14. Process Improvement Flashcards
What are the 4 main reasons for improving a process?
- Safety- no longer safe or appropriate
- Quality- customer complaint
- Delivery- regularly late
- Cost- competitor is cheaper
What are 6 general reasons for improving a process?
- Productivity
- Environmental
- Growth
- Regulations
- Societal
- Yield
What are the 5 stages of lean process improvement?
- Value: specify value from the customer’s perspective.
- Value stream: identify the process sequence that delivers the value.
- Flow: make the value flow at a steady pace to meet demand.
- Pull: deliver the service when it’s demanded by a customer.
- Perfection: seek to perfect all of the previous stages.
What 3 groups should be considered when determining value?
- Customer
- Stakeholders
- Employees
What gives a process activity value?
- If the customer is willing to pay for it
- If the product or service is changed as a result of the step (value added)
- If the step is done right first time
What are the terms that distinguish value from waste?
Value added (VA)
Non-value added (NVA)
Most processes have a lot more ___ than __.
NVA
VA
What are the 7 wastes in a process (TIMWOOD)?
Transportation: unnecessary movement of parts
Inventory: parts/materials which have no value being added to them
Movement: unnecessary movement of people
Waiting
Overproduction: making products faster than customer demand
Overprocessing: doing more than a customer wants/needs
Defects: not doing it right first time
What is a value stream map?
A tool that is used to show the value stream. It groups all of the processes into one map that sequences the operations.
What can be found on a value stream map?
- The current state of the process
- Information flow
- Process flow
- Information boxes
- Lead time ladders
What is takt time?
The available time per day (including break times but excluding break-downs) divided by the parts required per day
Give the equation for takt time
What is cycle time?
How fast a product is actually produced.
What is the ideal state for flow?
CT = TT
cycle time = takt time
What is the flow state during overproduction?
CT < TT
What is the flow state during underproduction?
CT > TT
What are the two types of flow processing?
- Batch & push processing
- Continuous flow
Define batch & push processing
Each person carries out their task on every product in the batch before passing them on.
Define continuous flow processing
“make one, move one.”
If flow processing doesn’t work what is done instead?
Pull: the company only makes what the customer orders.
How does pull processing work?
The company only makes what the customer orders. Hence, the purchase of a product is what causes the production line to restart to fill the ‘gap’ left by the purchased product.
Name one feature of pull processing
Extremely low inventory
What is continuous improvement in the process industry?
Communication with customers to continuously find out what can be done better and to solve that problem.
What is ‘5s’?
A tool used to optimise flow and pull processes.
