IMPACT OF LEAN SIGMA IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

It is well recognized that, Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy focusing on reduction of waste through over production, waiting time, process time, transportation, inventory, motion and scrap in any business. By eliminating waste, quality is improved and production time and costs are reduced. The processes of all companies and organizations must:

1. Turn out to be faster and more responsive to customers
2. Accomplish Six Sigma capability
3. Operate at world class cost

 From the above, it is felt that, Lean is a methodology that is used to accelerate the velocity and reduce the cost of any process (be it service or manufacturing) by removing waste. Lean is originated on a mathematical result known as Lytle’s Law:

                                                                          Qty of Things in Process

            Lead time of any process         ==   ----------------------------------

                                                          AverageCompletionRate/Unitof Time

The lead-time is the amount of time taken between the entries of work into a process (which may consist of many activities) to the time the work exits the process. In procurement the Things in Process are the number of requisitions, in product development the number of Projects in Process, and in manufacturing the amount of Work in Process. Lean contains a well-defined set of tools that are used to control and then reduce the number of Things in Process, thus eliminating the non-value add cost driven by those Things in Process. The Pull/Kanban system puts a cap on the number of things in process, thus putting a cap on the lead-time. Lean also contains tools to reduce the quantity of things in process including setup reduction, total productive maintenance, etc. For example, setup reduction allows the reduction of the time spent on producing a quantity of any given offering or product, reducing lead-time without reducing the completion rate. The Lean methodology has a bias for action, leveraging Kaizen to rapidly improve processes and drive results.

It is clear from the above passages, In any process, Lean  six Sigma creates a value stream map of the process identifying value add and non-value add costs, and captures the Voice of the customer to define the customer Critical To Quality issues. Projects within the process are then prioritized based on the delay time they inject. This prioritization process inevitably pinpoints activities with high defect rates (Six Sigma tools) or long setups, downtime (Lean tools). In manufacturing, a further benefit results from a reduction in working capital and capital expenditure. We have found over the last 15 years that these methods apply in virtually every kind of process from healthcare to financial services to energy to manufacturing. Lean will add another dimension of improvement in process speed and reduction of non-value added cost. Further, by accelerating process speed, Lean provides faster feedback and more cycles of learning enhancing the power of Six Sigma tools.

For proper understanding, it is needless to mention that, an L18 Design of Experiment might require about 100 separate runs to optimize parameters and minimize variation. Reducing the lead time by 80% will allow the fractional factorial design to be completed five times faster. In addition, the Lean Kaizen approach allows Black Belts to implement rapid improvements whenever possible.

1. There are also many corporations wondering what went wrong or why they haven’t obtained the results they hoped for.
2. If there were, it would be sold and every company would have it.
3. If the expected requirements and resources do not match the results, any system such as lean manufacturing will fail.
4. A small facility with 100 employees will require less.
5. Any headcount reduction should take place prior to implementing lean manufacturing.
6. People simply are not going to work themselves out of a job, and therefore everyone must be supportive of the journey.
7. Again, management must have employees empowered to improve the operation.

One piece flow is another system utilized in lean manufacturing.   Therefore SMED (single minute exchange of die) systems to reduce changeover times must be employed.

Other lean concepts utilized in the journey include “pull systems”, “cellular manufacturing”, “kanban”, OEE (overall equipment effectiveness), TPM (total productive maintenance), error proofing, root cause elimination, and many others.

1. Therefore, employees must not be fearful of losing a job or lean manufacturing will not succeed.
2. The journey begins with training and it never stops.

Lean manufacturing is not a system that can be administered or implemented by a few individuals.  It can be led by a few individuals, but the implementation will involve everyone.

Every person in the organization should first know why the company is implementing lean manufacturing.   Is it to have a competitive advantage?    Is it to stay in business?It might preserve existing jobs and lead to more hiring.

Once the overall goals of the company are explained, training should begin with the basics. This will include an overview of lean manufacturing, 5S, 8 wastes (muda), problem solving techniques, and simple value stream mapping.

1. Companies carrying inventory will want all employees to understand the waste involved in it.
2. Or cycle time might be 18 hours and it should be 6.
3. As with all lean concepts, 5S, value stream mapping, and the review process never end.
4. Most often, many of the tools are utilized in every area.
5. When they find them, they do everything possible to eliminate it forever.