Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
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MANAGEMENT PRICING PRESSURE FAST TRACK TO WASTE-FREE MANUFACTURING In his still-insightful 1999 book, Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing: Straight Talk from a Plant Manager, John W. Davis dis- cusses how to improve a manufacturing operation by a simple and relentless focus on waste. The methodology he describes is really applicable to improving any process in your business. A change to waste-free manufacturing can take 12–18 months and must be daily led by the plant manager. Waste-free manufacturing is a never-ending process that simply will not allow business as usual. The goals: 1) Reduce setup and changeover to a point where it has no bearing on the level of stan- dard inventory carried in an operation; 2) Maintain equipment at a level where break- downs simply do not occur; 3) Suppliers should always delivery on time without ex- ception; 4) Use proper production tech- niques that avoid producing bad parts, scrap and rework; and, 5) Strive to put a process in place that clearly reveals problems and then fully resolves them—once and for all— rather than striving to cover for problems. There are five mental barriers to change: • Justification – "It's good enough." • Not invented here. • Done that before. • Don't rock my boat. • It's not my job. And four key drivers for waste-free manu- facturing: • Workplace organization (straighten, sweep, sanitize, sustain, sort). • Uninterrupted flow. • Error-free processing. • Insignificant changeover. • Workplace organization. Anything in the selected area not immedi- ately needed for production is removed. There has to be a defined place for everything and everything has to be in its place. Audit all materials and tools to make sure they are necessary. Simplify the designs of the prod- ucts to use common parts. In most conven- tional manufacturing operations, at least 25 percent of all the equipment, stock, tools and fixtures, equipment, tables, benches, storage cabinets and other things that take up valu- able floor space simply is not needed. Uninterrupted Flow. List every part or subassembly that requires a stop and brain- storm all potential options that would elim- inate any of the stops identified. Equipment may need to move several times in pursuit of uninterrupted flow. Error-free Processing. At the outset, you must perform appropriate root cause analysis (use the 5 why analysis). If most manufac- turing operations could completely eliminate all their setup and changeover, they typically could reduce their assigned manufacturing costs by up to 20 percent or more. A produc- tion line that does not shut down is either a perfect line or a line with big problems where problems are not surfacing. Insignificant Changeover. Reduce time spent on setup and changeover. Mistake- proofing, or poka yoke, looks at methods and devices that eliminate common mistakes made in the production of parts, components, sub-assemblies, or finished units. Focus on the concept of SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die). Relentlessly search for ways to reduce changeover and set-up time and effort. Workplace Organization. Conventional wisdom considers it a waste to have a group of employees standing around with nothing to do. In fact, it is far more wasteful to have these employees produc- ing parts and components that are not im- mediately needed. Also, managers should strive to reduce inventory. Evaluate sup- pliers as certified to deliver to point of use. Look at inventory in days divided by lead time of items. The goal should be to get inventory down to hours rather than to days, weeks or months. Other Fundamentals. Measure the dis- tance parts, components, and assemblies travel throughout the factory. Employees will view this as a substantial waste and apply themselves in the effort to attain the ultimate goal of zero parts travel. You should view your workers on the floor as the most valuable of all employ- ees in the factory. Where possible, locate the salaried workforce on or very near the shop floor. After initial wins, man- agement needs to express deliberate im- patience to move the factory along at an even more rapid pace. Final Questions. Does the plant or factory look world class? Is it superbly clean? Is there a place for everything and is every- thing in its proper place? Is the process sim- ple and intuitive? Does the process flow smoothly without interruption? The Continuous Improvement Pyramid • Establish and fully maintain workplace organization. • Get it clean. • Keep it clean. • Study and analyze the current process (work and process flow charting). • Plan and layout the new process. • Get equipment and facilities as close as possible to the actual point of use. • Eliminate or reduce forklifts/overhead storage containers. • Reduce inventory and inventory storage or staging areas to the absolute minimum. • Shorten production lines as much as possible. • Do everything possible to enhance the principle of uninterrupted flow. • Prove the new process. • Apply visual controls (Kanbans, supermarket signage) so that everything is easy to see and understand. 10 | SEPTEMBER 2012 WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM