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Week #4 Discussion

There are seven strategies to reduce lead time in production: reducing production, wait, lot, and transportation times; managing processes to absorb deviations; and reducing changeover times. Short lead times allow companies to respond quickly to demand changes and minimize inventory. An effective leader with a clear plan is needed to successfully implement lean culture through problem solving and employee empowerment. Jidoka, or built-in quality, utilizes intelligent machines that self-regulate and separate workers from machines to prevent defects and enable continuous improvement.

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47 views

Week #4 Discussion

There are seven strategies to reduce lead time in production: reducing production, wait, lot, and transportation times; managing processes to absorb deviations; and reducing changeover times. Short lead times allow companies to respond quickly to demand changes and minimize inventory. An effective leader with a clear plan is needed to successfully implement lean culture through problem solving and employee empowerment. Jidoka, or built-in quality, utilizes intelligent machines that self-regulate and separate workers from machines to prevent defects and enable continuous improvement.

Uploaded by

saturnel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1) LEAD TIME - The elapsed time it takes, from start to end, to produce a product.

There are two critical types of lead time:

First Piece Lead Time The time it takes for the first piece to finish and be
ready for packaging

Shipment Lead Time The time it takes to complete the entire shipment.

There are seven strategies to reduce lead time:

Reducing Production Time - This consists of eliminating unnecessary


processing steps, reducing defects and eliminating necessary but non value
added steps.
Reducing Piece Wait time - The first type of waiting times is often caused by a
delay in a preceding process making the subsequent process wait. The second is
often caused by a delay in a subsequent process making the preceding process
wait. This is a result of unbalanced production between processes .Piece wait
time is reduced by balancing so the flow is synchronized.
Reducing Lot Wait Time This is the time that a piece, within a lot, is waiting
to be processed. In processes such as casting, forging, and stamping that use lot
production (also called batch production), lot size must be reduced to shorten
wait time. It is very simple logic that reduction of the lot size leads to shortening
of wait time. When lot wait time is reduced first piece wait time is also reduced.
Reducing Process Delays The time an entire lot is waiting to be processed,
often called queue time. To eliminate this problem, production quantities and
processing capacity must be levelled. The flow in the plant must be also
synchronized.
Managing the Process to Absorb Deviations and Solve Problems
Variations in the system such as equipment failures and quality problems cause
inventories to rise. In order to solve these types of variations the process must be
transparent. Transparency means that the defect will be put out for everyone to
see. Instead of facilitating hiding behaviors, the defect should be put out there
(transparent) so all employees can seek solutions and pursue a future state of
perfection
Reducing Transportation Delays- Improvement of transportation delays can be
achieved in two ways: layout of machines and adoption of quick transportation
means. The layout of different kinds of machines should be in accordance with
the flow of processes instead of by machine type. Common or similar processes
for various kinds of products should be grouped together. Next, quick means of
transportation such as a belt conveyor, chute, or forklift should be used to
connect the processes.
Changeover Times- When several different products are made on the same
machine a changeover on the machine is required any time there is a change in
product. Change over times can be reduced by using the technique of SMED
(Single Minute of Exchange of Die). This is a method by which equipment can be
changed from one product to the next in the most effective way, and in the
shortest possible time. Single Minute Exchange of Die is an objective whereby all
changeovers are completed in a single number of minutes usually less than 10
minutes.

2) BENEFITS OF SHORT LEAD TIME

A company can achieve job-order oriented production that requires only a short
period to deliver a particular product to the customer.
The company can adapt very quickly to changes in demand in the middle of the
month, so the inventory of finished products maintained can be minimized.
Work-in-process inventory can be significantly decreased by minimizing
unbalanced production timing among the various processes and also by reducing
the lot size.
When a model change is introduced, the amount of dead stock on hand is
minimal.
Deming Juran and Crosby would be in favour of short lead times since it reduces
costs and improves value for the customer by delivering products quicker.
3) An effective leader is necessary if a company is to be successful in achieving a lean
culture. All leaders must possess common characteristics and skills.

Leaders must have a plan before they undertake a lean transformation, if they
dont the effort to have a lean culture will fail. If the transformation to lean is a
failure it will be difficult to begin again and employees will become
demoralized.
The leader must be able to articulate the plan so people can understand it and
buy into it. They must make the lean initiative come alive for those involved.
They must also be competent and be able to handle questions and problems
quickly.
The leader must also be willing to act on the plan. The leader must be willing
to deal with problems, obstacles and resistance and make difficult decisions to
maintain the course toward a lean culture.

In order for a lean initiative to succeed there must be motivation to change. Survival
of the plant is usually the most significant motivator. Either the plant is performing
poorly or the plants customer dictates that the plant must change to lean or lose
business. If the lean initiate is just a directive from a corporate head office the
transformation will be slow or fail. There will always be resistance to change and
unless there is a significant motivator the initiative may fail.
In order to initiate a lean culture all employees must be empowered to identify and
solve problems. There must be a process in place by which people can identify and
then solve problems. The process must define who is responsible for identifying
problems, what must be done to contain the problem and what process must be
followed for solving the problem and creating countermeasures. Solving problems
should be looked at as an opportunity for improvement and advancing the lean
initiative rather than assigning blame. A small dedicated group of problem solvers
must also be available to solve more complex problems.

4) Jidoka (Build in Quality)


There are two parts to Jidoka
1) The first part is to utilize machines that can self regulate quality and make
intelligent decisions to shutdown production in the event of a defect or other
problem.
2) The second part is the separation of man from machine. If the machines are
intelligent there is no need for people to stand and watch so they can be used
for more value added activities
Jidoka is used to prevent defects from advancing in the production system. Jidoka is
also a continuous improvement tool. Both of these are necessary to implement a
lean system. Jidoka is about quality at source, or built in quality; no company can
survive without excellent quality of product and service and jidoka is the route
through which this is achieved.

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