A Critical Thinking Lean Improvement Approach
Determine improvement opportunities
Understand company growth and profit goals, and strategic directions. These must be
supported.
Understand customer needs, wants desires, demands, requirements, complaints, and
expectations. Utilize:
• Kano Model
• Order qualifiers versus order winners
• QFD
• Surveys
• Problem reports
• Salesmen reports
Obtain and maintain competitor information
• Products
• Technologies used
• Price, quality, delivery, service
• Customer satisfying features, etc.
Identify company processes
Level 1 (Non strategic processes) Use:
• Brown paper diagrams
• Block diagrams
• Cross-functional maps, etc
Level 2 (Strategic processes) Use:
• Process flow diagrams
• Value stream mapping
Collect process data
Quantities, lead times, throughput rates, distances, costs, space, quality issues, process
information requirements, etc.
Ask a multitude of critical thinking performance questions of the process owners
• Use 5W+1H (5 whys plus a how) when analyzing activities
Analyze process data
Identify improvement opportunities
Place in declining order of benefits
Ask more critical thinking questions – Use the 5W+1H
Develop Pareto chart showing improvement opportunities for presentations to employees
Select desired improvements
Long process lead times reductions
• Equipment set-up time reduction suggestions
• Use of right sized equipment.
• Lot sizes reduced, ideally to one
• Introduce load and line balancing
• Improve material availability - right material at right place at right time
• Operations information available in real time - current, complete and accurate
• Utilize parts presentation
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• Implement pull systems and Kanban approaches
• Secondary benefits may also result such as cost reductions and quality improvements
Material and product travel distances reduction
• Introduce cellular approach and work areas efficiency layout changes
• Use smaller lots of WIP
Process variability reduction areas. Utilize Six Sigma techniques
• Equipment
• Tooling
• Material
• Equipment set up
• Labor
• Training
• Procedures
• Standards
Manufacturing errors reduction
• Introduce standard procedures
• Introduce Polka Yoke devices
• Introduce Jidoka (autonomation)
Provide current, complete and accurate operations data
• Schedule and production status information - planned versus actual
• Use visual Andon control boards for production progress and status
Assure timely delivery of needed raw materials to work stations
Introduce appropriate employee training and education
Investigate efficiency improvements in product design, such as use of DFMA
• Introduce value engineering
• Consider benefits of flattened a bill of material, etc.
Investigate efficiency improvements in process design (IPPD)
Improve housekeeping by introducing the 5Ss or 6Ss
Introduce needed cultural changes oriented towards personal responsibility in daily efforts
Assure timely and complete support from other departments
Improve schedule stability (minimize schedule changes)
• Includes customer order schedules
Introduce total productive maintenance (TPM)
Introduce Six Sigma Quality improvement methods for reduction of process variability's
Develop process performance metrics and share with employees
Analyze performance of company's supply chains and improve where necessary
Stabilize receipt of customer orders
Implement selected approaches to process improvements starting with the most beneficial ones
Measure performance of strategic processes periodically, present them to employees, and adjust
performance as necessary for continuous improvement
Update the list of process improvements on a continuous improvement basis
Repeat this entire process periodically. Customer and competitor surveillance should be performed
continuously.
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