http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1 FuseTalk Educational Edition http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6696 2013-05-21T14:49:39 -05.00 ChadCNelson 2 http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6690 2013-05-14T16:39:16 -05.00 Jeroen2011 14
I work for a company that, despite of a lot of waste in the (production) process, is very very successful: market leader, very few competitors, double digits profit margin, satisfied customers.

There are some lean initiatives, but successes are local and very hard to sustain.

Do you have any thoughts or recommendations on how to start a lean transformation in a company that is virtually fire proof... ]]> http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6686 2013-05-10T15:05:08 -05.00 IMNOGURU 6
There could be several different reasons why the team meetings weren't consistently held in the past. One theory is that typically only the manufacturing manager was involved in leading those meetings. So when they would get bogged down with a critical issue, the meeting would get postponed/canceled. A second theory is that it just ended up turning into a round-table discussion where people just brought up issues (mostly issues that people are already aware of).

Keep in mind we are still developing our culture, so we aren't quite to the point of having the leaders on the line heading the team meetings. I should also mention that as a forging facility, holding them at Gemba is particularly challenging, mainly because you just see lips moving with the sound of presses in the backround. We are also currently discussing involving more managers so that if one isn't able to show, the meeting can still take place.

What could be some simple and/or creative solutions to this issue?

Thanks everyone :) ]]> http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6685 2013-05-09T11:12:05 -05.00 Jingyan-JoyWAN 2 http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6683 2013-05-06T18:03:40 -05.00 MichaelHintze 3 http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6678 2013-05-03T16:13:12 -05.00 KeithL 12
I am reluctant to focus on the wastes, at least at first. I think we need to be learning from operators what they are doing and not gigging them for waste, or bad 5-S scores ( I know it isn't personal, but it will seem like it to them). And while the questions Jim asks are great assessing a flow, and I think we will use them early on to see the state of our company, using them every day may not be fruitful.

I am wondering if anyone has a daily/weekly Gemba Walk checklist they would be willing to share. I am willing to share what we come up with when we are done.

Thanks in advance ]]> http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6676 2013-05-03T09:17:08 -05.00 Rolyan 8
For a number of reasons we do not have, and will not be getting, any of the usual software (minitab etc). Is there a way of doing this manually, or is there freeware available, to do the usual stuff. 2 sample T tests are a really useful tool but I'm only used to doing them with minitab.

Any help would be gratefully received. ]]> http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6675 2013-05-03T09:16:55 -05.00 Rolyan 20
But sometimes it still goes wrong. One example is a process where there is a SOP to follow, posted at the process, noted on the route card, covered in the induction and mentioned on the inspection sheet. The operator failed to follow this and all the days production was scrapped.

When questioned, the operator said that he knew there was a SOP, he knew to use it, he agreed it had been covered in his induction, he agreed it was on the process BUT he decided not to use it and just work from his memory. Hence a full shifts scrap.

There have been 2 management response:

1) you can never blame the person, just look at the process. The person should have no blame.
Or
2) the person deliberately chose not to follow the procedure and in doing so caused all the scrap and let the customer down etc. Therefore the person should be blamed and formal waring issued etc.

Is there a right way or a wrong way in this. What do others do in these circumstances. ]]> http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6674 2013-05-02T13:01:45 -05.00 TommyXiang 3 I am new to this forum and this is my first post.
I am currently working on setting up a new manufacturing start-up of plastic industry in mainland China with a limited budget on hand. Our business is mainly focusing on producing and exporting finished plastic parts to overseas buyers.

For the organization structure, we would like to implement some lean thinking into it at the outset to play with the stringent budget as well as to form the cornerstone to grow as a lean manufacturer in China.
By referring to some books, what we come up with initially for the org. is: Product Development Team, Product Teams, Adm. Dept., Shipping/Custom Declaration Dept., Sales Team, Finance, Quality Team, JIT Promotion Team.

Have you found any significant missing in our org.structure? Or do you have any other comments for a start-up to make the entire structure leaner?

Many thanks in advance!
Steven Wu ]]> http://www.lean.org/FuseTalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=44&threadid=6672 2013-05-01T13:07:58 -05.00 263238 3
How do we show the economic value of conducting the FMEA? Our original thought was to use the value of the plant and line and a likelihood of occurance to come up with a value (example: $100M plant x 0.1% probablility = $100,000). Has anyone used other methods to determine the economic value of performing risk mitigating activities like FMEAs? Thanks for your help. ]]>