Page 260 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

238 Cha pte r S i x tee n

Adequate Problem Solvers
As for adequate problem solvers, that was an issue both in numbers and in the quality
of their problem-solving skills. To enhance the abilities of the problem solvers, we pro-
vided training, which helped immeasurably. Regarding the number, we were always
very lean in that regard. Consequently, we made some changes to augment the problem-
solving staff.

The Systemwide Analysis of the Present State

The Commitment Evaluation
We discussed the commitment evaluation briefly and at the senior management level
there were serious problems. Nonetheless, we decided to proceed, knowing full well,
that at some point we would run into some serious obstacles. Our hope was that we
would have huge early gains, which we did, and thereby get a greater commitment
from senior management, which unfortunately we did not.

The Evaluation of the Five Precursors to Become Lean
Kermit and I performed independent evaluations, the results of which are shown in
Table 16-1.

Ten Reasons
On the Ten Reasons for failure, we had trepidations about nine of the ten reasons—
reliable raw materials supply was the only area in which we had no major concerns.
Process Maturity
We completed a review of the production lines for process maturity and none reached
level 2. Stability was a problem in every case.
Both rate and quality levels were unstable when evaluated on a Shewhart control
chart. This was true of all three lines we evaluated. Based on this, we decided we
needed to do more foundational work before we proceeded to a quantity control initia-
tive. We then proceeded to implement “An Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
Initiative.” We also decided that Line 9 was the most stable and felt we could improve
it rapidly, so we choose it to implement some appropriate Lean strategies, tactics, and
skills—that is, quantity control techniques on this line only. We would address quan-
tity control on the other lines after they had taken care of the issues uncovered in the
systemwide evaluation.

The Five Precursors Kermit’s Score My Score
High levels of stability and quality in both the 0.5 0
product and the processes
Excellent machine availability 1.0 0.5
Talented problem solvers, with a deep 0.5 0.5
understanding of variation
Mature continuous improvement philosophy 0 0
Strong proven techniques to standardize 0 0
Total 2.5 1.0
TABLE 16-1 The Evaluation of the Five Precursors