LEAN MANUFACTURING 3

[imaz]

Hi everyone. I am looking at learning the Lean Manufacturing concepts. There are so many books and seminars out there, that I don't know which ones to use.I have been in manufacturing for many years, I hear so much about the lean way that I though it is time to become trained, maybe we can save some money to our customers. I have read few articles on lean concepts and I am convinced that will help us in our plants. So I need your help in rating books, seminars and schools that focussed in training and teaching lean for manufacturing (mainly steel parts fabrication, welding and assmbly is what we do). We are located in Cleveland, Ohio. Schools and seminars close to home will save us some money and time. Thank you in advance for your help.

Regards to everyone

 

[brengine]

Shift all your money from backup/excess inventory to backup (and modular) tooling. Only make enough parts to meet your orders. Make tooling modular (i.e. changeout) so you'll need less machines to run a larger variety of parts. But you'll need to keep more spare parts on hand for your machines (in order to make repairs quicker) because you'll want to eliminate downtime. You'll also want to minimize changout time too.

That's about it.

Is it better? I have no idea.

Example I like:
If your machine goes down, and you supply components to a tier one (or higher) supplier, and you risk 1,000's of dollars per hour if you don't have parts to them in time...Where you going to put you money (in excess inventory or excess machine parts)?

Ken

 

[dskarupa]

Go to

http://www.goalqpc.com

and

http://www.productivitypress.com.

They have a lot of good books. The Lean Enterprise Memory Jogger has a lot of concepts for a small book. I have taken classes and had many seminars at Firelands BGSU in Huron, OH and they use the Memory Jogger book in all the Manufacturing class. Productivity Press has all types of book on different topics like KanBan, Autonomous Maintenance, Total Productive Maintenance, 5S and Value Stream Management. Hopefully this helps.

 

[brengine]

BGSU Firelands! I went there for a year about 10 years ago. Small world.

Ken

 

[induengi]

Hi. You can view the replies I received from a similar question in this site.

have a nice day,

Bizhan,

 

[induengi]

you can see the replies of a similar question I asked in the previous year.

Good luck,
Bizhan,

 

[flexibility]

Lean manufacturing is a human activity, but directed and systematic. It depends on the individual creativity and inventiveness. It is in the sane group of systems like TQM, TOC, BPR, JIT etc.
I am in favour of technical solutions, which are independent of human inspiration.
One of the problems that they are trying to solve and remady are due to the organization system.
It is organizes as a series of operation, each stage (design, process, sfc) makes is optimization and deliver decisions to the following stage. this decisions are constraints to that following stage. This causes a lot of inefficiencies,

Concurrent Engineering is one way to improve the situation, but it is bases on a lot of meeting and discussions.

A better system is the each stage will make only decisions that are fundamental to his task, and deliver alternatives insted of decisions to the following stage.
It will result with a built in Lean Manufacturing

 

[kreg]

IMAZ - Sorry I didn't see your post earlier to give you more time on this. There's a group in Cleveland called CAMP (

http://www.camp.org

phone: 216-432-5300) that trains on LEAN manufacturing. They are running a class on November 25 in Cleveland that uses a simulated production operation to train the LEAN concepts of 5S, Visual Controls, Standard Work, Plant Layout, Batch Reduction, Teams, Quality at the Source, Point of use Storage, Quick Changeover, Pull/Kanban, Cellular/Flow, and Total Productive Maintenance. This class also covers the eight great sources of waste. You need to experience this class!! You'll learn a lot and have fun doing it. Give them a call.

 

[leanIE]

Lean thinking is probably the most popular book on the topic of lean mfg. for executives, mgrs., and engineers. This book provides case studies of how actual companies (porsch, pratt & whittley, lan-tech, et al) applied lean philosophies and turned their organizations around. Unfortunately the book is discussed from a 10,000 ft. perspective. It doesn't really provide "ground level" managers the tools they need to make the "lean leap". Lots of good thinking none the less.

Like someone else suggest previously in the thread... the goalqpc memory joggers provide actual analytical tools that help identify and eliminate waste.

Lean Thinking : Banish Waste And Create Wealth In Your Corporation [ABRIDGED] -- by Daniel T. Jones (Author), James P. Womack (Author); Audio CD

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-3996279-9374407

 

[aa1993]

Lean manufacturing takes a look at waste through team work concept. The books that you read and seminars you attend will have to address the western culture of industry.I have found a

http://www.lean.org

is a good resource with Mr. Womack. The website

http://www.advancedmanufacturing.com

has good articles in it. The last is an article by Todd Phillips, "Lean Manufacturing" Building the lean machine, has a good roadmap for you to follow.

Robert A Davis
American Lean

 

[Halbleib]

Please do not forget Vendor/Supplier Quality/Confidence.

It appears that in our facility, 95% of downtime due to out of spec or no parts is due to purchased parts.

Also, if your supplier ships you parts at a 35% fallout, what does you purchaser do? Buys more parts to compensate....thus increasing warehouse space needed, as well as sorting and QC checking operations.

VALUE STREAM MAPPING! Good stuff there!

Lean processes work great, when you identify pitfalls and help correct "outside the facility" problems.

Good luck!

Peter

 

[sunesismo]

There is another source that can be more economical, and that is the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. Visit the website

http://www.mep.nist.gov/about-mep/center-info.html

for more information.
They provide training and on-site assistance.

KR

 

[RNDguy]

What many people do not realise is the importance of employee participation (and with enthusiasm) in all this. There can be no lean without this, anf there can be no employee participation without true progressive leadership.
And this is where the crunch usually comes: when everyone has planned and "implemented" lean concepts, the one small thing about quick changeover in parts production can easily put mighty brakes on the momentum. And this is where true employee participation can make a difference.

 

[Mechineer]

RNDGuy is exactly right! You have to satify three key employee behavior issues in order to be able to apply Lean techniques.

1) The employees must be well trained and confident they can achieved the expected results.
2) They should feel that they will benefit from good performance.
3) Finally, employees should feel that the benefit is sufficient to continue with good performance. (Cannot Please Everyone! Don't Try!)

Two examples of these unresolved issues is employees doing just enough to keep with the next guy.Second, group thinking that they can't fire all of us.

The best way of overcoming these behavior issues to ensure success of your Lean initiatives is to get the employees involved. Empower them and let them take ownership of their processes, encourage them to keep improving and last but not least recognize them for a job done well.

 

[bdw1234567]

The website

http://www.1stcourses.com

provides a primer on all the lean concepts for free.

The productivity press books are excellent, as is the Lean Thinking book by Womack.

Learning to See is a good book on value stream mapping.