Lean Process Control

Quick reference

• 00:05 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:06 Now since your project was a process improvement project,
• 00:11 a likely concern is how do we control the process going forward?
• 00:15 Are there ways that we can help the process be robust and continue to maintain
• 00:21 high performance, even though the business and industry will likely change over time.
• 00:27 >> There's good reason for that concern, and
• 00:29 that is that the world we live in seems to be getting more complicated every day, and
• 00:33 of course, that affects process management.
• 00:36 With a good lean solution, you can increase the likelihood that your process
• 00:41 will be robust enough to survive and thrive.
• 00:43 Let me illustrate that point by comparing the typical operating environment for
• 00:47 most organizations with the environment that the lean process managers face.
• 00:51 While the typical operating environment is complex and messy,
• 00:55 the lean process is simple, straight line flow, and is often under visual control.
• 00:59 The typical environment relies on status reports from managers and lead operators,
• 01:04 some which are late and some are just plain wrong.
• 01:07 The operator reports what they think you want to hear and
• 01:10 not the reality of what is happening.
• 01:12 Whereas the lean report, everything is visual and everything is real time.
• 01:17 The typical environment uses push scheduling with the accompanying waste and
• 01:21 uncertainty.
• 01:22 Lean uses pool scheduling which reduces cycle time and
• 01:25 improves customer satisfaction.
• 01:27 Lean uses just in-time inventory management to reduce the cost but
• 01:31 the typical process environment has to use just in case inventory buffers to hide
• 01:36 problems, again adding cost to the typical environment.
• 01:40 Typical environments use large batch processing for
• 01:43 local efficiencies and total process inefficiency.
• 01:47 Lean uses batch size of 1, or at least the smallest possible, for
• 01:50 faster response time.
• 01:52 One of the impacts is that the typical environment has long lead times to get
• 01:56 things done, but
• 01:57 the lean environment has shortly lead times, sometimes as short as the TAC time.
• 02:02 The typical environment has to rely on inspection and
• 02:05 tests to inspect in quality.
• 02:07 The lean environment is self-inspecting, and
• 02:09 the quality is built in right up front and not tweaked in at the end of the process.
• 02:14 Finally, we get to empowerment.
• 02:16 The typical environment is normally functionally managed and
• 02:19 operators are told what to do.
• 02:20 The lean process environment is often managed by team operators who work within
• 02:25 a value stream, and thanks to visual control, JIT, Kanban, and
• 02:29 work cell design, they're able and willing to manage the process themselves.
• 02:34 Let's look at a few of the tools that are used in a lean process control.
• 02:37 The first one is the performance board.
• 02:40 The performance board is an element of lean visual control approach.
• 02:43 It is located in the work center, and is updated every day or
• 02:47 sometimes every shift.
• 02:48 It usually shows charts or tables with the process goals and the recent performance.
• 02:54 The specific performance board metrics that are tracked will depend upon
• 02:57 the organization's culture and strategy, and the process characteristics.
• 03:01 Some of the more common measurements include quality metrics, safety metrics,
• 03:06 schedule deliveries, and customer satisfaction or customer returns.
• 03:10 Again, the organization will choose what is most relevant for the process.
• 03:14 Just keep in mind you get what you measure.
• 03:17 Through this open visual communication, both operators and
• 03:20 management understand the goals and expectations for the process.
• 03:24 Many organisations will start the day with a quick stand-up meeting to favor any hot
• 03:28 items and set priorities for the day.
• 03:31 When organisations have the Lean Performance Board,
• 03:34 this meeting is usually in front of the board and significant
• 03:37 items in the metric can be noted and updated right there on the board.
• 03:41 One final caution.
• 03:42 There are an infinite number of forms and presentations of the metrics.
• 03:46 Pick one that is easy for you to maintain and is aligned with your process goals.
• 03:50 The key ground rules are simple and visual.
• 03:53 You want understanding not confusion.
• 03:55 In order to get the full benefit of lean process control, that old buzzword
• 04:00 empowerment must really mean something as it applies to the process.
• 04:05 Now, the textbook definition of empowerment is the management practice of
• 04:09 sharing information, authority, and
• 04:11 rewards with employees within a work center.
• 04:13 Empowerment for us means that the operators and associates are confident to
• 04:17 take initiative to ensure that the process meets or exceeds its goals.
• 04:22 Primary reason they have is competence and empowerment, is a simple straightforward
• 04:27 description of the process, and a visual control process helps operators and
• 04:31 associates understand what is desired and how close we are to achieving those goals.
• 04:36 Knowledge is power, they are further empowered if some of the Six Sigma control
• 04:41 methodologies are being used, because they will have the confidence to know if what
• 04:45 they are doing is giving beneficial results, and if not, they know what to do.
• 04:50 Again, knowledge is power.
• 04:53 The last topic in this area is Kaizen.
• 04:56 Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement.
• 04:59 It relies on the Shewhart Cycle of plan, do, check, act.
• 05:02 In most organizations, a Kaizen is an event.
• 05:05 It is a short focused improvement event or project.
• 05:09 Normally, it will be with a cross-functional team of subject matter
• 05:13 experts from the area that is the focus for the Kaizen.
• 05:16 Those experts operate as a team for the duration of the event.
• 05:20 Some organizations have rigid agenda and
• 05:22 tools for conducting these, and some do them in a very freewheeling fashion.
• 05:27 In my experience, the tools and agenda are not nearly as important as the focus and
• 05:32 empowerment of the team.
• 05:33 Their goal is to get something done that improves the performance and
• 05:37 the direction of the goal.
• 05:39 These meetings are action oriented, get it done now!
• 05:43 Don't let perfection stand in the way of making things better.
• 05:46 Of course, that is one of the reasons for cross-functional subject matter experts.
• 05:51 They know what can be done and how to do it well.
• 05:54 From my experience, and I've been involved in dozens and
• 05:58 dozens of these, both as a team member and facilitator,
• 06:02 the team has to come out of these sessions with clear actions of things they can do,
• 06:07 and there is follow up then to ensure that it is done.
• 06:10 >> Lean process control relies on empowerment and
• 06:13 transparent sharing of process information.
• 06:16 And this is possible,
• 06:18 thanks to the simplification that came from creating a lean process.

Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.