Lean Process Control

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:06 Now since your project was a process improvement project,
• 00:10 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
• 00:19 high performance even though the business and industry will likely change over time?
• 00:25 There is good reason for that concern.
• 00:28 And that is that the world we live in seems to be getting more complicated
• 00:32 everyday and of course, that affects process management.
• 00:35 With the lean solution, you can increase the likelihood that your process
• 00:39 will be robust enough to survive and thrive.
• 00:43 Let me illustrate that point by comparing the typical operating environment for
• 00:46 most organizations, with the environment that the lean process managers face.
• 00:51 While the typical operating environment is complex and messy,
• 00:54 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
• 01:03 lead operators, some of which are late and some are just plain wrong.
• 01:07 The operator reports what they think you wanna 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
• 01:19 with the accompanying ways to non-certainty.
• 01:21 Lean uses pull scheduling which reduces the cycle time and
• 01:25 improves customer satisfaction.
• 01:26 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
• 01:36 to hide problems, again adding cost to the typical environment.
• 01:40 Typical environments used large batch processing for
• 01:43 local efficiencies and total process and efficiency.
• 01:46 Lean uses batch size of one, or at least as small as possible, for
• 01:50 faster response time.
• 01:52 One of the impacts is that the typical environment has long
• 01:55 lead times to get things done.
• 01:56 But the lean environment has short lead times,
• 01:59 sometimes as short as the tack time.
• 02:02 The typical environment has to rely on inspection and
• 02:04 tests to inspect in quality.
• 02:06 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.
• 02:13 Finally, we get to empowerment.
• 02:15 The typical environment is normally functionally managed and
• 02:18 operators are told what to do.
• 02:20 The lean process environment is often managed by team operators
• 02:23 who work within a value stream.
• 02:25 And thanks to visual control, JIT, Kanban and work cell design, they're able and
• 02:30 willing to manage the process themselves.
• 02:33 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.
• 02:39 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,
• 02:46 or sometimes every shift.
• 02:48 It usually shows charts or tables with the process goals and the recent performance.
• 02:53 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,
• 03:05 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.
• 03:16 Through this open visual communication, both operators and
• 03:20 management understand the goals and expectations for the process.
• 03:24 Many organizations will start the day with a quick stand-up meeting
• 03:27 to cover any hot items and set priorities have for the day.
• 03:30 When organizations have the lean performance board, this meeting is usually
• 03:34 in front of the board and significant items in the metric can be noted and
• 03:38 updated right there on the board.
• 03:41 One final caution, there are infinite number of forms and
• 03:44 presentations of the metrics, pick one that is easy for you to maintain and
• 03:48 is aligned with your process goals.
• 03:50 The key ground rules are simple and visual.
• 03:53 You want understanding, not confusion.
• 03:56 In order to get the full benefit of lean process control, that old
• 03:59 buzzword empowerment, must really mean something as it applies to the process.
• 04:04 Now the textbook definition of empowerment is the management practice of sharing
• 04:08 information, authority and 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 insure that the process meets or exceeds its goals.
• 04:21 Primary reason they have this confidence and empowerment is the simple,
• 04:25 straightforward description of the process.
• 04:28 And a visual control process helps operators and
• 04:30 associates understand what is desired and how close we are to achieving those goals.
• 04:36 Knowledge is power.
• 04:37 They're further empowered if some of the six sigma control methodologies are being
• 04:41 used, because they will have the confidence
• 04:44 to know if what they're doing is giving beneficial results.
• 04:48 And if not, they know what to do.
• 04:50 Again, knowledge is power.
• 04:52 The last topic in this area is Kaizen.
• 04:55 Kaizen is the japanese word for continuous improvement.
• 04:58 It relies on shoe heart cycle of plan, do, check, act.
• 05:02 In most organisations a Kaizen is an event.
• 05:05 It's a short, focused improvement event or project.
• 05:09 Normally it will be with a cross-functional team of subject matter
• 05:12 experts from the area that is the focus for the Kaizen.
• 05:15 Those experts operate as a team for the duration of the event.
• 05:19 Some organizations have rigid agenda and tools for conducting these and
• 05:24 some do them at a very free willing fashion.
• 05:27 In my experience, the tools and agenda are not nearly as important as the focus and
• 05:31 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.
• 05:38 These meetings are action-oriented.
• 05:41 Get it done now.
• 05:42 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.
• 05:50 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 dozens of these,
• 05:58 both as a team member and facilitator.
• 06:00 The team has to come out of these sessions with clear actions of things they can do
• 06:05 and there is follow-up then to ensure that it is done.
• 06:09 Lean process control relies on empowerment and
• 06:13 transparent sharing of process information.
• 06:16 And this is possible thanks to the simplification
• 06:19 that came from creating a lean process.

Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.