Breaking Through to Flow

Overview:

In your organisation:

  • Are daily or weekly plans and schedules constantly changed?
  • Is the prime focus of LEAN eliminating waste rather than improving flow?
  • Is the accuracy of demand forecasting ever an issue?
  • Would “fire fighting” be the term best used to describe the way issues are resolved?

if so, then read on!

Many companies are faced with a recurring cycle of unpredictable demands, short term plan changes, fire-fighting, high inventory yet low customer service. Others have mapped their current state, identified their future state and determined that they need to move to a level pull production approach, but are having difficulty taking the next step. For both groups, this workshop offers a practical step on the path to a truly lean system that can be implemented immediately, resulting in improved stability, an understanding of demand patterns, few plan changes, repetitive fixed cycles, lower inventory, reduced lead time and higher customer service.

Ian Glenday has developed a step-by-step methodology for implementing levelled production in industries where it currently may seem impossible. Implementation delivers step changes in current levels of performance, margins and customer responsiveness.

Course Outline:

“Breaking Through to Flow” explains how Lean Thinking and essential tools, such as levelled production, apply in all types of industry sectors.

The workshop uses examples from a variety of industries to show how their traditional production systems create waste and how lean eliminates the waste to improve responsiveness, flexibility, productivity, and profitability.

You will learn why and how lean production’s fundamental logic really does apply to all industries and how it differs from existing supply chain logic.  Learn how to begin adapting lean thinking by using the concept of levelled production to smooth the type and quantity of production over a fixed period. This enables production to more efficiently meet customer demands while minimising inventory, capital costs, labour, and production lead time.

You will learn hands-on with a case study example, applying a tool called “The Glenday Sieve” to make the transition to a lean production system with current plant and equipment limitations. You will  also learn:

  • The flawed logic behind traditional production systems, the alternative lean logic and why it is better
  • How to start on the path of implementing the five steps of levelling
  • How to use the Sieve analysis tool to efficiently run smaller batches more frequently, eliminate excess inventory, eradicate “fire Fighting”, remove non-value adding complexity in materials and involve the whole organisation in improvement
  • Where to target kaizen events for the maximum payback
  • How to efficiently run small batches at frequent intervals
  • How to Identify and eliminate “institutional waste,” — unnecessary complexity in materials that adds costs but little or no value and is  “baked-in” to current ways of working
  • How to apply the concept of Every Product Every Cycle where you have hundreds of SKU’s and how this results in “Economies Of Repetition” and better customer, employee and bottom line results
  • How to create an environment that supports employee involvement and genuine continuous improvement, involving all departments in the lean transformation.

This workshop can run as a one-day description of the approach, or for three or four days to develop the approach for your particular situation.