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Lean Implementation Steps, Plan, Roadmap, Timeline


Critical to any initiative is to have a vision and detailed plan to achieve the vision. In lean manufacturing, so often companies fail to fully implement lean because they generally don’t understand all facets of lean. Often companies lack a good strategy and plan to implement lean manufacturing. Below we outline a lean implementation plan and with the associated lean tools to develop a lean implementation timeline or roadmap with detailed lean implementation steps. Use it as a guide to lead your company through a successful lean implementation.

The basic steps to implement lean are:

1. Leadership Engagement & 5 year plan
2. Total Employee Lean Training
3. Daily Performance Walkthroughs
4. Kaizen Event Process
5. Value Stream Mapping
6. 5S & Visual Workplace
7. Total Productive Maintenance
8. Quality Improvement & Mistake Proofing
9. Work Cell Balance & Redesign
10. Reduce Changeover Times
11. Connect Processes To Flow Material
12. Kanban & Kitting Processes
13. Lean – Enterprise Wide

Leadership Engagement & 5 year plan back to top

Definition – This step involves getting top leadership’s full commitment to giving their time and support to the lean implementation. This step involves assigning a full time lean leader that will develop and own a 5 year lean implementation plan.

Benefits – This step is the most important of all. The primary reason that lean implementations fail is top leaders are not fully supporting and driving the process. If top management is not fully engaged, a lean implementation should not be pursued.

Implementation Steps – Top leaders need to participate in a kaizen at lean manufacturing companies with a strong lean foundation and 10 years of experience in their lean journey. Shingo prize companies are recommended as they have been recognized for results and progress toward implementing lean manufacturing. Lean Consultants are a good resource to connect you to a company engaged in lean at a high level. Once leadership is engaged, contact a lean recruiter and hire an experienced lean leader. Ideally candidates are lean certified and have experience as a Lean Manager, Continuous Improvement Manager, or Lean Engineering role. It is recommended that companies partner with a lean consulting company. Interview prospective consultants and select a partner that has experiences and backgrounds that fit your company’s processes and total size. Consultants will give guidance and bring in outside ideas from experiences at other companies. Then the Lean Manager, company leadership and the Consultants should put together a 5 year plan with the steps below and lean measurements to measure effectiveness of the plan. The 1st year of any lean implementation should focus on a simple model value stream. This model value stream should have all the elements implemented below to a world class manufacturing level. Years 2-5 should be focused on spreading the best practices throughout the entire organization. The 5 year plan should be reviewed quarterly with the annual value stream plans to review progress, engagement, and adjustments. This will help make sure the company stays on track in executing the 5 year plan.



Total Employee Lean Training back to top

Definition - Before starting a lean implementation all employees should be given higher level lean training. This training should include a mixture of Lean PowerPoints, factory lean simulation kits, Tom D Wip (7 wastes), definition of key terms e.g. muda, a lean video giving testimonials by all levels of an organization, an overview of the lean manufacturing tools, and the lean manufacturing definition.

Benefits - At the end of the training, employees should be able to give an overview to the question “What is lean manufacturing?”. For employees that will be heavily involved in the lean effort such as engineers and supervisors they should be enrolled in a lean course and be working toward a lean certification program.

Implementation Steps - This training should be given to large groups of 20-30 employees. The training should be given to all employees from top to bottom of the organization. The Lean Manager should be the primary trainer and be capable of answering questions employees may have. Once the training is completed, employees will have a foundation to become lean thinkers and start looking for a better way every day in their areas of responsibility.



Daily Performance Walkthroughs back to top

Definition - Each day the leadership team or lean management team assigned to a value stream should complete a walkthrough of the gemba (factory floor). Each area should have a performance board that is reviewed to understand quality, cost, delivery, and safety results for the area. Most importantly, an hour by hour chart should be reviewed and discussed to understand the reasons an area missed target each hour. The top reasons should be tracked and pareto charted. Tasks should be completed for the daily abnormalities and kaizens/projects should be used to address the repetitive issues on a downtime pareto chart. Completing these activities on a daily basis is the definition of lean manufacturing management.

Benefits - Too often managers try to manage issues through reports and employee e-mails/communications from their desks on a daily basis. Seeing the issues first hand on the Gemba daily gives leaders a good understanding of the true condition of the shopfloor, actions are taken immediately to address issues, and plans can be made for projects and kaizens to address larger issues and opportunities based on pareto charts. Once a pulse of the shopfloor is well understood, leadership understands the true opportunities in the area and can build in improvement plans to take the area to the next level.

Implementation Steps – The 1st step is to identify all the major work centers in the value stream. Next the critical metrics for the area should be identified including safety, quality, cost, and delivery metrics. An hour by hour sheet should be developed using an 11X17 form. It is recommended to use paper and graph the output hour by hour. This makes the process more visual and the paper copies can be stored for future reference. Resources should be identified that need to be involved – Managers, Supervisors, Engineers, Maintenance, and Quality. Then standard work for holding the walkthrough should be developed and every representative at the meeting should be assigned responsibility to report on a performance aspect of the area. The floor supervisor should lead the discussion for the work centers under their area of responsibility. The materials needed to implement daily walkthroughs are magnetic whiteboards, task cards, document holders, and magnetic strips.



Kaizen Event Process back to top

Definition - What is kaizen? A kaizen lean event (sometimes misspelled as kaizan) is a lean manufacturing process where a team of individuals focus for multiple days at a time and make improvements to a focused area. Kaizen events are also called a kaizen blitz or kaizen team. Kaizens range from 3-15 people and can last 2-10 days. Kaizens include employees from all levels and functions in an organization. Kaizens have a scope, targeted results, and specific actions to be completed.

Benefits - The benefits of a lean manufacturing kaizen event are: all employees including floor workers are engaged in making improvements and multiple minds work together from differing perspectives to develop the best possible solutions. Most importantly, the kaizen manufacturing process is fast and delivers results.

Implementation Steps - complete the prework - includes a team charter listing team members, goals, measurements, and objectives. The event week starts with kaizen training including PowerPoint training, training kits, and videos. The next step is to move to the shopfloor and hold the gemba kaizen for 2-10 days depending on the scope of the project. At the end of the kaizen a report out should be held where company leadership and affected stakeholders comment and celebrate the kaizen team’s success. Then kaizen homework and measuring results should take place until a kaizen closing meeting is held 30 days after the kaizen presentation.



Value Stream Mapping back to top

Definition - Lean value stream mapping is a process used to analyze material and information flow for the value stream of a product from the supplier to the customer. Value stream maps give leaders a graphical view of how their operation flows with the critical performance metrics for each step of the process. Having this high level view enables leaders to make significant changes to the operation that has a significant impact that can be seen by the customer.

Benefits – Taking a macro view of an operation will result in significant change. It has a much higher impact than traditional operational optimization because the changes can be leveraged as a competitive advantage in the eyes of the customer in terms of lead time, cost, and quality. This high level view, and focus on the operation will ensure resources are working on the top projects that will matter most to the business and drive optimal improvement.

Implementation Steps – It is recommended to use the kaizen process to complete the value stream mapping process. First complete a team charter with employees from all functions including floor workers. Then prior to the kaizen gather all safety, quality, productivity, and customer information to bring to the kaizen. Once the kaizen starts, begin with training including kits, PowerPoint training, and a video. Once complete begin posting all data for the value stream – safety, quality, productivity, customer, material flow maps, people maps, current state value stream map, and the ideal state map(value stream mapping icons). Then the team reviews all the information and brainstorms projects, kaizens, and tasks to make improvements to the value stream ultimately trying to reach the ideal state. Using lean software the current, ideal, and future state of the value stream should be documented including key metrics and the 12 month improvement plan. The 12 month improvement plan should be rolled into the quarterly review of the 5 year plan to measure progress to the plan and results in the key metrics.



5S & Visual Workplace back to top

Definition – Lean manufacturing 5S (sometimes misspelled as 5 S) is a process for maintaining a clean, optimized, organized, and standardized workplace. 5S applies to all areas of a business – supply base, manufacturing, distribution, information/file systems, and office areas. The 5S's were originally created in Japan using the Japanese words seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. As the process moved into the United States English terms were created - sort, set, shine, standardize, and sustain. The basic concept in 5S is: “There is a place for everything and everything is in its place.” The ultimate goal of 5S is that the workplace does not get dirty – this should be a focus for all 5S implementations.

Benefits – The 1st benefit of 5S is quality improvement due to a clean environment reducing the risk of dirt and grime contamination and reducing aesthetic quality defects such as marks or scratches. Safety is impacted as clutter is eliminated and tools are placed at the optimum point of use from an ergonomic standpoint. Productivity is impacted because employees are not looking for materials or tools, tools are placed at the optimum position to reduce cycle time, and cycle time is reduced due to standardization - repeating the cycle the same way every time. Sales can be impacted as prospective and current customers visit the operation and gain confidence that the operation is well run. Floor workers will be filled with pride as visitors complement their efforts and they will enjoy the daily satisfaction of working in a clean organized environment. As corporate leaders visit the site they will be positively impacted by the operations. This impression will weigh heavily towards site selection in future expansions.

Implementation Steps – As with any of the lean tools, a 5S kaizen is recommended to implement the 5S lean process. Begin the 5S implementation with 5S training including a training kit , PowerPoint training , and a 5S manufacturing video. Then the process starts with sort – remove all unnecessary items, red tag them, and move to a red tag holding area. The red tag holding area should be reviewed weekly by the leadership team and items should be disposed of or placed in the stockroom. Unnecessary items are items that are not used within the last 6 months. Set – remaining items should be placed in optimum locations for reduced cycle time and ergonomic consideration. Then label or shadow to identify the location using colored tape, labels, signs, shadowing material, or floor paint. Shine – Establish a process to clean daily. Standardize – Standard work should be created to ensure that daily unnecessary items are removed, labels and shadows are kept in good condition, daily cleaning occurs, and that all items are put back in their place. The last step Sustain – is the process of completing a 5S audit to ensure the 5S workplace is maintained. The audit results should be posted on a performance board and reviewed with the employees in the area.



Total Productive Maintenance back to top

Definition – TPM or Total Productive Maintenance is a maintenance management lean process for improving equipment to eliminate defects and downtime. The two primary efforts around TPM are TPM events and equipment abnormality reduction events (sometimes called Focused Equipment Improvement Teams). TPM events are focused around tearing down equipment, replacing broken or worn components, and modifying machines for ease of lubrication for maintenance and operators. TPM events bring equipment to like new condition. An important part of sustaining TPM event improvements are preventative maintenance activities completed by maintenance and production operators to ensure the equipment maintains its like new condition. After the machine has been brought to like new condition the machine will still produce defects and have downtime due to design flaws. These design flaws should be eliminated through equipment reliability kaizens. Equipment abnormality kaizens are focused on specific machine abnormalities not resolved by TPM kaizens. The basic process for these kaizen is to identify the specific issue, complete a 5 why analysis to determine the root cause, brainstorm ways to address the issue, trystorm the top ideas, then modify the machine.

Benefits – Implementing TPM in operations increases reliability in equipment and reduces downtime and defects caused by equipment. Productivity increases, quality improves, on time delivery improves, operator morale increases as they are more involved and spend less time fighting equipment issues. TPM also affects safety as operators and maintenance find safety issues in guarding and safety devices as they complete equipment inspections. Implementing TPM at this point in the lean implementation before reducing inventories is essential because poor machine reliability can have disastrous effects on customer service and hurt the success of the lean implementation. Leaders can lose their confidence in lean and reduce their support of the effort.

Implementation Steps – Step 1 is to create a new position to manage the TPM process and be the primary leader for TPM kaizens. It is recommended that this position reside in plant maintenance but report to the Lean Manager to ensure focus remains on the TPM implementation across the plant. Once this position is in place, hold a kaizen event. In preparation for the event gather the needed training kits, books, PowerPoint training, gauge marking sheets, and TPM videos. A part of this training should involve teaching operators to use their senses when operating equipment. They can use their sense of smell, sight, hearing, and touch to find noises, vibrations, or temperature rises in equipment operation. Flagging these issues early will prevent defects or downtime. After training tear the equipment down and bringing equipment to like new condition, develop tasks for operators to lubricate, clean, and replace consumable parts. Maintenance should have PM tasks as well to keep the equipment in like new condition. Following the kaizen measure results, and audit maintenance activities to ensure the ongoing tasks by maintenance and operators are being completed.

When the machine is brought to like new condition, many of the defects and downtime created by the machine will be eliminated. The remaining issues are a result of design flaws of the machine. To address these flaws machine abnormality events should be held for each machine. These events are typically short in length and smaller in terms of team size. The kaizen team members should be diverse in organizational roles and diverse in machine knowledge. The basic steps are to complete a 5 why analysis, brainstorm as many ways as possible to modify the design of the machine, trystorm, and implement the best solution. We recommend the book Focused Equipment Improvement for TPM Teams for detailed steps to hold these kaizens.



Quality Improvement & Mistake Proofing back to top

Definition – Over the past 10 years six sigma and lean have been combined to create lean sigma, lean 6 sigma, or sometimes lean six sigma. Lean requires high levels of quality because when inventories are removed between processes significant quality issues can shut down entire value streams. Lean experts over the past 50 years in the US and Japan have been quoted many times saying that companies not willing to address these significant quality issues should not adopt lean. As a result, solving these issues with six sigma variation reduction tools and poka yokes needs to take place before removing work in process inventories. Examples of six sigma tools are fishbone diagrams, five why process, and design of experiments. A poka yoke is a Japanese term for a mistake proofing device. There are 3 levels of a poka yoke. Level 1 poka yokes do not allow a defect to be produced. A level 2 poka yoke detects the defect and stops the process. A level 3 poka yoke detect defects. Level 1 poka yokes are ideal because it is impossible to create a defect.

Benefits – The benefits of improving quality are well known. Productivity improves due to reduced rework, reduced quality inspectors (in a lean environment every employee is an inspector), reduced line stoppages, reduced handling of defective product, reduced waste, reduced landfill costs, and reduced field repairs. The improved quality reputation in the marketplace will drive increased sales. A better reputation in the marketplace will improve long term security. The inventories used to minimize the effects of quality issues and production stoppages can also be eliminated.

Implementation Steps – The top quality issues should be identified and kaizens should be planned. Each kaizen should start with lean six sigma training, including training kits, PowerPoint presentations, quality videos, and poka yoke videos. Kaizens should begin analyzing the defects using fishbone diagrams, 5 whys, bandaid charts, and variation measurement. More complex issues may require a DOE to understand the root cause. Once the root cause of the quality issue is resolved the kaizen team should brainstorm as many ways as possible to address the root cause. Then trystorm the various ideas and implement the best solutions. These kaizen should be held as many times as necessary to eliminate the significant quality issues in the value stream. As kaizens are held in each area, the poka yokes and other quality checks should be driven in the hands of the operators in the production areas and made part of the production process. Traditional quality checks (go/no go) completed by quality inspectors should be minimized and the quality organization should be sized down appropriately.



Work Cell Balance & Redesign Coming Soon! back to top



Reduce Changeover Times Coming Soon! back to top



Connect Processes To Flow Material Coming Soon! back to top



Kanban & Kitting Processes Coming Soon! back to top



Lean – Enterprise Wide Coming Soon! back to top

 

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