Time, in this posting, to begin closing the loop I began with the “What is Lean” posting. Over the next several postings, I intend to help you sort through Lean Manufacturing Techniques, and how they can apply to your business.
Lean Manufacturing seems on the surface like another business fad that gets lots of press and bluster, but realistically does nothing useful. (Can you say, “ISO 9000”?) But if you can cut through the jargon and dig out the good ideas, getting Lean can help you substantially.
I will NOT be trying to teach you terms like Kanban, and Six Sigma. The last thing you need is to try and learn a new language. I WILL try and help you find the gems contained within the jargon and use them to improve your business.
One last point before I begin: I’m very sure that there will be some folks who will condem the idea that you can take only what you want from Lean Manufacturing. Those deeply involved in the process are used to working with larger manufacturers making lots of very similar items. As a custom cabinet shop, each cabinet is an individual unit, and no two cabinets, let alone two kitchens are quite the same. You simply cannot impose a rigid control system on top of such a flexible manufacturing model. So we will go on, and decide what we want to take, and what we want to leave behind.
The first task in Lean Manufacturing is to realistically clean up each work area, sort through the tools and equipment used at that station, and organize the area and storage. Think for a few minutes how much time is lost each day trying to find tools, hardware, and parts. Work stations need to be clean and organized, and basic, regularly used tools must be close at hand to keep production moving along.
You need to extend this organization to the machines too. Each machine area is a workstation too. Any tools, lubricants or whatever needed to adjust, maintain or otherwise use the equipment must be close at hand. Take a look at your edgebander. Are the tools needed to tune and adjust it nearby? Do you have rolls of tape stacked and unraveling all over getting dirty and damaged? Are there convenient racks to hold the solid wood strips and the different glues? We have already discussed how much proper maintenance and tuning can improve your business. The tools necessary to quickly and efficiently keep the machine tuned and maintained must be close at hand and organized or operators will tend to skip or shortchange the schedule.
All this cleaning and organizing can be a VERY daunting challenge when you look out over the entire shop floor, but it really must be done. Start with one station at a time, and work your way through the shop place by place. Work with an incentive plan to keep the plan going. Each week, you can reward the crew from the cleanest station, or most improved or whatever. A public presentation of $10.00 per person, or a gift card or whatever, can reinforce the lessons. And as workers find how nice it is to work in a clean environment, with well tuned equipment, they should keep up the stations voluntarily, as well as pressure the slobs (like me!) to do their part.
In closing, I will ask a favor of you, my readers. I know how many folks are reading this on any given day, but I do not know if my readers are totally random, or if some are coming back to see where this blog is going next. Please feel free to comment on these postings, good or bad. Let me know if you are using the RSS feed, and I would be very grateful if you would drop me a quick line and let me know that you have come by and what you think. I promise not to use your e-mail address in any way unless you want me to let you know when new postings are made. I can be reached at: rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com
