Just In Time Production

Title	Description
Basic Flow	Creating flow means linking together operations that otherwise are disjointed. When operations are linked together there is : - more teamwork; - rapid feedback on earlier quality problems; - control over the process, and - direct pressure for people to solve problems, think and improve.
Pull Production	Explaining the 3 major requirements of a pull production system, Getting materials to the shop floor based on actual consumption Moving work-in-process (WIP) through the shop based on actual customer demand Providing a mechanism for continuously improving the production processes
Visual Management	Provides an overview of visual management, supported by practical factory floor exercises to reinforce training
Basic Stability	Provides a basis for the organisation to review its current operations and put in place measures that create a stable platform from which to start a Lean implementation
Value Stream Mapping	Value Stream Mapping provides a detail overview of all the process steps in a value stream. By highlighting the process and information flows it provides a vital baseline upon which improvement iniatives can be built
Cell Design	Reduce waste by reducing defects that result from processing and product changeovers. Since products or components move through a cell one piece at a time, operators can quickly identify and address defects. Production equipment is sized to work best for the specific product mix being produced, as opposed to the equipment that would meet the largest possible projected production volume. Production layouts typically require less floor space for equal levels of production ("this is a factory, not a warehouse"). Reductions in square footage can reduce energy use for heating, air conditioning, and lighting.

Dieting and Lean, different story same outcome
17/04/2010
Whilst out with friends at dinner the other day the conversation turned to diets. Turned out that at our table of eight people five of them were on one sort of diet or another. As I listened to the conversation it became apparent that most had been on other diets before with varying degrees of initial success but after a while the initial weight was regained, sometimes with an extra kilo or two.

Now I don’t profess to have an expertise in this field although I have always wondered why, if any particular diet works, there are so many others?

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The Lean Toolbox
02/12/2009
This article first appeared in the Quality Digest Magazine. The author makes a very important point about how just having lean tools does not support a lean change.

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You only get what you measure
24/11/2009
If you truly do get what you measure it is interesting to note that many traditional organisations rely on metrics that are focused on operational features like cost of labour, raw materials and production output vs. sales projection or forecasts. Making decisions in the current business climate on such narrowly defined operation factors, see examples in Table 1, could prove disastrous.

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Enabling Excellence

Just In Time Production