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Lean is not for us
Job shop management commonly makes statements like lean isn't for us, we build to order or we don't build 1,000 widgets a day every day. The fact is lean techniques work extremely well in these environments.
Advanced lean techniques
Using advanced techniques in lean, mixed-model product families are developed. These product families are based on process. It doesn't matter who you sell the product to; they can still be in the same family.
Multiple products can be produced each day in the same production cell to meet customer demand. Any mix of the family can be made each day.
Once implemented
Once implemented, the mixed-model flow cell creates a lean manufacturing engine that eliminates the need for marketing to forecast the volume on individual products. Only the total product family volume needs to be forecast. The mix may vary each day, but the mixed-model flow cell was designed to manufacture any product in the mix at any volume. Therefore, any mix of the product family can be made each and every day as orders are received.
Flexibility
The result is a flexible system that specializes in small lot size, flexibility to customer demand, short lead times, on-time delivery, and quality built into their processes.
In job shops, some equipment is monument equipment, and may still run in a batch mode. Equipment such as furnaces, washing tanks, plating and others may be process driven. These are considered to be shared resources within a factory. In lean manufacturing, the parts produced from these resources will be signaled in through supermarket buffers. Developing kanban pulls to signal shared resources is the key in a job shop environment.
Typical results
Typical results from a lean implementation in a job shop environment are:
• lead time reduced 50 percent;
• setup times reduced 75 percent;
• WIP inventory turns increased 50 percent; and,
• capacity increase 20 percent.
The bottom line is satisfying more customers with the same capital resources.
Larry D. Coté is president and CEO of Lean Advisors Inc. Larry has specialized expertise in Toyota Production System concepts, diagnostics and assessment of Lean readiness. He works with the corporate leaders to develop effective plans for transforming entire organizations using Lean and adapting it to their particular culture. Learn more by visiting www.leanadvisors.com or e-mail him at .
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