Justificación metodológica

Individuals are more likely to strive and achieve a performance target they understand as opposed to one they do not. If measures are being posted in a work area by an outside entity and are not completely understood by those being measured, it is not likely that performance in that area will improve. If people cannot describe their measure of performance, do not own that mea- sure, do not report on the measure, nor understand cause and effect relative to the measure, then it is unrealistic to expect the measure to improve. Here, we can draw upon the experience of John G. Belcher, long-time vice president

of the American Productivity Center, who stated in his book, Productivity Plus:

How Today’s Best Run Companies Are Gaining the Competitive Edge: “An orga- nization that tries to realize significant productivity improvement without the participation and support of its employees is working against itself. It doesn’t make much sense to embark upon a major undertaking when the bulk of the organization misunderstands — or worse yet, resists — the object of that

undertaking.”1 _{In order for a cell team measurement system to work, it is}

necessary that the metrics be defined, owned, controlled, monitored, and understood by those using the measure (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4 Measurement Objectives

Metrics Element 43

To engage individuals in the improvement process, they must be part of the development of that process. They need to understand where they fit in and how they affect the outcome. It does no good to create a metric in a vacuum, bring it to the floor, provide no definition as to what the measure means, collect the data off-line, have someone outside the area report on the metric, and then expect people to improve their performance.

To overcome this tendency, it is advisable to select a handful of desired outcomes (three to five) and work with the cell team to develop appropriate measures for those desired outcomes. Do not clutter an area with the top 25 measures for that operation. First of all, such postings take up space and get in the way; second, they are not as meaningful to those in the cell. Facilitate agreement among the team about common definitions, identify where the data will come from, select those who will report progress, and establish an expected target performance level. Be sure to provide insight as to how performance of the measure can be improved in relationship to the desired target level. It does no good to expect a target level that no one knows how to achieve.

Be cognizant of the fact that the measurement system that is developed based on the needs of today could change to meet the needs of tomorrow. Measurements will change based on the market, the customer, different levels

of performance, and changing competitive priorities. Again referring to Mak-

ing Manufacturing Cells Work by Ingersoll Engineers, change is a constant, and locking into one particular measure today could render a company uncompetitive tomorrow: “Any change in items such as product, delivery, machines, or tooling may well cause changes in the need for certain types of performance measures. Companies move rapidly into and out of markets and otherwise change business strategy to adjust to ever-changing competi- tive pressures, and existing performance measurements must be continually

reviewed in response to these changes.”13

This chapter has focused on a short list of metrics that can effectively guide an organization on its path to sustained continuous improvement. It has demonstrated how the shop floor can be linked to a company’s opera- tional objectives. It has also tried to emphasize the element of measurement that requires an understanding of human behavior and its impact on desired performance. The next chapter begins to reveal where these measures can work as control points in monitoring performance between customers and suppliers.

45

5

Logistics Element

t is now time to address the element representing the greatest operational challenge — Logistics. This is the area in which all the old rules of operating the shop floor are challenged. This is where the turf wars are fought, functional silos are brought down, individual kingdoms are destroyed, worlds are dominated, universes are lost … well, maybe not quite that big a challenge. Nevertheless, now that responsibility and accountability have been driven down to a lower level within the company, a different set of rules applies and some new techniques will need to be utilized.

This new way of doing business involves changing not only the formal documented process for planning and control, but also the informal, time- tested shopfloor rules that have been ingrained within the organization’s culture over the years. Therefore, a lean manufacturing implementation is not only changing documented procedures and physical material handling methods, but it is also placing stress on an informal system that has been used for years. This informal system is usually more difficult to combat.

To appreciate how strong the informal system within an organization can be, ask yourself how quickly and effectively rumors pass through your orga- nization. Enough said. This being the case, it becomes painfully obvious that the communication plan (identified in Chapter 3) is of paramount impor- tance to the success of an implementation. Employees need to understand why their informal system is being challenged and what this impending change will do to affect their work place.

This term logistics can mean several different things to different people,

so we will clarify its definition here. The term, in this context, refers to those operational elements required to transfer work to a cell, through that cell, and from one cell to the next. It is primarily those in-bound, internal, and out-bound aspects of planning and controlling the flow of work that are

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46 Lean Manufacturing: Tools, Techniques, and How To Use Them

involved in this element. Following is a description of the scope of each of these aspects — in-bound, internal, out-bound (Figure 5.1):

1. In-bound includes all activities related to getting raw material, pro- cured items, and other direct or indirect manufacturing items to their respective places of consumption. Functions such as procurement and subcontract management and items such as engineering drawings, process specifications, and tooling are all associated with in-bound logistics.

2. Internal has to do with those items required to facilitate the flow of work through the cell. These items involve cell team members (e.g., cell leader, production engineer, shop touch labor, production con- trol) and include such physical elements as materials or purchased parts, production tooling, equipment, Kanbans, priority listings, etc. 3. Out-bound relates to those items required to exit from the supplier cell and arrive at a customer or customer cell. Items such as customer identification, a negotiated delivery quantity, kit definition, supplier- held inventory, mode of transportation, ownership exchange points, etc. are all areas of focus for this aspect.

Now that a general idea of scope and boundary has been established, the various principles involved with the logistics process can be explored indi- vidually. Our focus in this chapter will be on:

Figure 5.1 Logistics Scope

Improve the processes by which materials, purchased parts, tooling, engineering data are provided to the cell.

Improve the material flow of components to, through, and onto the next cell.

Improve the customer/ supplier relationships between the cell and its customer base.

In-Bound Items: • Parts • Drawings • Tools Internal Members: • Cell leader • Prod. Control • Operators _Out-Bound Items: • Products • Transportation • Information

Logistics Element 47

1. Planning/control function

a. Priority planning (forward plan) b. Capacity planning (workload)

c. Capacity control (input/output control) d. Priority control (dispatch list)

2. A,B,C material handling 3. Service cells

4. Customer/supplier alignment

5. Just-in-time (JIT) Kanban demand signals 6. Cell team work plan

7. Level loading

8. Mix-model manufacturing 9. Workable work