Discrete Manufacturing 2

[orlorob]

Lean manufacturing is easy!
There.
I said it.
I am not an expert in Lean, or any related theories or disciplines. I don't deny the benefit of Lean practices or Continuous Improvement.

I'm just locked in the bitter barn when it comes to Lean because, in general, it just doesn't apply to my operation.

I'm starting this post because I'd like to hear from all the members from the recent, hot "Lean Manufacturing" forum - What's a short-run, engineer-to-order outfit supposed to do with all these Lean concepts?

Sure, I can build a work cell. But tomorrow is another day, with another job, for another item, for another customer.

And what about supply chain? I'd love to plan a schedule, what a luxury that would be. But in our make-to-order business, we're slaves to unpredictable parts availability, unrealistic lead times, and then there's price...

So - let's hear it - What's the buzzword management strategy for the contemporary discrete manufacturing shop?

-Rob

 

[rhodie]

I work for a paint and coatings manufacturer.

Paint is almost always the last component of a project considered for purchase, many of our lead times are measured in hours. Everybody wants something different, too. Discrete to say the least.

We've adapted many "lean" concepts to our operations:

Kaizen events
5S implementation
Reduction of WIP
Delayed Differentiation of finished product
TAKT TIME calculations for Top 25 products

"Just In Time" does not mean "Jump thru your ARSE", but it does mean strong communication between supplier and customer. Several valuable customers have come around to the idea that giving us a forecast for their needs is much cheaper than stockpiling inventory of our products. We offer a price incentive if an agreement can be made beforehand on when our products will be required. Surprisingly, the customers take the 2% - 5% break, and we ultimately are more profitable because raw materials, machine time, and labor are all systematically planned ahead of time.

Just like you, I am skeptical on how many areas of lean apply to a 3500 SKU-d "job shop" and not a massive 12 SKU-d mass production facility.

But without a question, I can attest that what has been adapted so far from Lean methodology has made a difference.

Regards!

 

[maxbreizh]

Thank you Rhodie for the good stuff!

Lean manufacturing does not mean only what you mention Orlorob - There are a multitude of little tools that Lean will bring. For example Poka-Yoke (or mistake proofing); say for instance that you have a shelf full of binders and you want to organize them in a orderly fashion.
Just draw a vertical line infringing on each of the binder and going from top left of the shelf (first binder from the left) to bottom right (last binder to the right). If a binder is put back in the wrong location, then the line will be broken and you will see immediately that 2 binders are mixed up.
This concept is called Poka-Yoke and you can use principles like everywhere around the workstation.
Lean is about making my work easier, and continually improve my performance while measuring it - If you can do without a production cell, that's fine!

Max.

 

[BillPSU]

How about an aerial device (cherry picker/man lift) mounted to a customer's choice of chassis (Freightliner, International, Ford, Chevy, Bombardier track, or Oshkosh.) With a custom tool box body per customer specification. Equipted with the customer specific safety lighting package, colors, accessories, and decals. The aerial device with custom buckets and custom features( bucket rotator, jibs, radio controls, fiber optic controls, custom fiberglass booms, custom outriggers, non-standard high voltage certification and numerous other custom designed parts.

Now do all this custom engineered to order units with inventory turns above 10 and throughput time measured in weeks. Lean is very much in use.

 

[BillPSU]

300,000 volt certification for transmission power line work with corona ring and boom leakage monitor.

 

[orlorob]

MaxBreizh - this is the first I've heard about Poka-Yoke. I really like the example you cited. Simple and effective. I'm going to study the subject further, so thanks!

Now, for the rest of the gang who's contributed so far. It wasn't my goal to initiate a "who runs the most difficult shop" contest. However, Rhodie & Bill, your comments have actually enlightened me a bit. Based on what you've told me, I see a distinct difference between your shops and mine.

Rhodie - you threw it out there in the first line. You work for a paint manufacturer. Your company faces real challenges; satisfying demanding customers with short lead times, and custom colors. But still, at the end of the day, it's a paint/coatings manufacturer. So, when you have time to think about streamlining operations, it all comes back to paint. Transporting paint, mixing paint, testing paint, packaging paint. You do customize your products to meet a specific customer's color requirements, but it's still your product.

Max - Your operation sounds extremely challenging. I know what a drag it is when customers hit me with seemingly random performance requirements that require certifications. I can relate to your outfit to some degree - how are you supposed to implement lean production practices when your sales order is for 1 ea.

As you present it, Max, the subtle difference between your shop and mine is that your's is customization shop and custom shop.

Again - not a competition, just an investigation.

Customization vs Custom...an interesting comparison.

My comany is a custom manufacturer of electronic, mechanical, and electro-mechanical components and assemblies. Looking at my backlog, I have 58 jobs right now. Some jobs require manual assembly of mechanical components. Some of it is all machine shop work. Some are electronic/electrical assemblies. Some of the electronics jobs have components that need to be worked on in our machine shop. A number of our jobs need to be molded/encapsulated in epoxy shells. Some of our assemblies need to be pressure tested and certed before we can ship. We do a little brazing here and there. We send work out for welding and painting. We do some painting here. Different shapes different sizes. 42 ea handles, 1493 ea bearings, 7 ea covers, 1 ea hose assembly.... All to customer specifications. And we have to package all this different stuff.

I need to develop a production plan for each individual item. Many of which we might never work again.

So again, I ask you lean gurus, how am I supposed to benefit from lean?

 

[CompositeGeek]

Orlorob,
As I read this thread I do not see any particular answer to your question. What I see is lean propoganda statements without providing you a general solution. Instead each answer offered was a special solution or an individual application.

I suggest you forget about lean and instead look at theory of constraints to guide you to where to apply your lean tools. Lean is tools, TOC is philosphy and tools in one.

The biggest slam against Lean, ISO, TQM, etc has always been - I did all this work, now where is the bang for my buck! Of course the lean consultants will tell you you did it wrong and if you just followed their instructions better you would have ALL THE PROFIT YOU CAN STAND!
If that was true then effective lean consultants would be paid like rock stars and we would be bidding for their time. We aren't.

Why do some lean activities succeed and others fail? I maintain it is because the user got lucky! They applied lean to a critical bottleneck to the company and by working on the constraint increased their thruput, or lowered their inventory, or reduced their operational expenses. Any one of those three outcomes will impact the bottom line strongly.

I say take a look at the principles involved in theory of constraints for generic method of determining when and where to use lean tools.

Good Luck, we are all coounting on you!



Composites and Airplanes - what was I thinking?

There are gremlins in the autoclave!

 

[orlorob]

Theory of Constraints.

Got it - I will examine this topic.

Thanks,
-r

 

[maxbreizh]

Hi Orlorob -

Thanks for the feedback ! Appreciated.

I've been reading some of the other comments after your post March 30th - it all looks too difficult for your environment. The theory of constraint would really only work in an environment with repetitive tasks...
The best approach for the theary of constraint is to measure the work in process between workstations - then either graph or data measure the variation throughout the day - I am not sure that would work for you...

It seems to be that - reading the brief description of your business - your biggest challenge is production planning. There is not much that you will be able to do in Lean if you don't have your scheduling and planning under control. Have you tried a 4x6 board showing all your orders on the Y-axis and all the different sub-assemblies in the Y-axis? Draw an line oblique in each little square (starting date, ending date). Have a short meeting daily with your operators and make it easy for everyone to see. Assess your performance against planning and promised date -

Once you have your scheduling under control, then you can start doing some Lean stuff such as visuals on the floor, markings, KPI and what is referred to earlier as value stream mapping or process flow chart.

What Lean will give you is a system of communication that will make the work easier, safer, and continally improve. Use visuals, address emerging problems and energing work, define workstations, optimize planning and scheduling, etc.

Max.

 

[maxbreizh]

I meant orders in the Y-axis and allthe sub assemblies in the X-axis:

Order # . Part # . Promised date. Set out date. Sub assembly 1. sub assembly 2. etc .....

 

[maxbreizh]

Composite Geek - I disagree with what you say, There is no luck in Lean !

Lean alignment always fail when top management think their job is to direct others.

Lean alignment alwasy succed when top management think their job is to support.
Everywhere you will see Lean alignment, you will hear management talk to their staff and ask: "what can I do to help you in your job today?"

Max.

 

[CompositeGeek]

Max,
Lean alignment happens when what you are working on is in the critical path of you manufacturing process.

And my friend there is luck in lean and in everything. Anyone who has studied variation for more than ten minutes knows exactly what I mean by luck too.

Methinks, thou art a lean disciple. My practice is based on science not on faith. Lean asks me to take on faith that any application I work will have an impact on the bottom line. There is no empirical "a priori" basis to lean. Go ahead, before you even start your next lean event - tell me exactly how much the bottom line will benefit then back it up with actuals my friend!

TOC is an "a priori" process and methodology back by repetitive results. I have saved lots o money for my customer's using TOC to predict how much money they will save and when they will see the impact, then used lean tools to execute the plan. I'm not running down lean, I am running down cost accounting!

Its not a one or the other thing. If you don't want to rely on luck that is.

"the price of doing good is being asked to do better."

Best to you!

Composites and Airplanes - what was I thinking?

There are gremlins in the autoclave!

 

[Ashereng]

Poka-Yoke. That is a great example of a workable and useable solution to keeping a shelf in order.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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