Little's Law & Lean Flashcards by Ranya Younis

What is little’s law?

Throughput (Th)= Work In Process (WIP) x Cycle Time (CT)

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What is throughout efficiency?

Throughput efficiency (%) = Work content x 100 Throughput time

refers to the work content needed to produce an item in a process expressed in terms of a percentage of total throughput time.

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The lean philosophy of operations

Eliminate waste

Involve everyone

Continuous improvement

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Lean as a set of techniques for managing operations

Basic working practices Design for manufacture Operations focus 
Small, simple machines 
Flow layout
TPM
Set-up reduction
Total people involvement Visibility
JIT supply

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Lean as a method of planning and control

Pull scheduling
Kanban control
Levelled scheduling
Mixed modelling Synchronization

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How does lean eliminate waste?

Identify the causes and types of waste by understanding the customer perspective
Eliminate waste through streamlined flow using e.g. Value stream mapping
Eliminate waste through matching supply and demand e.g. Pull system
Eliminate waste through minimizing variability e.g. Level delivery Schedule
Eliminate waste through flexible processes
Can be viewed through 5S

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What are the basic lean principles

1 Piece Flow
- move away from batting, backlog and queues
Standard Work
- reduce variation & complexity
5S
- sort; straighten; scrub; standardise; sustain
Pull systems
- create signals to pull products/ services. obvious when something is empty

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What is visual management

ability to see the process

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what is value stream mapping

understand how value is created and delivered

focuses on value-adding activities and distinguishes between value-adding and non-value-adding activities.

Eliminate waste through reducing variability
Eliminate waste through streamlined flow

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Criticisms of lean process improvement

One size fits all solutions
Too much standardization and people management = in inhumane working conditions
Top down rather than bottom up problem solving
Application of lean tools/techniques without understanding the philosophy and culture

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define lean synchronisation

moving towards the elimination of all waste in order to develop an operation that is

faster,
more dependable,
produces higher quality products and services
operates at low cost’.

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lean synchronisation is synonymous with…

continuous flow

manufacture high value-added manufacture

stockless production low-inventory production

fast-throughput manufacturing

lean manufacturing

Toyota production system

short cycle time manufacturing

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What are the four elements of lean?

Waste elimination
Behaviour
Synchronisation
Customer focus

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what is the ‘river and rocks’ analogy

reducing the level of inventory (water) allows operations management (ship) to see problems in the process (rocks)

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What is the traditional approach?

focus on high capacity utilisation
more production at each stage
extra production goes into inventory because of continuing stoppages at stages
high inventory means less chance of problems being exposed and solved
more stoppages because of problems

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What is the lean approach?

focus on producing only when needed
lower capacity utilisation, but
no surplus production goes into inventory
low inventory so problems are exposed and solved
fewer stoppages

Causes of waste

Mura
- ‘lack of consistency’/ unevenness = periodic overloading of staff or equipment
Muri
- unreasonable= unnecessary/ unreasonable requirements put on a process will result in poor outcomes
Muda
- activities that are wasteful = do not add value to the operation or the customer.

what are waste activities?

consume time, resources and space, but do not contribute to satisfying customer needs

Seven types of waste

 Over-production. 
 Waiting time
 Transport 
 Process.
 Inventory 
 Motion
 Defects

What is over-production waste?

Make more than is required by the customer, or to make it earlier than required.

What is waiting time waste?

Any delay between when one process step/activity ends and the next step/activity begins

What is transport waste?

Movement of work between departments or offices that does not add to the value of the product or service

What is (over) processing waste?

Adding more value to a service or product than customers want or will pay for.

what is inventory waste?

More materials or information on hand than is currently required

What is motion waste?

Needless movement of people While "transportation" refers to the movement of the work, "motion“ involves movement of workers

What is defects/ inspection waste

Any aspect of the product/service that does not conform to customer needs

example of waste in a hospital

Over-production - requesting unnecessary tests from pathology - keeping investigation slots 'just in case' Waiting - Patients, theatre, staff results, prescriptions and medicines - doctors to discharge patients Transport – documents carried out to be signed by various wards and managers Over-processing - duplication of information - asking for patients’ details several times Inventory – excess stock in storerooms - patients waiting to be discharged - waiting lists Rework - readmission because of failed discharge - repeating tests because correct information was not provided Motion - unnecessary staff movement looking for paperwork - not having basic equipment in every examination room

What are the 5's?

Sort -organise separate the needed from the rarely used Straighten - arrange and identify for ease of use Shine - clean and looks for ways to keep it clean Standardize - create rules to sustain the first 3 S's Sustain - management audit to ensure adherence n.b. continuous improvement

How to Sort (Seri)?

 Eliminate all unnecessary items!!  Unnecessary refers to those things that are not needed for current work  Keep only things that are required in doing the job

How to Straighten (Seiton)?

Arrange items so that they can be found quickly by Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime. Items should be easy to find, easy to use and easy to put away.  Tools e.g. Colour Coding , Signboards, Labeling  Keep things in Order

How to Shine (Sieso) ?

 Everything is clean, neat, tidy and ready to use  Tools: e.g. Five Minute Shine Cleaning & Inspection Checklists Checklist of Activities Needing Maintenance  A clean work place enhances health and productivity

how to Standardize (Seiketsu)?

 To prevent setbacks in the first 3 pillars (Sort, Set In Order and Shine)  Tools eg. Best Practice documentation and sharing Checklists & job cycle charts  Learn a smarter way to Work

how to Sustain (Shitsuke)?

 To make 5S a habit in the way we do our day-to-day activities  Tools include..... e.g. 5 S contests Visual management boards showing 5S audit Slogans Handbooks Poka Yoke!  Make 5 S a habit

Criticisms of Lean Process Improvement

* One size fits all solutions * Top down rather than bottom up problem solving * Application of lean tools/ techniques without understanding the philosophy and culture * Too much standardization and people management might result in inhumane working conditions * Thus might be a paradox rather than panacea if not managed well