Kaizen system
The Kaizen attitude is the company’s driving force in the fight against muda
One of the first steps taken by the Lean Company is to introduce multidisciplinary teams (including operators) on the factory floor to help reduce waste. The Kaizen approach consists of making continual user-driven improvements as part of the fight against muda.
The incomparable flexibility of LeanTek and the ease with which anyone can use the system make it a vital part of implementing any Kaizen policy. LeanTek creativity delivers effective and practical tools for implementing a policy of continual change.
Personalized Kaizen line-side flow racks
Lean Manufacturing: waste elimination, a continuous process
Implementing your own version of the standard lean organization within the factory is a very important change. It brings a lot of waste elimination and accelerates material flow inside the factory up to the assembly line. The initial productivity gain, from this first step, is so significant that the temptation is to stop here. Kaizen is the next step.
Continuous improvement -Kaizen-, means to start from a standard lean organization (With supermarkets, delivery trains and flowracks already implemented) - and to improve it with continuous reduction of the remaining wastes.
How do you begin Kaizen? How do you generate a dynamic of continuous changes when its known that you are “already lean” ?
The 2 most well known drivers for this process change are ergonomic improvements and continuous reduction of packaging sizes and lots.
Lean Manufacturing: Smaller and smaller packaging.
« Think small » is the key. “Think small”: small inventory, small packaging, line length reduction, space compression. Thinking “always smaller” naturally leads to continuous elimination of costly wastes like inventory, transportation, waiting, movements and overproduction in the factory.
The continuous reduction of packaging sizes is a powerful driver for Kaizen. Why? Using smaller and smaller boxes containing fewer and fewer parts makes it possible to gradually reduce supermarkets, trains and flowrack sizes. This results in reduction of specific wastes like inventory, transportation and waiting in the line. The kaizen dynamic moves the process, step by step, towards the ideal situation: “One piece flow”: one package containing only one part with a very quick inventory rotation. This ideal state is continuous flow, a very advanced step in lean.
LeanTek is the obvious tool for lean. For quick Kaizen implementation, the key factors are simple change and creativity.
Lean Manufacturing : Ergonomics
The continuous process toward « one piece flow » in Kaizen can be achieved by focusing on ergonomics in the value added areas. Easier and quicker access to parts and tools, reduction of troublesome areas, feeling of ownership of the work area by the workers…theses are essentials factors for improving movement and productivity.
Lean Manufacturing : The keywords here are creativity and action.
Contrary to traditional western thinking and ways of doing (don’t take action until we find the ideal solution), the Japanese way suggests to make change step by step, eventually a mistake occurs, then a correction. A physical obvious change on the shopfloor, even an imperfect one, generates creative solutions that the mere theoretical office work will never produce.
Lean Manufacturing : Lean Adaptation for low Takt time assembly processes
The lean model adapts itself perfectly to low- Takt time assembly processes. The fundamentals of lean are kept, but adapted. One lean adaptation for these low speed lines can be to replace the standard lean method (Supermarket- Train- flowracks) with a combination of supermarkets and carts.
The parts for one step of the assembly are collected from a central supermarket, then dispatched to the value added area using a simple cart, pushed by hand or and AGC. This cart is the visual control tool in the value added area. No more than just the necessary parts are presented to the value added zone. This principle is known as kitting.
