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05/12/2011 03:58 PM
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Hi All,
I have been in Lean journey more than 6 years worked with different manufacturing companies.
Recently I started working with good size Dental Lab to impliment Lean but I am having some diffucult times and need some suggestions.
-Company works with piece work bonus plan.
-Of course no scheduling or forecasting because of the nature of business.
-Every case is custom make but processes are similar but cycle time changes.
-There is NO cycle time calculations to calculate efficiency.
-No cross training.
-Batch processing is very favorable,
-They have been in business more than 40 years.
Please advise where should I start :)
Regards
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05/13/2011 07:55 AM
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I would start with a high-level A3 for the company - what is the case for change (in other words, why do they want to do Lean?) I hope they defined that before hiring you!
1) Piecework is a bad idea, but it's probably so well engrained that you can't start there. Most doctors are paid on piecework (as is much of healthcare, unfortunately).
2) Have them look at their data, I bet they CAN predict their workload on a day given this data (within some range of variability). Even an emergency department can typically predict its volume in some range (and people often think that's totally unpredictable). Can / should be used for labor planning.
3) Batching (large batches) are really deeply engrained in healthcare. Come up with simulation exercises and hands on activities to help show that batching is not ideal. One piece flow might not be ideal either - find the middle ground.
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05/13/2011 07:55 AM
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Shakir
Before I can provide some thougths or ideas on your situation, maybe you could post what business problem they are trying to solve for? Why is Lean being introduced?
From the list of challenges, I am unclear on what this company is trying to achieve.
The first place, I would suggest you start is with defining the business problem (highest level e.g. reduce administrative cost, improve quality, improve cycle times, .....) and create a charter that the organization buys into. Then from there you can start structuring around how to solve the business problem to drive value.
Best of Luck
Samantha
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05/24/2011 12:34 PM
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Hi Samantha and Mark,
Thank you both for your inputs. As you guys mentioned I clearly ask them about the position and why they requested Lean implemetation.Answer was we have seen other Labs and thought it would be good for our business :)
So company has big potantial but unfortunately culture is not ready to change starting from Senior Management so my Project Charter is ready to roll but I have no idea about the buy in.
So far I have picked one department and put their current and future state VSM together still working on their KPI metrics so measure.
Culture change will be the hardest and I will keep you updated as much as I can. Please do not hesitate to share your knowladge and experience with me.
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06/01/2011 09:31 AM
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Shakir,
I am a dentist and I use the lean methodology in my practice.
A couple of years ago I gave a presentation to a group of dental lab owners at Whip-Mix, a dental manufacturers. Some of the labs were working seriously on implementing leam management; and the company has some very good lean thinkers (IEs) on staff. They even created a specific kind of dental stone that they simply named "Lean Stone."
I am not promoting Whip-Mix but I would call them for advice since they've helped many labs with implementation.
thanks
Sami
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06/06/2011 06:47 PM
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Hi Sami,
I have read your book and enjoyed it very much.
I try to contact Whip mix but they have not get back to me. I have already started the Lean journey with my company, it is little harder than other industries but there is always room for improvement.
Thanks for your input.
Shakir Tas
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07/15/2011 04:21 PM
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Hello:
My name is Nick Azar and I have been involved in the dental industry for almost 30 years. I believe i can provide you with direction to help with your lean manufacturing project at the dental laboratory. You can contact me off-line at: nick@azarandassociates.com when you have some time.
Wish you all the best
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Note: These forums are moderated by the Lean Enterprise Institute. All posts are reviewed prior to appearing on the site. Views expressed in these forums do not necessarily represent the views of the Lean Enterprise Institute.
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