In our last post, I said we’d look at a few more VSM’s and talk about the data on them by way of analysis.
Here’s a quick one.
Category Archives: Methods and Tools
How to Implement Lean Manufacturing: Simplify and Solve – Value Stream Mapping and Team Problem Solving: Part 7
Six months ago (yikes!) we were talking about how to develop and use Value Stream Maps. We had gotten to the point where we had put together a pretty good “Current State” map that included performance data. We said we’d look, in more detail, at the map and the data we had put together before we went on to creating a “Future State” map. And here we are…a mere SIX MONTHS LATER! So, let’s get going.
“What is 5S?” Video
Here’s my most recent YouTube video, “What Is 5S?” Yeah, it’s kind of DIY (I used a free screen cast software called “Screen-Cast-O-Matic”, which does a good job of very basic…very basic…screen cast capture, editing, and uploading to YouTube), but the basic message is good. I’ve come across a V8 powered screencast and video editing software that should up my game so look for future videos coming to your theater soon.
While you’re there, check out my other two videos by searching on Chagrin River Consulting. And, hey, subscribe to my YouTube Channel, why don’t ya?
Error Proofing
I haven’t written much about error proofing in my several years of blogging about lean manufacturing. When I teach, I don’t go into error proofing much. The primary reason is that error proofing is (to my way of thinking, at any rate) very specific to a particular task, activity, or process. When I’ve looked at literature about error proofing, specific examples relevant to specific equipment or tasks are given. I always find myself thinking, “That’s great…if one has that type of equipment or is carrying out that particular task.”
Teams Should Conduct Their Own 5S Audits: Part Two
In our last post, we talked a bit about 5S audits and argued that teams of operators should self-audit their own areas rather than having “external” audits conducted. In this post, we’ll go over the process for teaching teams how to audit themselves. I’ve also provided a download of the form I use for all this.
Teams Should Conduct Their Own 5S Audits: Part One
We all know that an important part of sustaining 5S is auditing or assessing the status of 5S at any given point in 
time. The internet is full of 5S audit forms. In many cases, audits are carried out by “outsiders”…folks from outside the department that’s being audited. It’s kind of like being back at school where we turned our test in and got back a grade. If the grade was good, we were relieved. If the grade was bad, we huffed indignantly, sure that the teacher had it in for us. 5S audits shouldn’t be like that.
New Industry Week Article
I just got another article posted on Industry Week’s website. Here it is:
Your Employees Can and Should Build a Business Case for New Ideas
Hope you like it.
What Lean Is For
OK, first I want you to watch ten seconds of this video.
New Video from FastCap
One of my favorite lean videos was produced and put on YouTube a couple of years ago by a company in Washington state, FastCap. The video is about 14 minutes long and it’s a tour of the FastCap plant, conducted by the President. It’s the best portrayal of workplace organization and visual factory that I’ve come across.
How to Implement Lean Manufacturing: Simplify and Solve – Value Stream Mapping and Team Problem Solving: Part 6
So, at this point, you have a pretty good value stream map of your current state. I doubt if it looks as neat as the one I included in my last post. In fact, it probably looks more like this:
Example Value Stream Map (Sorry it’s a link instead of an actual diagram. It’s a PDF, as you’ll see, and this is the only way I could include it.)
You’ll see the addition of the Tool Room and Purchasing, lots of places that material sits, lots of people who need to see the Production Schedule, and a “contingency routing” which was used when the equipment in the “preferred routing” was down. (You’ll also see a Future State VSM but don’t pay any attention to that for now.) That’s how these things go…they can get messy. This VSM team met twice a week for about six weeks to get just the current state map completed. Again, that’s how these things go.