With a number of Lean tools at your disposal, it’s important to find the ones that work for your facility. Let’s consider how Gemba, a concept that comes from Lean manufacturing, relates to other Lean ideas. Lean aims to identify and eliminate waste from work processes, ultimately making operations more efficient and less costly while boosting productivity. Waste: Lean Gemba walks fit in well with this mindset,…
Kicking off a 5S program begins with Seiri, or the Sorting step. Unused or little-used inventory and tools hamper productivity, create hazards, and hinder job performance. Industrial facilities and offices alike can get used to clutter and not see the wastes of a disorganized space. In reality, excessive tools and materials can impede workflow as employees have to spend more time looking for the item they need,…
At its core, kaizen is a group effort. Only when the entire organization embraces the ideals of kaizen will you see its benefits. The dedication to kaizen must start at the highest level of management and must infect middle management and the general workforce like a virus. Kaizen will forever change the manager-worker relationship. Traditionally, the manager’s role was to plan, implement, and supervise the workers. But…
A workplace where employees or visitors can easily understand how an area operates based on signs, labels, and other visual cues is often referred to as a visual workplace. These cues can include placards on walls and/or machinery showing operating procedures, equipment labels, signs with important reminders, and inventory level markers, as well as floor markings. Most large, profitable manufacturing companies have created visual workplaces, as visuals…
What is an Obeya? An Obeya room is a major component of Lean manufacturing and Lean-thinking strategies. Originally stemming from the Toyota Production System (TPS), “Obeya” is a Japanese term meaning big room and is often nicknamed the “war room”. The Obeya is a physical space to establish goals, generate ideas, and collaborate will managers. Setting up an Obeya is meant to speed up communication and the…