The Principles and Practices of Lean Manufacturing training was led by R. Curtis & Associates to a room of Grassi & Co. professionals who specialize in the M&D industry. M&D Practice Leader Robert Grote is a firm believer in keeping his team educated on lean practices as they have become increasingly important for the future sucess of manufacturing plants.
What is lean? Lean production focuses on eliminating waste in processes. It is not about eliminating people but about expanding capacity by reducing costs and shortening cycle times between order and ship dates and understanding what is important to the customer.
Manufacturing facilities often have an abundance of waste which slows down processes and drives up costs. Types of waste in a plant can include overproduction, excess inventory, defects, non-value added processing, waiting, underutilized people, excess motion and transportation. Administrative wastes cannot be overlooked, however. Administrative waste can include disorganization, communication barriers, poor hands-offs, useless information and discarded knowledge.By acknowledging these waste factors and dedicating resources to keeping your facility organized, clients can save valuable time and money and help get their products to market more expeditiously.
When organizing a manufacturing plant, it is important for owners to employ the 5 Ss: Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize and Sustain.
An exercise to help demonstrate various factors of fulfilling a shipment of toy cars—from start to inspection, to shipment—was performed in teams. Participants soon realized the importance of processes and proper inspection of a product.
There are many more factors and items of importance when beginning the process of turning your facility lean. To obtain more informaiton, contact Robert Grote directly at rgrote@grassiadvisors.com.