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Fatten Up the Bottom
Line with Lean |
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by
Ray Mikulak |
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 Lean
is a philosophy of eliminating non-value-adding operations,
equipment, and resources. Anything that does not add value
is waste. The Lean Mantra is “Produce the right products and
provide the right services at the required time in the
required quantities with consistency and predictability.”
With the elimination of waste, customer satisfaction soars
and the bottom line grows.
Waste can be
considered as any activity or resource in an organization
that does not add value to an external customer. Lean
organizations use the 8 components of lean (Streamline the
Value Stream, the 5S’s, Predictability & Consistency, Set-Up
Reduction, Total Productive Maintenance, Visual Workplace,
Lean Support Processes, and Continuous Improvement to rid
processes of the 7 wastes (waiting, transportation,
processing itself, motion, poor “quality,” inventory, and
overproduction).
Ray Mikulak
is president of Resource Engineering, Inc. You can
contact him at 800-810-8326 or 802-496-5888 or by e-mail. |
| Lean Pitfalls
- Where Organizations Go Wrong? |
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Not
documenting the financial impact/savings.
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Lack of
commitment from leadership.
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Not
changing scheduling techniques.
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Using
traditional purchasing practices.
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Failure
to address workforce issues.
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Not
really mistake-proofing the root cause.
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Thinking
lean is just for manufacturing processes.
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Not
using beneficial technology.
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Not
leveraging successes.
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Permitting an NIH mindset to exist.
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Getting
too lean.
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Failing
to hold the gains.
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Product
Focus from Carolyn Burke
Lean
Manufacturing Web- and Computer-Based Training |
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 Many
aspects of lean are counterintuitive to traditional
manufacturing thinking and practices. It is vital
that organizations adopting a lean approach
understand the scope, the many elements, and the
potential pitfalls of lean. This Lean Manufacturing
CBT program is designed to help your organization
understand the scope of a lean effort, provide
valuable insight into lean practices and techniques,
and suggest planning tips for an implementation
roadmap.
The Lean Manufacturing course consists of three
units: Lean Concepts, Lean Practices, and
Implementing Lean. Each unit contains lessons to
divide the content into manageable learning
segments. At the end of each unit, learners have
access to a Challenge to test their comprehension of
the body of knowledge covered in the unit.
Want to try out a free Lean Manufacturing training
lesson? Click
here.
Carolyn
Burke is Sr. Customer Service Representative.
She can be reached toll free directly at
866-791-1003 or by e-mail. |
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What's New?
Check out our new
Lean Manufacturing Resource Center. It's
FREE and has lots of helpful
information, forms, and tips for implementing and sustaining a
successful Lean Manufacturing initiative.
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Quality
Quandary |
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Lean or Six Sigma? |
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Lean and Six
Sigma are complementary philosophies. The difference in Lean
and Six Sigma lie primarily in the focus. The elimination of
waste with Lean is fairly similar to the reduction of
variation in Six Sigma. However, Lean’s focus on improving
workflows is perhaps the main differentiator. By focusing on
the workflows, lean efforts ensure that non-value-adding
aspects are removed from the value stream.
Lean efforts
help make sure that we are doing the right things. Six Sigma
initiatives help make sure we are doing the right things
right.
Click
here to go to our Lean Resource Center to find out which
approach we think is best for your company - what we have to
say might surprise you. |
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Robin's Training Tip
Tips to Assure You
Complete Your Training |
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 Flexibility,
convenience, self-direction, cost-effectiveness - these are
just some of the advantages of web- and computer-based
training over traditional classroom training. But,
with all of the benefits, comes one big challenge - staying
motivated to complete the training. It's not that the
training isn't important or interesting, but unlike
classroom training that is fairly passive learning (all you
have to do is show up and typically it is up to the trainer
to take it from there) web-based training takes discipline
and personal motivation. So, how to you "motivate"
yourself to start, take, and complete web-based training?
1. Figure
out how long the training takes and how much time you have
to complete it and use that as the basis of your schedule.
(Click
here for estimated hours for each of our courses.)
2. Set
aside at least 20 minutes per training session - anything
less than that doesn't give you enough time to get into the
training flow. Don't plan on spending more than 45 to
60 minutes per session.
3. Try to
create a quiet learning environment that allows you to focus
on the training. It might be best to schedule the
training for early in the morning or late in the day when
there are less distractions, phone calls, e-mails, etc.
4. Move
through the training based on your learning needs and prior
knowledge. If you already know the material, but just
need a refresher, you can move through the training more
quickly. That is the beauty of WBT - you go through it
at your pace, not the pace of the instructor.
Robin McDermott
is director of training for Resource Engineering, Inc.
You can contact her at 800-810-8326 or 802-496-5888 or by
e-mail. |
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