Lean Tools and Techniques Flashcards

1
Q

Compare and Contrast Continuous Improvement and Radical Change (Kaikaku)

A
Continuous Improvement (Kaizen) has been used as the principal improvement technique in Japanese companies for decades.  
Their belief is that it is usually easier to make a series of manageable small steps, rather than a single, great big, leap upwards.  

Radical Change, or Kaikaku, is making quantum change for big and rapid results.

If it is an early improvement initiative then a team based Kaizen approach is preferable for areas such as workplace layout and housekeeping.
This gives a win/win result, with the workforce enjoying more pleasant conditions and the business efficiency improving.
Once people are on board with change and willing to support further improvements it makes sense to tackle one or more radical change projects, although these need to be more carefully selected and controlled.

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2
Q

Define Kaizen Improvements

A

Kaizen is means Continuous Improvement, using a series of small complementary improvements, and has proved successful in companies all over the world.

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3
Q

Describe the steps for implementing Kaizen Improvements

A

The most successful way to make Kaizen work is to involve all of the key members of the workforce, and to use a very structured technique for improvement project management, such as QOS.

The first step should be to identify areas where improvement will be most beneficial; next collect data to confirm the current situation.

Set up your Improvement Teams:
Each should be run by a Project Champion (probably by someone at supervisory level.),
Should have about six other members from different parts of the organisation,
Should be supported by a management sponsor, who must show support and help remove roadblocks.

Use the formal structure of the QOS process to guide each team through the improvement process, and then publish the results on a weekly basis.

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4
Q

What is 5S/CANDO in general terms

A

5S is a Japanese technique for setting up a clean, efficient workplace.

It benefits both the company and its employees, because it increases business efficiency, shortens lead times, improves workplace appearance and working conditions, and reduces the risk of accidents.

It can also generate immediate income from the sale of surplus equipment.

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5
Q

What are the 5S’s

A

Sort
Sorting out the working area so that anything that is not frequently required is cleared away, and anything which is no longer needed is sold or disposed of.

Set
Means arranging the items you do require for ease of use. This typically involves placing the correct tools exactly where they are needed, often on a shadow-board, which gives an immediate visual cue when something is missing. (can be 3rd process)

Shine
Means clean up. Having cleared the area, any spillage or leak become immediately apparent and can be tackled at source to keep the area clean. (This stage is often carried out before Set.)

Standardise
Means repeat the first three stages. Soon everything is in its own place, from pallets to tools, and clutter is made obvious and is quickly removed. Shadow Boards are often used to locate key items.

Sustain
Means continue using 5S.

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6
Q

What is CANDO the same as and what does it stand for?

A

5S

CANDO is an alternative acronym, representing:

Clean-up
Arrange
Neatness
Discipline
On-going improvement
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7
Q

What are the Seven Key Wastes? What are the two hidden wastes?

A
  • Waiting
  • Overproduction
  • Rejects, defects, non-compliances
  • Movement
  • Over-processing
  • Inventory
  • Transport / Conveyance

In addition to these, there are two hidden wastes;-

  • Failing to meet customer needs
  • Unfulfilled human potential
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8
Q

Why are the Seven wastes key to Lean Manufacturing

A

The identification and elimination of waste (or muda as the Japanese call it) is one of the easiest ways to make a very significant impact on business process.

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9
Q

Outline a Technique for Set Up Improvement

  • Timeframes
  • Acronym
  • Example Features
A

Most set-ups can be improved using Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED).

Shigeo Shingo, who was the guru of set up and change-over improvement, stated that no change-over need take more than 20 minutes, and that 10 minutes is a realistic target. When he made this claim to the big automotive press companies, their times were typically eighteen hours; they are now all in the 10-20 minute band.

SMED works by analyzing the whole process from start to finish in great detail, breaking each operation down into increments of a few seconds. The external components are identified and taken outside the process, and then attention is focused on shortening the remaining internal operations.

Typical features include using jigs to locate items in position quickly, incorporating conical dowels for accurate alignment, and replacing traditional fasteners with 90 degree locks.

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10
Q

What does Poka Yoke mean?

A

Poka Yoke effectively means Mistake-Proofing.

The utilization of poka-yoke firstly reduces the number of errors or rejects, by reducing the opportunities for variation or mistakes.

Secondly, it allows operators with lower skill levels to successfully take on more complex jobs.

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11
Q

Define Push Manufacturing?

A

Involves using a forecast to produce a production and purchasing plan, and then “pushing” the items through manufacture into a warehouse, for picking and distribution to customers.

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12
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Push Manufacturing?

A

The disadvantages of this are that
• a large number of defective products may be made before anyone realizes that the goods are not suitable
• the true demand will differ from the forecast, resulting in shortages and slow-moving stock
• substantial amounts of capital are tied up in stock
• the business is very vulnerable if their customer stops ordering that product
• lead times for “customer specials” tend to be long, reducing in lost opportunities for high added-value work

The advantages are that
• a very stable production plan is possible
• large batches can be made, giving economies of scale

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13
Q

What is Pull Manufacturing?

A

Pull manufacture involves not making something until there is an actual customer order for that product, and then manufacturing the item efficiently in a very short time.

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14
Q

What is Single Piece Flow?

A

Single piece flow is regarded as the ultimate in pull manufacture, where batch sizes have been reduced to the point that orders can be made individually.

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15
Q

Why is Pull Manufacturing desirable?

A

It is particularly important that systems for rapid manufacture (eg SMED, supply-chain optimisation, poka-yoke, etc.) are in place before the change is made.

The reality is that nearly all businesses are more profitable when they adapt pull, and absolutely all give a better customer service in the medium to long term.

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16
Q

What is Benchmarking and why is it important?

A

Benchmarking is comparing your own performance, in a number of key areas, to that of the leaders in each area.

It reveals the areas where your business is ahead of others, so that you can make the most of those strengths. Additionally, it shows where other companies are ahead of yours, highlighting areas for improvement.

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17
Q

What is Internal Benchmarking?

A

Internal benchmarking within your own company, eg;- comparing one branch or shop to another, highlights differences and can be used to identify best internal standards so that all branches can move up to those.

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18
Q

What is Competitive Benchmarking?

A

In competitive benchmarking, as the name suggests, you compare your business to your competitors in the same market.

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19
Q

What is Process and Performance Benchmarking?

What makes companies World Class?

A

Process (eg;- recruitment or equipment maintenance) and performance (eg;- quality or customer hit rates) benchmarking are comparisons with companies in all businesses and in all locations.

Being the best in one of these areas is described as being World Class, but because other companies are constantly improving, you have to keep improving and to repeat the benchmarking process to make sure that you remain World Class!

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20
Q

What is 6 Sigma?

A

Six Sigma is a measure of how good a process is. The concept was developed principally by Motorola, who set a target of less than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. At the time this was regarded as a particularly ambitious target.

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21
Q

Give industrial examples of 6 sigma being used?

A

Internally Motorola had to address their existing processes, from design to manufacturing and operations, using a quality-based approach. Only by applying a six sigma standard across the whole business could the target be achieved.

It soon became apparent that suppliers and customers also had to also be involved if the target was to be reached, and so six-sigma became one of the first initiatives to link companies together along their supply-chain. This established a process for further improvements.

General Electric imposed six-sigma as the world-wide improvement tool for all of their suppliers, allowing the company to get better quality components at much lower prices.

22
Q

Outline 6 Sigma

A

The key to achieving six sigma is to identify which processes are most subject to variation, and then control these.

It is important to remember that you don’t need a qualification in statistics to use six-sigma. Setting a six sigma standard is about raising quality, not defining probability distributions!

DMAIC

DEFINE MEASURE ANALYSE IMPLEMENT CONTROL

23
Q

What is SPC?

A

Statistical Process Control

Is a means of preventing defects by monitoring trends in the output from a process.

24
Q

How is SPC Implemented?

A

Traditionally, this has involved drawing a run chart of the measured output from a process, with an upper and a lower control limit marked on the chart.

The positioning of the control limits is determined statistically.

Samples are taken at regular intervals from the process, are measured and are marked on the control chart.

When a trend is evident, or where output falls outside the control zone, the root cause can then be investigated and procedures put in place to minimise future deviations.

Detailed evaluation of data over time can reveal the influence of external factors such as run speed, operator input, material composition, equipment adjustment, start-up and shutdown, maintenance regime, etc.

A more user-friendly approach is to use Pre-Control Charts, which are colour coded (green is OK, yellow warns that the process is slipping out of control and red means stop!) and are based on customer quality standards.

25
Q

What is Value Stream Mapping?

A

Value Stream Mapping involves drawing out business processes schematically, with symbols representing various actions, activities or items.

26
Q

How is Value Stream Mapping Implemented and why is it effective?

A

In the boxes that represent the processes, as much information as possible is recorded, covering everything from set-up times and running speeds to cost and process details as available.

The other critical things to record are inventory (inc. equivalent times), push and pull links, and takt time.

From the value stream map, it is easier to identify bottlenecks and non-added value activities (wastes) than from the real process.

Having drawn out the current processes, the usual technique is to then optimise the process on paper, to draw out a future state map to represent this, and than to change the processes in line with the future state map.

27
Q

Outline Supply Chain Optimisation

A

Mapping the entire Supply Chain, and then eliminating waste and optimising the process can make a massive difference.

It is important to treat this as a true partnership exercise and to protect any losers by agreeing beforehand that the winners will compensate the losers so that no-one end up worse off at the end of the process.

28
Q

What is Achieving Flow?

A

Aiming to achieve a fast flow through the process has major benefits. Lead times reduce, efficiency improves, visibility increases and batch sizes can be reduced. One key goal of Lean is to achieve Single Piece Flow.

29
Q

Is lean manufacturing solely about waste?

A

Add More Value

Lean is not just about removing waste. You should seek to add more value where possible.

This can mean doing more for the customer, bringing suppliers on-board, including design, innovation or customisation.

Aim to be a solutions provider rather than just a supplier of goods or services.

30
Q

How can Value be added?

A

By developing your own brand within your marketplace, you can add value to your products. Value is what a customer wants and will pay for, and a respected name adds value.

31
Q

Outline the phrase Lean Office. How is it beneficial?

A

Role out Lean beyond the Operations Department. This does not just mean carrying out 5S or mapping document flow in the office.

Identify the business information needs and then establish data flows that satisfy those needs in the most effective way possible. This should be done before software is purchased, but often does not happen until a new IT system is in place.

Great improvements can still be made in the latter case, and most modern IT systems have capacity to operate in a variety of different ways.

32
Q

What should a company do if they are unsure how or where to add value?

A

ASK THE CUSTOMERS

Value is that which a Customer wants and will pay for. If you are not sure what your next steps should be, ask your customers what they would like to see in the ideal world, and then give them a proposal that moves towards this vision where practical.

33
Q

Why is manufacturing layout important? What are the different layouts?

A

Efficient Layouts reduce company costs, save resources and production time.

Process Layout: Used for small scale companies where standard product specification varies. Machine shops would use this sort of layout because it separates the departments according to the machine functions.

Product Layout: Used for a continuous process where raw material is manufactured into a product in sequence. Products are more standard and are produced in larger quantities than process layout. Different products have different layouts but each layout undergoes the same steps such as Assembly Lines.

Fixed Position Layout: Used when producing fragile, large or heavy products. Since the product is hard to move it is kept in a constant location. Process apparatus and the workers are brought to the product. More realistically modules of a product are build and then combined using large cranes. Aircraft and ships.

Cellular Layout: Flexibility to produce a high variety of low demand products whilst maintaining the productivity of large scale production. Often pull manufacturing is used to reduce lead and set-up times. Highly trained workers can used all equipment in each cell.

Combination Layout: In modern manufacturing hybrid layouts are used since flexibility is key in industry.

34
Q

What are the different manufacturing layout SHAPES and what are they best for?

A

U-Shaped: Most common flow configuration. Uses a fairly small footprint.

I-Shaped: The best flow pattern for long, narrow buildings.

L-Shaped: The best flow pattern for square buildings where similar process lines are nested together

Comb & Spine: Best when product must be able to exit the flow at different levels of production.

S & M: can be used to compress the production footprint of long process flows.

35
Q

What is the Theory of Constraints? What are the 5 different forms of constraints? What are the 3 measures?

A

The Theory of Constraints is a scientific method for identifying the most important limiting factor that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no longer the limiting factor. ‘Weakest Link’

A second lost at a bottleneck is a second lost forever
Equipment

Physical – Typically equipment or shortage of resource such as labour.

Policy – Required ways of working normally set by company procedures, unions and government regulations.

Paradigm – Closely related to the policy constraint, described as engrained habits of the workforce.

Market – When production capacity exceeds sales.

Inventory: all the money that the system has invested in purchasing things which it tends to sell.

Operational Expense: all the money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput.

Throughput: the rate at which the system generated money through sales.

36
Q

Outline the 5 focusing steps for implementing the Theory of Constraints.

A

Identify: the limiting constraint by reviewing all of the manufacturing processes.

Exploit: the limiting constraint by maximising the throughput with current resources.

  • Steps before the constraint could include a buffer and quality control to ensure the process is always operating with working parts.
  • Increase the operating time of the constraint and use high skill employees
  • Routine maintenance outside of production hours to prevent breakdown.

Subordinate: The constraint may be effected by inputs and outputs so altering these may reduce the effect of the constraint. Optimise input and output rate so the highest flow is maintained, minimising blockages.

Elevate: If these steps do not eliminate the constraint, investment may be required. This stage should break the constraint.

  • Analyse the constraint and collect data
  • Reduce change over times
  • Last resort buy new equipment

Repeat: Continuous process, once one constraint is eliminated the next must be tackled.

37
Q

What are the advantages of implementing the Theory of Constraints?

A

Increased profit

Fast improvement a result of foucsing all attention on one critical area

Improved capacity optimizing the constraint enables more products to be manufactured.

Reduced lead times optimizing the constraint results in smoother and faster product flow.

Reduced inventory eliminating bottlenecks means there will be less work-in-process.

38
Q

Describe Strategy Deployment

A

Strategy Deployment is a process that ties senior leadership into enterprise-wide business-improvement
practices.

Ensures that everyone in an organization is working toward the same set of goals.

It is a concept of Lean thinking, used in manufacturing, healthcare, and service businesses. Strategy Deployment
originated with “Hoshin Kanri”.

39
Q

Outline the 6 major levels of a strategy deployment model.

A

Vision:

  • Where you want your organization to be in the next 3 - 5 years.
  • To achieve this successfully the strategic gap must be calculated, the difference between the current situation and the vision.

Mission:

  • How are you going to get there?
  • A Mission Statement is a declaration of your intent to pursue a specific process to strive towards the requirements of your Vision.
  • The Vision and Mission Statements should clearly demonstrate the core values, beliefs and culture of a company.

Breakthrough Objective:

  • What must you do different to get there?
  • It is important to define where you must create breakthrough to strengthen and improve your organization.
  • What strategic level business processes must change over the next 3 to 5 years to meet your Vision?

Annual Improvement Priorities

  • Once you have defined your Breakthrough Objectives (BTO), it is important to start to chunk them down into smaller operational pieces.
  • One BTO could spawn several key processes and each has to be priority based on its impact to fulfil the upper level BTO and Vision over the next 12 months.
  • Each prioritized smaller operational unit will become an Annual Improvement Priority (AIP).

Target Improvements

  • What specific processes will need improving.
  • Within each AIP there are usually several tactical level processes which will need to be improved.
  • Each process is prioritized based on its impact to fulfil the upper level AIP, BTO and Vision.
  • Each TI is time bound and a proposed date for completion is entered onto a calendar.

Tasks

  • Each TI will require a series of specific actions to be completed within a given timeframe.
  • Each Task is time bound to a given completion date in sequence to meet the proposed completion date of the TI.
40
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Strategic deployment?

A

Pros:

Facilitates problem solving

Creates a culture of learning

Focuses on critical priorities for the business

Employees are all aligned to the same objectives

Enables accountability and discipline

Continuous improvement

Cons:

Can over emphasize the setting of goals rather than the working of a plan

Can lead companies to expect too much of employees.

41
Q

Describe Ranked Positional Weight

A

The concept of the Ranked Positional Weight (RPW) method is based on manufacturing assembly line balancing.

RPW method works best in manufacturing environments with a large number of related work elements, where there is a large range in the assembly time across the work elements. This results in lost time and money as elements are idle waiting for other elements.

RPW method groups multiple elements into a smaller number of stations

The aim is that each station has a similar completion time, reducing the idle time within the system.

42
Q

Outline the Procedure for RPW

A

The first step in to draw a precedence diagram of the
work elements in the assembly line, arrows indicate the sequence in which the elements must be performed. The time for each work element to be performed is above each node.

Then make a table showing the work element number, a brief description of the work element, the time to perform the work element in minutes, 𝑇𝑒𝑘 and finally what each element must be preceded by.

Next calculate the RPW for each work element. This is done by summing the elements 𝑇𝑒𝑘 together with the 𝑇𝑒𝑘 values for all elements that follow it in the arrow chain of the precedence diagram.

In a new table, list all of the work elements in order of RPW, with the largest at the top of the list. Also include 𝑇𝑒𝑘 and the immediate predecessors for each element.

Then in another table, assign work elements to stations according to their RPW and calculate the station time. Make sure to avoid violating precedence constraints and
cycle time.

43
Q

What are the pros and cons of RPW

A

Advantages of RPW

Minimises idle time at work stations therefore increasing efficiency

Balancing the assembly line usually leads to an increase in productivity and efficiency

Decrease in number of workstations and manufacturing time

Disadvantages of RPW

Does not offer optimal solutions

Effective only when the problem is formulated to minimize the number of work stations for a given cycle time

Assumes each work station is capable of completing each task

44
Q

What is Heijunka?

A

It is a Japanese word which means “levelling” which helps organisations meet demand while reducing the waste in production and interpersonal processes.

It produces the type and quantity over a fixed period of time.

This enables to efficiently meet customer demands while avoiding batching and results in minimum inventories,
capital costs, manpower, and production lead time through the whole value stream.

45
Q

What are the core concepts of Heijunka? Explain them.

A

Takt time:
The time it takes to finish a product in order to meet customer demand; can be thought of as the customer buying rate.

Volume levelling:
Manufacture at levels of long-term average demand and keep a buffer inventory proportional to variability in demand, stability of production process and shipping speed.

Type levelling:
Make every product every day and reserve capacity for changeover flexibility; use a Heijunka box to visualize the production flow and schedule.

Work slowly and consistently:
Taiichi Ohno, founder of the Toyota Production System, says it best: Working slowly with everyone at the same speed produces less waste.

Changeover time:
Efficiency of changeover is the pivot of Heijunka; narrowing changeover times helps tighten
the value stream between supply and demand.

Buffer inventory:
Having some product ready to ship at the beginning of each production cycle is essential to smoothing production and levelling demand at consistent rates and quality so that resource waste is minimized on the line.

Type standardization:
By manufacturing one of each product or service a day, knowledge can be more readily shared across types to benefit every process

46
Q

What are the pros and cons of Heijunka

A

PROS:

Increases control on production

Reduces consumption of raw materials.

Reduces costs for manufacturers

Customers receive more reliable deliveries

Output volumes become predictable

Structured – reducing stress for employees

Reduction in cost – defects discovered in early production stages

CONS:

Not a tool for highly valuable production

Not suitable for highly varying demand

47
Q

What is Yamazumi?***more available

A

It is a visual tool, usually a chart or a board

Breaks down individual processes showing how long each process takes

Colour coded stacking identifies wasted time allowing available time to be utilised.

Processes are categorised as value added, necessary (non value) or waste

48
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Yamazumi?

A

Visual tool

Continually drives improvement

Identifies areas for rebalancing

Minimises idle time

Responds to change in demand

CONS:

Lack of workforce specialisation

Increased training costs

49
Q

What is gross profit defined as?

A

Sales minus the direct costs.

50
Q

What is ISO 9001

A

ISO 9001 is an international standard based in Geneva, it is a quality management system.

It requires continuous improvement based on customer demands.

Emphasises a Plan, Do, Check, Act procedure

Broken down into six segments:

Leadership
Planning
Support
Operation
Performance
Evaluation
Improvements
51
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ISO 9001?

A

Advantages:

Quality is build in from the start of the design process.

Continual Improvement

Motivated employees

Integrating with the global economy ensures a sustainable business.

Disadvantages:

Requires senior management to be involved to be effective

Expensive and hard to get certified

Resistance to change from staff

Hard to maintain enthusiasm