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Creating Continuous Flow (1 Day Class)

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Description:
Every production facility has at least one pacemaker process, the place where products take their final form for external customers. How you operate the pacemaker affects how well you respond to external customers and what demand is like for internal upstream processes. This is also where many companies stumble badly, creating a cell at the pacemaker that moves together processing steps but uses operators poorly, suffers from erratic output, accumulates fluctuating inventory levels between workstations, and backslides from lean methods into traditional methods of operation.

Benefits:
This workshop is especially helpful if you're suffering from cells with "fake flow" instead of continuous flow. To tell if you have fake flow, observe a cell while reviewing these questions:

  • Do operators wait while machines cycle?
  • Is there more than one piece of material in between each workstation?
  • Do operators ever wait for work from the preceding workstation?
  • Do some operators finish their work ahead of takt time?
  • Is the cell more than five feet wide at its widest point? Are the first and last workstations at opposite ends of the cell?
  • Does the output of the cell vary from hour to hour, or shift to shift?
  • Is there an operator at each workstation?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you're losing out on the biggest benefits of cellular production, such as:

  • very short lead times
  • rapid identification of quality problems
  • quick communication between steps
  • increased productivity
  • higher output
  • conservation of resources

This workshop will demonstrate how to maximize the benefits of cellular production through:

  • The identification and timing of the actual work elements
  • Distributing the elements among the proper number of operators in relation to takt time
  • Balancing operator work elements to expose waste

Course Outline:

Through instruction, class discussions, and hands-on exercises this workshop will take you through the implementation sequence and the use of formulas, forms, and concepts so you know “what to do Monday morning” when you return to work. You’ll use a realistic manufacturing factory example to:

  • Identify and time the actual work elements
  • Distribute the elements among the proper number of operators in relation to takt time
  • Encourage operator involvement in improving the cell
  • Balance operator work elements to expose waste
  • Arrange machines and workstations
  • React to changes in demand
  • Select the right level of automation
  • Sustain the gains through an overlapping timetable of audits for operators, team leaders, supervisors, and area managers

Who Should Attend?
Those who would benefit from attending this workshop include:

  • Operators, engineers, managers, supervisors, technical support personnel and change agents
  • Organizations with processes/systems that can be described as:
    • Completely manual production
    • Operator-driven cells and lines incorporating automated equipment
    • Conveyorized production lines
    • Partially automated transfer lines (with operator work stations)

Note: this workshop will not focus on the requirements of a customized job shop.

Instructors:
Chris Harris

Chris Harris is co-author with Rick Harris and Earl Wilson of the LEI workbook Making Materials Flow: a lean material-handling guide for operations, production-control, and engineering professionals, which received a 2005 Shingo Research Award. Chris began his lean training on the assembly line at Toyota’s Georgetown, KY, plant where he learned the proper use of lean tools such as takt time, standardized work, production status boards, and the andon system. He continued his lean training at Toyota Tsusho America where he worked with returnable container systems, kanban systems, parts supermarkets, and milk runs. Chris, a six sigma green belt, also has been a production supervisor and a corporate buyer. He currently aids companies implementing lean through Harris Lean Systems.

Rick Harris

Rick is the co-author of two LEI workbooks: Creating Continuous Flow: an action guide for managers, engineers and production associates, which received a Shingo Research Award in 2003 and Making Materials Flow: a lean material-handling guide for operations, production-control, and engineering professionals, which received a 2005 Shingo Research Award. Rick learned the realities of manufacturing during 15 years at GM, beginning as an operator and working his way up to first line manager. He received his lean education at Toyota’s Georgetown, KY, plant, where he was a member of the startup team and an assembly manager. Rick continued his lean training at the Tsutsumi Assembly Plant in Toyota City, Japan. He pioneered the “reverse flow” process to achieve dramatic increases in operator efficiency. He also has extensive experience developing layouts that facilitate one-piece flow, operator flexibility, first-time-through quality, optimum uptime, and reduced capital investment. He currently aids companies implementing lean through Harris Lean Systems.

Suggested Reading for this Workshop:
Price: $800.00 ($700.00 if the participant is taking 2 or more workshops at one location)
Price includes all participant materials, breakfast, lunch and snacks each day
Locations and Dates for Creating Continuous Flow

No offerings of this workshop are scheduled at this time. Please check back again soon.

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Cancelation Policy
Our workshops are designed to cater to a limited number of participants.  If you must cancel a workshop registration, you will be given a full refund up to four weeks before the workshop. A cancelation occuring within four weeks of the workshop will be subjected to a $350 cancelation fee.  Substitutions may be made at any time prior to the start of the workshop. To cancel a workshop registration, please call LEI at (617) 871-2900.