Kaizen Training

To fully implement a successful lean management system in a particular work place, there are four vital steps must be followed. The first step is to design a simple and customized lean manufacturing system. The basic principle of lean system is to achieve demand base manufacturing flow. Here, the inventory is specifically done for each production section when there is need to fulfill the client’s order. This has the benefit of decreasing cycle time, reducing inventory, increasing productivity and increasing the utilization of capital equipment.

The next step is to bear in mind that, there is always a room for improvement. This is important in that the creator, or designer of the lean management system understands that there is no need to struggle creating the what should be perceived as the final system; changes will be made on the way to make it perfect according to the conditions on the ground. So lean management is a continuous venture that strives to eliminate waste and co-incidental production by only indulging on value adding products; products that the customer is willing to pay for.

Another step in the implementation of the lean management system is having a continuous improvement mind-frame so as to achieve the company’s objectives. What this means is that there is increased efficiency in production, value adding processes and services, and at the same time reducing wastage in time, material and end product delivery. The main objective of continuous improvement is improving customer support and, workplace and product performance.

To gauge the success of the lean management system implemented, there must be parameters that help to decide on the level of success. This forms the last step lean management implementation. The developers of a specific system must come up with a set of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) metrics lest the success will not be recognized.

Jidoka is a Japanese term which means intelligent or humanized automation. It is widely used in Lean Manufacturing and Toyota Production System.

Practically it means that an automated system process is fully aware of itself and it will know when to stop. This concept is used to minimize waste, defects and over production.
Automation is used to reduce defects that are neglected by human eye and to relieve the workers. These defects can be product related defects or process related defects.

- Product related defects: Sometimes even after packaging, product can break. This can’t be noticed by human eye but by applying an automation system one can find out and reduce these wastes.

- Process related defects: Any defect in the process can increase time of realizing, sorting and fixing the problem by a worker. Automation helps to reduce this time as the machine itself will realize any fault in the process and automatically stop it. Therefore, all the worker has to do is to fix the problem and the machine will start working again.

Workers may be able to detect many defects but it is impossible for them to detect all of them. It can be very time consuming and resource wasting. Ensuring that every process is free of defects can be very exhausting for the workers and this can affect the company badly as it can stop daily activities. Therefore it is a requirement for the companies to have a system that can work on its own self and detect defects without any manual help.

Jidoka is very useful for implementing in any company. Some of its advantages are:
- Helps in problem detection at any stage.

- Helps in production of defect free products.

- Provides effective utilization of resources and manpower.

- Helps in lowering costs

- Increases product quality

- Provides shorter product delivery time.

What are benefits of Lean Consulting?

Lean Consulting is very beneficial to any business because of its multi-faceted approach. The process can be applied to all sectors and disciplines from engineering to the medical fields. It helps people optimize their skills, talents, time, and effort.

Lean Manufacturing is a process that improves the value of services for the benefit of the consumer or end-user customer. It is aimed at reducing or eliminating waste and optimizing proper utilization of resources.

Typical expected outcomes of consultation are:

● On-time product delivery more than 97%

● Lead time reduced by half

● Cost reduction of inventory by half

● Throughput improvement of about 30%

Different Aspects of Lean Consultation

Lean Practices are focused on the identified common wastes during the different business processes.

Productivity and Production Cost

Lean manufacturing focuses on proper production. It prevents overproduction which may cost the company a lot of money. When overproduction is prevented, wastes are lessened.

Time
Organization and management of time is also an essential element of the process because it minimizes the idle and wait time of people.

Inventory

Proper inventory control should be managed to prevent excess in supply which could become unused or unsold.

Floor Space

Adequate amount of space should be given to ensure movement of people and products. This ensures the value of the product and service.

Quality
Control of the quality of the product should be enhanced to reduce defects that may affect the value of the product or service.

Transportation
Different modes of transportation needed by the business should always be available to ensure the proper movement of the product and lessen time wasted.

Human Skills

People’s knowledge, talents, time and efforts, should be translated into desirable outcomes. People should be transformed to optimize their unique skills and abilities.

Lean Consulting helps companies to improve their products or services and their profits by educating them about the Lean Method. It can improve the performance of any type operation.