the job; and placing the team member in the correct position – both physically and mentally – to observe and learn.

Let’s jump to step 2 of the downloadable training card – Present the operation.

• We are trying to isolate a given task down to a single element.  The definition of work element might vary from assembly operations to continuous flow type situations.  In either case, you need to demonstrate the work element and stress the associated critical points.  Remember that critical points can have a variety of reasons that they are critical, based on – safety, ergonomics, quality, productivity, or cost.  The team member must understand the underlying reasons why they are critical and how they are monitored.  This step is iterative and must be replicated multiple times.  You must instruct clearly, completely, and patiently and make sure that an appropriate amount of information is being demonstrated.  This is a fine balance.

Step 3 of the training card  – Try out performance.

• This involves having the team member reflect back what was trained in step 2, and correct any errors.  The team member should be able to explain each Work Element as they perform the task and all associated critical points.  You should be ensuring that the proper sequence of work is being followed, and evaluating if the task could be handed to another team member to do.  If not, you probably don’t have the work elements at their most basic stage.  This process is best if done outside of actual production using sample jobs or mock-ups.  Alternatively, trade off with a trained operator on different work elements to minimize impact to production.

You will be looking for their ability to safely and efficiently produce parts using the equipment, tooling, or fixtures.  You must continue to do this until you know that they know. If the team member hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.

Next week I will show how steps 2 and 3 could look using example process steps, and I will give some practical advice the best ways to accomplish steps 4.  Plus, I will talk about job methods, job relations and job instructions.  Until then, “see with open eyes, and understand with an open mind.”