October, 2007

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Article Index

Johnhehre2_small Striangle Made to Order Lean
Article by: John Hehre
If you produce a high volume of products with a narrow product line, there are many Lean Manufacturing books that can help you implement the concepts to improve your operations. It is easier (not necessarily easy, just easier) to improve when you do the same thing over and over again.
Ma_author_pic_copy_small Striangle Corporate Training at Skyline Exhibits
Article by: Manufacturers Alliance
The Manufacturers Alliance association has helped as many as 60 employees within a single company advance their professional development skills needed to increase productivity. Skyline Exhibits is one such company.
Striangle Lean Office Education can be Fun and Rewarding
Article by: Robin Gast
Let’s see – you don’t have a formal Lean program, you don’t have an official Process Improvement Department, but you need to get the word out to your office about Lean. How about a contest?
Drernestgoss_small Striangle MN Economic Condition
Article by: Dr. Ernest Goss
For the month of October 2007, reported November 1, 2007. After advancing for two consecutive months, Minnesota’s Business Conditions Index declined to 54.1 from September’s 57.1 and August’s 56.4.
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Striangle Made to Order Lean
If you produce a high volume of products with a narrow product line, there are many Lean Manufacturing books that can help you implement the concepts to improve your operations. It is easier (not necessarily easy, just easier) to improve when you do the same thing over and over again.

However, there are many companies that live in a high-mix, low-volume environment, meaning they produce a broad range of products in low volumes. Although these types of operations are usually called “job shops,” they may also exist as small operations within larger organizations. Despite the fact that there are many of this type of operation, there are very few books written that provide assistance for high-mix, low-volume operations. Fortunately, Made to Order Lean does an excellent job of addressing the unique aspects of improving these operations.

Greg Lane did several smart things when he wrote this book. First, he avoided the usual “history lesson” detailing the evolution of Lean many authors feel compelled to include. Second, he assumes the reader is already familiar with Lean concepts and does not waste time explaining things such as 5S and Kanban systems. Finally, where a concept is sufficiently covered in other literature, he provides references to those sources.

Divided into thirteen chapters, the book focuses on aspects of lean manufacturing that differ in practice for low-volume shops from those used in high-volume production.

For example, many texts on Lean Manufacturing stress the use of takt time, typically defined as time available divided by customer demand. In a situation where there are a wide variety of products, takt time becomes difficult to apply. Instead, the book suggests the use of “day by hour” boards which provide visual representation of expected completions within a specific time period. Lane presents several alternatives to this approach for different types of products, including those that have complex routings and take many days or even weeks and months to complete. Another issue unique to high-mix plants is the moving bottleneck. With different parts and assemblies being routed separately through various workcenters, the bottleneck frequently shifts from one workcenter to another. Lane discusses ways to address this issue as well.

Other topics including value stream analysis, inventory control, personnel improvements, machine performance and plant layout are addressed in the context of high-mix, low-volume manufacturing. There are also several chapters on appropriate office improvements and product costing for this type of organization.

Although the book does require some familiarity with Lean concepts, it is a practical resource with tools and examples designed for direct application. It would be an excellent book for any company that has operations with a broad product line where few products represent much of the volume.
Johnhehre2_small John Hehre is a business advisor and member of Platinum Group in Eden Prairie: 952.829.5700; john@pllc.com; www.theplatinumgrp.com.

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Striangle Corporate Training at Skyline Exhibits
The Manufacturers Alliance association has helped as many as 60 employees within a single company advance their professional development skills needed to increase productivity. Skyline Exhibits is one such company.

Skyline Exhibits, a manufacturer of portable configurable modular trade shows exhibits, has sent 23 people representing 7 departments through the Manufacturers Alliance's Lean Practitioner Certification Program. As a direct result of lean implementation, they have experienced:
  • An increase in capacity of 60% and a product Lead-time improvement of 40% in a single production cell of banner stands.

  • An extensive re-layout of the manufacturing facility that resulted in:
    • Reduction of daily walking of production employees by 5 miles

    • Freeing up 10,000 square feet of floor space for new business opportunities

    • The creation of Value Stream focused manufacturing work cells

    Benefits may be hidden much like waste and aren't always seen in bottom line results. We asked Brian Rome, Director of Manufacturing at Skyline Exhibits, what some of those hidden benefits are. Brian's response - "There have been a number of benefits we received from the Lean training we did through the Manufacturers Alliance, including:"
    • Seeing that our problems were not unique and the solutions were not as difficult as they may have appeared.

    • The relief of the "Knowledge Constraint". We had a few people that knew the Lean tools and how to apply them. We needed to spread that knowledge out so that everyone at Skyline would be able to use the tools in their daily work.

    • Identifying our best talent. By helping our employees learn the Lean tools and how to apply them, we have identified employees who have emerged as some of our future leaders.

    In response to our member needs and as a result of successes like Skyline's, the Manufacturers Alliance has started to assist corporate training departments and provide delivery of customized training programs.

    Manufacturers Alliance workshops combine modern-day theory with a practical, interactive delivery style that enables attendees to take an active part in their learning experience. Simulations and group exercises are used to make the workshops hands-on, experiential and pragmatic.

    The instructors are working practitioners who use real-world examples to ensure workshop attendees will relate to the course content and readily apply what they have learned.

    Course content and materials are regularly updated using experience gained from the instructors and workshop attendees, enabling us to keep the courses up-to-date, relevant and representative of best practices throughout the local manufacturing industry.

    To learn more about how our corporate training program can benefit your company, contact the Manufacturers Alliance at (763)533-8239 and ask for Art Sneen.
    Ma_author_pic_copy_small The mission of the Manufacturers Alliance is to provide peer-to-peer training, education, and resources which allow Minnesota-based member manufacturers to continuously grow, improve, and stay competitive.

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    Striangle Lean Office Education can be Fun and Rewarding
    Let’s see – you don’t have a formal Lean program, you don’t have an official Process Improvement Department, but you need to get the word out to your office about Lean. How about a contest?

    We recently ran a contest here to help educate the general office populace on Lean. We called it “What in the World Does Robin Do?” and shamelessly ripped off the logo from the “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” segment on the Today show. The first articles were titled “What is Lean” and “Why Lean” and were less than 300 words. You don’t need to kill ‘em with information right out of the gate, you just need to get them to read. Every few days, we ran another story about one of the Lean tools that could be applied right in the office.
    • 5S

    • Value Stream Mapping

    • Visual Management

    • Pull Systems and Kanbans

    • Kaizen Events

    • Deadly Wastes, Part 1 (overproduction, motion, waiting, transportation)

    • Deadly Wastes, Part 2 (over-processing, inventory, defects, unused employee skills)

    Each article included a high level description of the tool and a possible example of how that tool could be applied in the office. We identified examples of overproduction in an office setting including: distributing copies of reports on a monthly basis that aren’t always used, or distributing full reports to everyone on the distribution list when each recipient only uses a certain section of the report, or the “thermometer” outside of the sales department showing sales so far this year. There was also an example of a past Lean success, namely how the Document Control group freed up 5 file drawers and recovered $250 in office supplies through a 5S effort.

    That was the educational part – now for the fun and rewarding part.

    Every Lean article had an associated contest entry form. The entry form contained two questions. The first asked for some Lean-based fact from the article. The second question asked for a way to apply the Lean principle talked about in that article to their work setting. For example:
    • What is the purpose of Lean and what would you do with an extra hour per week?

    • How many file drawers were emptied by using the 5S process in the document control area and give me an example of what you would sort first in your work area?

    • Give an example of one of the first four wastes in your area.

    One department actually entered the contest as a group exercise. Not only did the staff have to understand the concept, I gained a great list of ideas as to where some improvements could be made and the staff made themselves aware of them. When the last article was published, we randomly chose one form from all the correctly answered entries and that person won a Target gift card. We then ran a second contest that asked the question “in 100 words or less, tell us why we should go Lean”. The best answer also received a Target gift card.

    Lessons learned – don’t spread the articles out too far or everyone will wait until the end to submit their entries. Use more than one communication method to make people aware that the contest is taking place. The contest did get some basic education out there, it also generated ideas on where to start making improvements, and for those who won the gift cards, I am certain that at least they thought it was fun and rewarding.
    Robin Gast is the Process Improvement Director at Thymes, a manufacturer of body, home care, and home fragrance products. She may be reached at rgast@thymes.com.

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    Striangle MN Economic Condition
    For the month of October 2007, reported November 1, 2007. After advancing for two consecutive months, Minnesota’s Business Conditions Index declined to 54.1 from September’s 57.1 and August’s 56.4.

    Components of the overall index for October were new orders at 59.5, production at 55.8, delivery lead time at 54.7, inventories at 57.0, and employment at 43.0. “Minnesota’s unemployment rate has increased by a half percentage point since January of this year. Based on our survey, I expect the jobless rate to rise by another 0.2 percent by the end the year. Despite growth in Minnesota’s output, firms continue to shed jobs. We will continue to see job losses and slow to no growth in durable goods manufacturers, especially computer and electronic-component producers, and telecommunications firms. Trucking firms will experience positive growth even as state economic growth slows considerably in the months ahead,” said Goss.
    Drernestgoss_small Dr. Ernest Goss of Creighton University, used the same methodology as The National Association of Purchasing Management to compile this information. An index number greater than 50 percent indicates an expansionary economy, and an index under 50 percent forecast a sluggish economy, for the next three to six months.

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