Lean Manufacturing Case Studies

How are other companies implementing lean manufacturing techniques? Are they working? Do they deliver the promised improvements? The following provide links to a variety of articles describing the experiences of both major corporations and smaller local companies when implementing lean manufacturing techniques.

Five case studies covering lean manufacturing and Kaizen:
Lean Manufacturing & Kaizen

Lean manufacturing changes the culture at Hickman:
Citizen-Times Article

Industry Week Magazine - New Level of Lean Manufacturing
What The Future May Hold For Lean Manufacturing

Free Safety Training

In a previous post I mentioned the importance of safety. Are you looking for safety training? The Oregon OSHA web site offers free online safety classes. I've taken most of these classes, and they are excellent.

Oregon OSHA Online Safety Courses

Ten courses are available online. These include:

Developing a Violence Prevention Program - Seven modules. Introduces you to the seven-step process of developing an effective workplace violence prevention program. Topics include: Initial assessment, written policy development, prevention measures, training, reporting and investigation, post-incident follow-up, and program evaluation.

Ergonomics Awareness - Five modules. Covers the basic principles of ergonomics in the workplace. These include: risk factor identification, basic workstation design options, and hazard control strategies to eliminate or reduce those risks.

Introduction to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Seven modules. Learn about using personal protective equipment to effectively protect workers from exposure to workplace hazards. Covers program management, hazard assessment, and training requirements.

The Hazard Communication Program (HAZCOM) - Five modules. This course introduces the you to HAZCOM program requirements for manufacturers, importers, distributors and employers. It covers topics such as container labeling, MSDS management, training, and other elements of hazard communications.

On-Premises Absenteeism

On-premises absenteeism is probably more costly than off-premises absenteeism and employee turnover costs combined.

What is on-premises absenteeism?

It's when employees are at work, but are not actually working, or they are accomplishing less than they should be accomplishing.

No, this isn't about "goofing off". Most employees want to do a good job. But, sometimes employers put roadblocks in the way of their employees.

One example involves lighting and furnishings. Problems in these areas often cause strains for people working with computers. For example, poor or incorrect lighting can result in computer operators having eye strain and headaches. Poor or incorrect furniture can result in repeditive stress injuries, sore backs and necks, and other aches and pains. Employees may be taking extra 10-15 minute breaks every hour to relieve unnecessary stress, aches and pains.

Another roadblock is inadequate training. I once worked for a company that, whenever they asked me to do something that involved my learning a new skill, they dropped the project (or hired an outside contractor) as soon as they learned some training was involved. Their policy was that employees needed to learn new skills off the clock. If an employer isn't willing to invest in upgrading employee skills, that employer can expect to pay the added costs of employees continuing to work using old, inefficient methods and skills.

A third common problem area is not having the right tools for the job. In this case the job takes longer to accomplish, the quality may be lower, and the employee may be exposed to a greater risk of injury. In many situations an employee may not know what the right tool is--they'll spend considerable time trying to figure out how to get the job done with the tools they have, and then use whatever tools are handy. Or they may spend a lot of time waiting for help, or just thinking about how to get the job done with the tools they have. If the job isn't done right, then more time will be lost in redoing the work and making corrections.

These are just three points to consider when evaluating on-premises absenteeism. In each of these examples employees are on the job, but they aren't getting the job done. Are you doing anything that prevents your employees from getting the job done?

In this article I've looked at these points just from the productivity view. However, there are safety and health implications to all of them. Improving productivity goes hand-in-hand with improving safety and health.

Shitsuke – The Final Step

I’ve already discussed shitsuke in the introduction to 5S. So I’ll add just a few concluding words here:

Shitsuke is the Japanese word for discipline. So as to make it an “S” word in English, it is commonly expressed as Self-Discipline.

The purpose of shitsuke is to ensure the first fours S’s continue to be used properly. It means that people do not return to old habits, but continue to work to the standards that have been established. It maintains the improvements made in the first four steps, and looks for ways to continue to improve.

Shitsuke involves continued training, modeling of behavior by management, and regular audits. Training refreshes old skills and introduces new skills, procedures and standards. Modeling means that supervisors and managers continue to support 5S through their behavior—and through their continued implementation of 5S from the boardroom to the restroom. Auditing means using checklists, and inspections, on a regular basis to ensure the standards established under the fourth S are being used and achieved.

This concludes our look at 5S, the foundation of a visual workplace and of a successful lean manufacturing system.

Creating The Visual Workplace

5S is often referred to as the Five Pillars of a Visual Workplace. So what is a visual workplace?

A visual workplace (also known as Visual Factory Management) is a system for reducing waste, improving productivity, safety, quality, on-time delivery, profits and employee moral by implementing "visual controls."

At work our vision is typically the main way we take in information. Without thinking we see color, shape, location, distance, contrast and brightness. The purpose of a visual workplace is to use this incoming information to eliminate wasted motion. Why is eliminating waste important? Author Hiroyuki Hirano explains that wasteful concepts of how to accomplish something harm a business:

"Many of these concepts and customs are ingrained into every part of the production, clerical, and sales divisions. With such deep roots, they are not easily uprooted and replaced. To use another biological metaphor, these deeply ingrained concepts and customs are like fat that has been finely marbled into every part of the body. Every ounce of this fat is pure waste, and overweight companies are the least likely to win the marathon race for survival into the next century." Quoted from the Five Pillars of the Visual Workplace by Hiroyuki Hirano (page 1).

A visual workplace eliminates waste by eliminating searching, waiting, questions, interruptions, mistakes and injuries. A visual workplace makes work areas user friendly by answering questions; identifying equipment, materials and locations; describing actions and procedures; and providing safety warnings and precaution information. It does this by recognizing the primary importance of vision. It then makes important information available at the point of need and to make it stand out visually.

Establishing a visual workplace involves proper labeling and signage. It involves establishing visual cues, such as color coding, that identify work areas, tools, storage areas and even people. The objective is to create a workplace in which employees have the information they need, understand their role, and contribute in a positive way to the success of your company.

Workers should be able to locate the things they need with a minimum of effort. Storage areas, cabinets, shelves, bins and closets should be clearly identified. Signs should be clear and visible from a greater than the normal distance from which they are typically viewed. Standardized color coding of signs and labels is used to quickly associate storage areas, tools, equipment and supplies with specific tasks, work areas or products.

Another important area is to identify and clearly mark safety hazards. Use signs, labels and color coding to make recognition of a safety hazard fast and simple.

A good analogy to a visual workplace is our system of roads and highways. They have been designed as a visual system. Signs use shape, color, text and pictograms to convey information. Markings on the roadway inform us of passing zones, the edge of the road, bus lanes, one way streets, and upcoming exits. Mile markers, street signs and city limit signs allow us to identify our location. Just as our workplace should, our road systems use a variety of standardized visual methods to communicate the information we need, at the point of need.

Seiketsu - Creating Standards

Seiketsu is the fourth step in 5S. Seiketsu can be translated as standardize. In this step the methods used in the first three steps are put into standards.

Standards are used to accomplish several objectives:

Standards Prevent Backsliding: One of the most difficult things to accomplish is preventing people from sliding back into old work habits. It's easy to slip back into what you've been doing for years. That's what everyone is familiar with. It feels comfortable. Standards make people aware that they are going back to old work habits, and provide a means for making corrections.

Standards Allow Measurement: Standards are important because they allow you to measure success and variances. With standards you can measure whether goals are being reached, and they give you a means by which results can be quantified. Management will want to know the ROI from implementing 5S, and using standard provide a way to measure performance and determine ROI.

Standards Detect Variances: Standards also provide a way to detect when there is a variance or a problem that needs correcting.

Implementing Seiketsu

Standards apply to such things as labels, signs, markings, color coding (pipes, conduit, containers, gangways, work areas, etc.), procedures, and schedules.

One way to create standards is to watch those who have done particularly well in some area and implement what those employees did as the standard. In creating a standard, carefully study what your best employees are doing, breaking it down into small steps. Then create standards based on the steps in process you've observed.

Don’t implement standards from the top down. Involve employees in creating standards. They are the ones who are closest to the work that needs to be done and are your best source of hands-on experience and knowledge.

Implementing standards also includes training. Be sure all employees are trained, and tested, on the new standards. When designing your standards keep the need for training in mind. It is easy to design a complex system that is difficult to learn. If in your training you find some employees are having difficultly "getting it", don’t be reluctant to change the standards, looking for ways to simplify them without reducing effectiveness.

Visual Workplace

Seiketsu also includes a technique called visual workplace. Our eyesight is the main way we take in information. Having a visual workplace takes this into consideration, using visual methods to convey information. I’ll talk more about the visual workplace tomorrow.

Seiso - Cleaning, Inspection & Preventive Maintenance

Seiso is the third step of Five S. Seiso is a Japanese word that translates as cleanliness. In English the words “sweep” or “shine” (regular cleaning) are commonly used as appropriate words beginning with the letter “S”.

Who Cleans?

Once you have everything, from each individual work area up to your entire facility, sorted (cleaned up) and set in order (organized), you need to keep it that way. This requires regular cleaning. This is not just a job for a janitorial staff, everyone should be involved in keeping their work area clean—from the mailroom to the executive suite.

Why Clean?

Dust, dirt, stains, spills and debris hide problems, result in safety hazards, cause accidents and can be toxic. For example, an accumulation of dirt can both hide and cause scratches. A spill, even something as innocent as a coffee spill, can directly cause a slipping hazard and the resulting stain can obscure or cause other problems.

What is Cleaning?

Seiso incorporates three categories of cleaning. The first is an overall cleaning of everything. This usually involves everyone as well as a janitorial staff for the facility. The second involves individual workers and their cleaning of the tools, machines and work areas they use. The third level is the detail level. We’re familiar with “detailing” a car—meaning that every nook, crevice and corner is cleaned. This same type of detailed cleaning applies to the workplace.

While they clean everyone should be asking the question, “Why did this get dirty?” Find the root cause and fix the problem. The result will be that less time needs to be spent on cleaning. Ask questions such as:

Is a filter need to reduce air borne dust?

Is there a leak (lubricant leak for example)?

Is clutter causing dirt to accumulate?

Is the movement of materials, or our storage methods, bringing in dirt?

Cleaning everything at a detailed level may at first appear to require a lot of time. But if you find the causes of “dirtiness” and eliminate them, things will stay clean and less effort will be required.

How?

Use a methodical, standardized approach to cleaning. Use checklists to ensure each cleaning task is done. Use labels, signs, diagrams and charts to provide the information needed for proper cleaning, at the point that information is needed. A while cleaning may seem simple at first glance, ensure that proper training is provided. When someone knows the correct way to clean a machine, tool or work area, they can do a better job in less time.

To ensure everything is cleaned, the facility should be divided into small areas, with a specific person in charge of cleaning each area. Each person should have clearly defined responsibilities for cleaning; be trained in the skills needed; and have the proper cleaning tools, supplies and protective equipment (gloves, goggles, face mask, boots, etc.)

Seiso involves more than just cleaning. It also includes inspection. Regular cleaning makes it easy to spot lubricant leaks, equipment misalignment, breakage, missing tools and low levels of supplies. Minor preventive maintenance should be done during the cleaning process. This way problems are identified and fixed when they are small. If these minor problems are not addressed while small, they could lead to equipment failure, unplanned outages or long - unproductive - waits while new supplies are delivered.

Inspection during cleaning should be proactive. For example, lubricant levels and cleanliness should be checked. Filters should be checked and replaced as needed. Drive belts should be inspected. Don’t just clean, but include an inspection checklist as a part of the regular cleaning schedule.

5S Seiton - Neatness Pay Off

Step two in 5S is seiton. This Japanese word means orderliness or neatness. In English the "S" words typically used are "systematize" or "set in order".

The goal of seiton is to organize, arrange and identify everything in a work area, and facility, so that it can be efficiently retrieved, used and returned to its proper place. This includes everything that is used in the work area, including tools, parts, drawings, instruments and documentation.

Locate and design storage areas based on the function of the item being stored. In other words, the objective isn’t just to store everything neatly in random locations, the objective is to store things in a way and location that makes getting the job done easier.

Each item should have a clearly designated storage location. Storage areas, cabinets and shelves should be properly labeled. For example, outline areas on the floor to identify work areas, movement lanes, storage areas, finished product areas, etc. Put shadows on tool boards, making it easy to quickly see where each tool belongs.

5S is also applicable to offices. For example, provide bookshelves for frequently used manuals, books and catalogs. Label the shelves and books so they are easy to identify and return to their proper place.

Once everything has a storage location it is important to set up a system that makes it easy to return each item to its proper place. This is where good labeling and identification practices are important. The items to be stored, as well as their storage locations, need to be clearly identified and labeled.

Labeling, naming and color coding should be standardized throughout your facility. Labels and signs should be clear, and easy-to-read from the normal distance they are viewed. If labels need to be changed regularly, use repositionable, magnetic-backed or static cling label materials.

(Information about label and sign making equipment. )

Analyze how things are used and based on your analysis establish “put-away” rules. Understanding how, and the frequency at which an item is picked up and used, is the basis of the put-away rule for that item. For example, a tool that is used 60 times per shift needs to have a close storage location that is easy to access. Otherwise the tool will not be put away properly and may be difficult to find the next time it is needed.

Make it easy to match an item with it’s storage location with the minimum amount of effort. Also be sure to make each storage location appropriate for the item. For example, delicate instruments may require storage with foam padding. For some tools you may need to provide appropriate temporary storage areas. For example, a gauge that is used frequently during a portion of a process may require a padded area on which it can be laid between uses.

Keep safety and ergonomics in mind. There should not be any sharp edges or points that can result in injury. Minimize the amount of bending and reaching that is required. Don’t store items in locations that might cause someone to reach out and lose their balance.

I’ve been talking about individual work areas, but seiton also applies to your entire facility. Include the proper signs and labels, that can be read from the appropriate distance, throughout your facility. Pipes, values, instruments, conduit, control panels, doorways, equipment, storage areas, and offices should all be clearly marked and identified.

Free online Pipe Marking Tutorial

Seiri - Step One in Five S

The Five S program focuses on establishing visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization. The results you can expect from a Five S program are: improved profitability, efficiency, service and safety.

The first step in a Five S program is seiri. The equivalent English word that starts with the letter “S” is sort. The literal definition of “seiri” is organization. It refers to organizing work areas such that only necessary things are in the work area.

This first step in 5S involves sorting through everything in each work area and keeping only what is necessary. Materials, tools, equipment and supplies that are not frequently used should be moved to a separate, common storage area. Items that are not used should be discarded.

Don't keep things around just because they might be used, someday. If there are obsolete fixtures, molds, jigs, scrap material, waste and other unused items and materials in the work area, get rid of them.

The objective of seiri is to make it easier to find the things you need and to free up additional space in the work area.

During the sorting process you’ll also be cleaning up. This may reveal broken equipment and tools. These should be repaired or replaced as a part of this step in the 5S process. Clean up and repair any oil leaks. Repaint color-coded components, tools and equipment. Clean and paint floors to make it easier to spot dirt, waste materials and dropped parts and tools. Remove old conduit, piping, tubing, mounting brackets and other remnants of equipment and systems that no longer exist.

The end result of step one in 5S is a cleaned up work area that only has the equipment, tools and supplies necessary to get the job done—and everything is in proper working order.

Introduction to 5S

5S is usually the first step in implementing a lean manufacturing program. So what is 5S?

The acronym "5S" comes from the five Japanese words, seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Roughly translated to English, and picking English words that start with the letter "S", these Japanese words mean: Sort, Systematize, Shine, Standardise and Sustain. "5S" is an approach for cleaning up, getting organized and maintaining what has been accomplished. The result is that you’ll have a cleaner, more organized, safer, and more efficient workplace.

We’ll be taking a look at each of the Five S’s, starting with the last one, shitsuke or "sustain". If your 5S program has not been designed to be sustainable from the beginning, you are wasting your time and money going through the first four steps.

A successful implementation of 5S requires three things: commitment, upper management support and performance measurement.

Commitment: A literal translation of the word "shitsuke" would be commitment. Tomo Sugiyama writes in his "The Improvement Book", "’shitsuke’ is a typical teaching and attitude towards any undertaking to inspire pride and adherence to the standards established."

Commitment means that you must be committed to doing all Five S’s, not just three or four of them. You must also be willing to commit the resources necessary to accomplish all Five S’s—which means a commitment of both time and money. In some cases 5S can be implemented with very little expense, in other cases there may be a need for capital improvements to the work areas or facility. You must also be committed to carrying through on the complete Five S program. Getting a 5S program started, and then walking away from it, will not work. Workers will just slide back into the old way of doing things.

Upper Management Support: Without upper management support, the ability to get the funds and time to implement 5S will be limited. Don’t try to implement 5S on a large scale without full senior management support. A possible approach may be to demonstrate to senior management the significant benefits resulting from 5S by starting small. This can be accomplished by implementing 5S and lean manufacturing on a small scale in one facility or for one product line. After the ROI has been demonstrated on a small scale, 5S can be expanded into other areas.

Performance Measurement: Having measurable performance standards allows you to both track the success of your 5S program, and detect problems so they can be fixed before they become serious. If you are not tracking performance, old habits may slowly return and the benefits of 5S will slip away without anyone noticing.

In addition, measurement of performance gives you the hard numbers you’ll need to take to senior management to get their support for an expansion of 5S in to other facilities and product lines.

Let's conclude today's article with a few words about 5S from Hiroyuki Hirano. He is the author of 5S: Five Pillars of the Visual Workplace:

"A company that cannot successfully implement the 5 Ss cannot expect to effectively integrate JIT, re-engineering, or any other large-scale change. Good workplaces develop beginning with the 5S's. Bad workplaces fall apart beginning with the 5 Ss."