Design, Modeling and Analytics
Lean is a strategy to enable profitable growth by focusing on reducing the lead time from the customer's order to payment. While the focus is on lead time reduction, the method is to identify and eliminate every non-value adding activity.
Every lean initiative begins with a thorough understanding of the current state - not just conceptually but quantitatively. Value stream mapping captures the conceptual flow of value creation and to identify the obstacles to flow and the sources of waste. Once the current state value stream map is prepared, a future state value stream can be designed to incorporate the seven key principles of lean. The designed future state must be confirmed quantitatively to be able to support the volume of products required by customers. This will highlight areas of needed improvement which can be targeted for kaizen efforts.
Conceptual to detail value stream maps
Lean initiatives can be within a single facility or may span multiple facilities in an extended supply chain or enterprise value network. High level or conceptual value streams can drill down to detailed views providing a complete solution. Value streams may be manufacturing, distribution, service or administrative.
Value stream maps quickly highlight the stoppages in flow which creates waste. Creating a value stream map traditionally however has been a one time event producing a static map on a wall that reflects reality only for the time it was created. Collaborative maps enable you to keep your value stream maps up to date - as frequently as your business changes. This allows the investment of time and energy to create the map initially to continue to provide benefit and keeps the team focused and accountable.
Structured lean data
Lean is a quantity control system that relies on data to make decisions to increase flow, set up pull systems or schedule the value stream. Having a place to put the data is essential whether the data comes from an ERP system, an MES system, a spreadsheet, or was manually collected by walking the floor. Being able to organize, confirm, and then anaylze your situation using reliable and accurate data is key to a successful implementation.
Support for lean principles
Lean principles guide the design of a future state using metrics such as takt time to set the required pace for production, every part every interval (EPEI) to determine the smallest production lot size possible within capacity limits, and operator balance charts to ensure that work can be spread across operators within takt time and planned cycle times.
Tools to analyze and manage value steams
Combining demand and process information powerfully analyzes the performance of each process and of the value stream. Whether identifying a capacity bottleneck, confirming product families are properly defined, or identifying demand patterns of runners, repeaters, and strangers.
Integrated kaizen management
Confirming that the future state value stream is able to support its takt time requirement leads to a quantitative understanding of shortfalls or obstacles in the value stream. To address these areas, kaizens can be identified, tracked, and confirmed including the financial benefit as a result.