1st Edition

Lean Production for the Small Company

By Mike Elbert Copyright 2013
    295 Pages 189 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    296 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    A hands-on guide to adapting Lean principles and the Toyota Production System to high-mix/low-volume environments, Lean Production for the Small Company uses charts, pictures, and easy-to-understand language to describe the methods needed to improve processes and eliminate waste. It walks readers through the correct order of implementation and describes problems and pitfalls along with time-tested solutions.

    Explaining how to incorporate existing systems into a Lean strategy, the book starts with the fundamentals and builds on them to describe the full range of tools and processes needed to implement Lean. It outlines how to design factories for Lean manufacturing and demonstrates how to remove variations within business and manufacturing processes to achieve a smooth continuous flow of product that delivers your product on time to customers.

    The tools, methods, and ideals discussed are applicable in any industry and all parts of your business—from manufacturing and sales to human resources. The text unveils new methods and tools that can help you reduce inventory, improve inventory turns, and facilitate raw material flow through the factory. It details how to use customer order demands to schedule the production floor, rather than using estimated production schedules. It also considers the accounting process and explains how to improve your cash-to-cash cycle time.

    Drawing on the author’s decades of experience transforming high-mix plants to Lean, the text brings together coverage of the tools and processes that have made Toyota so successful. All the chapters in this book, when implemented, will result in a culture change that will transform your company into a learning organization that continuously eliminates waste and improves its processes.

    Introduction
    Who Should Use This Book
    How to Use This Book
    Brief History of Lean Manufacturing
    Philosophy of Lean Manufacturing and Business Systems
    Why Do We Need Lean Manufacturing and Business Systems

    Fundamentals of Lean Production and Business Systems
    Nine Critical Wastes in Business
    Concerning Elimination of Waste
    Fundamentals of Lean Manufacturing
    The Five Whys’
    Critical Importance of Management Commitment
    Establish your Lean Team and Lean Leader
         The Lean Coach
         Lean Coach and Consultants
         Lean Team
         Lean Production and Your Employees
    Some Will Leave Us (making the really tough decision, removing human roadblocks)
    Lean Systems versus Six Sigma

    Tools for Continuous Improvements
    Step 1: Hands on
         Example: Order out of Chaos
    Housekeeping 5S

    Beginning your Journey
    Waste Walk
         Plant Manager: Waiting (Idle Time)
         Materials Manager: Excess Inventory
         Finished Goods: Overproduction
         Production Manager: Overproduction
         Quality Manager: Defects
         Purchasing Manager: Environmental
         Planning Manager: Transportation
         Manufacturing Engineering Manager: Excessive Motion
         Lean Leader: Overprocessing
    Current Lean Status

    Value Stream Maps: The Amazing Tool (Critical to your Success)
    What is a Value Stream Map and Why you Need It
         Why a Value Stream Map Is Critical to Your Success
    How to Create a Value Stream Map
         Current State Map
         Creating the Map
         Gather Your Data
    How to Read a Value Stream Map
    Next, Compare the Current State Map to the Future State Map

    Identify your Products
    Continuous Improvement Projects
    Identifying your Projects from your Maps
    Which Project to do First
    Machine Tools and Takt Time
    Smoothing the Flow of Production
    Balancing Product Mix in the Work Cell
    Implementation
    Audits
    Who Should be Audited?
    Stabilizing your Process

    Your First Kaizen Project Team
    What is a Kaizen Event (continuous improvement event)
    Team Make-up
    Kaizen Event Process
    SMART Goals
    Plan-Do-Check-Act
    Using Plan-Do-Check-Act
    Kaizen Tool Box
    Tool Box Inventory List

    Continuous Flow
    Step 1 - Determine Family Mix
    Step 2 - First Production Cell
    Step 3 - Create Goals and Result Chart
    Stabilizing Your Process
    Standing in the Circle
    Standardize Work
         Using Standardize Work
    Reducing Variability
    Leaders Standard Work versus Work Instructions
         Team Leader Standard Work
         Managers Standard Work
    Accountability
    Daily Production Meetings

    Work Cell and Factory Layout
    Work Cell Layout
    Ergonomic Design
    Work Cell Material Handling Design

    Creating your Lean Road Map (Strategy Deployment)
    Introduction
    Strategic Lean Manufacturing Plan
         Visual Controls and Visual Management
         Visual Management Displays and Controls
    Andon Display

    Production Scheduling
    Introduction
    MRP and Lean Complement Each Other
    What Finished Goods Should I Stock?
    Types of Pull Systems
    Organizing and Controlling Finished Goods Warehouse

    How to Schedule the Production Line (Value Stream)
    Introduction
    Pacemaker Process
    Efficiency versus Changeover
    Supermarket (Warehouse) Location in the Factory
    Signaling Material Withdrawal from the Market
    Batch Production Signal Kanban
    Production Capacity versus Changeover Time
    Determining Production Lot Size
    Reorder Trigger Point
    Working With Out Work Orders
    Labor and Material Accuracy
    Work Order Back Flushing
    Cycle Count Inventory

    Material Management
    Raw Material Inventory Management
    Loading the PFEP
    What Data to Input First
    Equations Used with PFEP
    Planning Minimum Inventory Levels
    Value of Frequent Deliveries
    Quantity of Containers Required
    Material Reorder Points
    Updating and Editing the PFEP
    Creating the Raw Material Market
    Organizing the Warehouse
         Layout of the Supermarket
         Creating the Supermarket
    How do I Expedite Parts?
    Timed Delivery Routes
    Basic Material Handling Information
         Creating Your Timed Delivery Routes
         Point-of-Use Rack Design
         Pull Signal Material
         Coupled versus Decoupled Routes (What’s the Difference)?
         Determining the Number of Pull Signals
         Kanban-in-the-Loop
    Sustaining the Material Handling System
    Supplier Replenishment to Your Warehouse
         Getting Started
         Finished Goods Replacement
         Tying in Finished Goods Warehouse to the Production Floor
    Packaging Schedule Board
         How to Use the Packaging Schedule Board
         Sequence of Operation

    Standardized Problem-Solving Method
    Problem Solving
         Recognize You Have a Problem
         Elevate to the Next Higher Level
         Evaluate the Severity of the Problem
         Control the Expansion of the Problem
         Containing the Problem
         Preventing a Recurrence
         Inspect Every Job
    Mistake-Proofing
         Where Do You Start Error-Proofing?
              General Inspection
              100% Inspection
              Error-Proofing Devices
              Immediate Feedback
         Statistical Process Control and Mistake-Proofing

    Working with Suppliers and Partners
    Introduction
    Looking for Suppliers
    Seven Characteristics of Supplier-Customer Partnering
    Outsourcing Products
    Group Suppliers by Capability

    Lean Accounting
    Show me the Money
    Performance Goals
    Box Scores
    What You Get For Your Effort
    Profit and Loss (Income) Statements
    Cash-to-Cash Cycle
         Calculate Cash-to-Cash Cycle

    Achieving a Higher Level of Lean
    Culture Change: Learning to Stop and Fix the Problem
    Changing the Culture Change
         Key Ingredients to Cultural Change
         Team Leader and Stopping the Production Line
    Creating a Culture that will Stop and Fix Problems (Get Out of Fire Fighting)
    Using Metrics to Track Change
    To Change a Culture, Change a Behavior

    Final Thoughts
    What have we Learned
    Sustaining Lean Conversion
    The Human Factor
    Goals and Measurements
    Rewards Help
    Where do you Find People with Lean Business Knowledge?
    Conclusion

    Glossary
    References
    Index


     

    Biography

    Mike Elbert is president of Elbert Lean Business Systems, LLC, a consulting service that helps businesses eliminate waste. A qualified Lean Practitioner, Mike is a leader in business and manufacturing processes and systems with an MBA in manufacturing systems from the University of St. Thomas. Industries that Mike has worked in include electronic components, consumer electronics, heavy metal fabrication, precision machining, plastic and rubber molding, and medical device manufacturing. He spent more than twenty-five years as a manager of engineering, quality, product, and process design, and he understands the importance of planning, teamwork, and accountability. During his thirty-plus years in manufacturing, Mike has worked in a diverse range of organizations, including small-, mid-, and large-sized corporations. For the past twenty-five years, he has worked with Lean manufacturing systems and its predecessors, focusing on improving manufacturing processes and equipment. Mike believes that any business, including start-ups, can improve efficiency and income by identifying and eliminating waste from processes, including the extended supply chain. He offers a range of programs and services that include teaching Lean business systems, facilitating improvement meetings, and directing the overall transformation of your company to a Lean organization. Drawing on decades of experience in low- and high-volume production, he now focuses mainly on the implementation of Lean business and manufacturing systems while also providing many classical industrial engineering products. After a career spent reducing costs and improving manufacturing efficiency, Mike now teaches and coaches others on how to achieve the same success. He is passionate about Lean business and manufacturing systems and their ability to improve your company, products, and customer satisfaction. Mike has published articles and has been quoted in Industrial Engineering magazine, and was a columnist for the Minnesota Manufacturers Alliance's monthly newsletter. He has taught seminars for the Minnesota Manufacturers Alliance, Minnesota Employers Association, and nationally for the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He is a life member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and a member of its Twin Cities Chapter 38. Mike Elbert is available for private consultations on Lean Enterprise Systems, operations management, industrial engineering, and facility design. For more information, please visit his website at www.elbertleansystems.com.