Lean Manufacturing Training

Unit 1 Lean Concepts

Lesson 1 | Why Lean?

• Be customer focused: Be on-time, responsive, flexible, and fast.
• Simplify and standardize workflows: Mimic continuous flow, minimize WIP, use visible measures.
• Manage capacity: Increase process uptime, reduce set-up times, find “lost” capacity.
• Eliminate waste: Identify non-value adding activities, then modify, combine, or eliminate those tasks.
• JiT: Not too early and never late; not just-in-case inventory but just-in-time production and delivery; products must always be made right the first time; equipment must always work when needed.

Lesson 2 | Lean Terminology

• Terms
• Tools
• Techniques

Lesson 3 | Eliminate Waste

• Match lot sizes to customer demands: Use kanbans; end WIP.
• Use pull scheduling instead of push scheduling.
• Schedule to the rate-determining step (the bottleneck), then de-bottleneck process lines.
• Facilitate fast feedback: Arrange sequential operations next to each other to ensure fast feedback from internal customer operations to internal supplier operations if something in-process is not right.

Lesson 4 | Components of Lean

• Overview of the 8 Components of Lean: Value Stream Mapping, Workplace Organization, Predictability and Consistency, Set-up Reduction, TPM, Visual Factory, Support Processes, and Continuous Improvement.

Lesson 5 | Value Stream Analysis

• Map the process from incoming order to outgoing product: Define process goals, create the current state map, and establish process metrics.
• Use the current state map to identify potential improvements, conceive the future state.

Lesson 6 | The Lean Mindset

• Eliminating waste is not limited to manufacturing; the same techniques apply to the office, sales, finance, maintenance, and even RandD processes and procedures.
• Lean and Six Sigma are complementary.

Unit 1 Challenge

• An assessment of the learner’s progress in this unit.

Unit 2 Lean Practices

Lesson 1 | Streamlining the Value Stream

• Identify process goals.
• Collect and analyze process data.
• Create a macro-facility workflow to determine how to minimize high volume travel distances.
• Conduct a micro-process workflow to apply cellular concepts, identify and remove bottlenecks, and move to pull manufacturing with kanbans.

Lesson 2 | Workplace Organization

• Apply the 5Ss: Sort (clearing the work area), Set in Order (designating locations), Shine (cleanliness and workplace appearance), Standardize (everyone doing things the same way), and Sustain (ingraining it in the culture).

Lesson 3 | Predictability and Consistency

• Use DFA/DFM to design quality in.
• Conduct GRandRs to ensure reliable measurement systems are in place.
• Employ SPC to help ensure processes are predictable and stable.
• Reduce variation and improve process capability with DOE.
• Eliminate the root cause of defects using problem-solving and mistake-proofing.
• Move to Six Sigma quality.

Lesson 4 | Set-Up Reduction

• Apply SMED concepts.
• Separate external tasks (external to the process) from internal tasks.

Lesson 5 | TPM

• TPM versus PM
• Develop operator involvement in the equipment and begin predictive maintenance practices.

Lesson 6 | Visual Workplace

• Visual Workplace
• Use status display of performance for dashboard or balanced measures and COQ results.
• Visual controls, such as sensory alerts, indicate if something is out of place.
• Marking on the floor, kanbans, andons, and panel-alarms all help build a visual control infrastructure.

Lesson 7 | Support Processes

• Lean techniques require changes in Purchasing, Scheduling, Warehousing/Shipping, and Accounting practices.

Lesson 8 | Continuous Improvement

• Fight NIH (not-invented-here) attitudes and leverage successes.
• Use kaizen events for rapid, targeted improvements to achieve the future state.
• Use a standardized Problem-Solving Model (e.g. DMAIC or 8D).
• Begin an employee idea system.

Unit 2 Challenge

• An assessment of the learner’s progress in this unit.

Unit 3 Implementing Lean

Lesson 1 | Lean Starts with People

• Lean Starts with People
• Communicate the why, what, how, and who.
• Provide education in the concepts.
• Train employees in tools and techniques as needed to achieve a flexible workforce.

Lesson 2 | Data Drives Lean

• Focus efforts on projects that lead to tangible savings.
• Calculation techniques to generate data include: Time studies, equipment loading, TAKT time, staffing requirements, process yields, and COQ.
• Sample Worksheets covered include: Lean Project Summary; Cell Target Worksheet; Data Collection Form for Basic Equipment and Utility Parameters; Value-Adding Analysis Worksheet; Process Change-Over/Setup Worksheet; Set-Up Reduction Worksheet; and Lot Size Worksheet.

Lesson 3 | Layout Options

• Improved layouts are about moving cubic feet (not numbers of items), eliminating crossover points, arranging the process in the natural flow order; linking processes to minimize time and distance; moving equipment together to simulate a continuous process flow; and putting internal customers and suppliers next to each other.
• Be careful to identify anchors or monuments; do not move them.
• Typical layout options are explored.

Lesson 4 | Lean Inventory Practices

• Minimize trips to and from the warehouse by designing the warehouse to work for you.
• Use ABC inventory categories to prioritize inventory needs and storage locations.

Lesson 5 | Roadmap for Lean

• Start with the people issues.
• Focus on workplace organization (the 5S’s), then, use value stream analysis and process workflow analysis to establish effective layouts.
• Where to focus next depends on specific needs.
• Use targeted Kaizen events to speed changes.
• Do not overlook the need to modify support processes (especially scheduling and purchasing).

Lesson 6 | Lean Pitfalls

• Not documenting the financial impact/savings.
• Lack of commitment from leadership.
• Using traditional purchasing practices.
• Not changing scheduling techniques.
• Failure to address workforce issues.
• Not mistake-proofing the root cause.
• Thinking Lean is just for manufacturing.
• Not using beneficial technology.
• Not leveraging successes.
• Getting too lean.
• Failure to hold the gains.

Unit 3 Challenge

• An assessment of the learner’s progress in this unit.