Ask Gemba

Hello Jon,
I have a question about OEE and one piece flow cells. How would you best plan such a cell. Would you make an hour-by-hour chart based on the cycle time and plan only the hours needed, leaving some contingency time at the end of a shift for catching up the losses during that shift if any (representing OEE)? Or would you calculate the OEE into the takt time? From what I’ve read about Toyota I get the idea that they use overtime to compensate losses. Is that correct?
I would appreciate your insights Jon, and I have found your blog a very good TPS resource indeed.
Best regards, Bas Timmermans, Enrichment Technology, the Netherlands

Love this idea!
ASK GEMBA QUESTION: In Understanding A3 Thinking: A Critical Component of Toyota’s PDCA Management System (Sobek/Smalley) it states the Toyota (and I am assuming Japanese) translation of STANDARD is more of a scientific comparison definition than how we think of the word as “a rule” or “prescribed way of doing things” (page 114).
Does this translation expand to standardized work? My Western view of this definition is “This is how a process is done all the time by all people” involving the rest of the requirements for standardized work (takt time, etc).
The book made me question my understanding of how we approach (and audit) standardized work.
I appreciate all of your help with this.

I have trouble with staff who appear generally supportive of improvement projects and agree with Senior Management on proposed actions but then fail to implement agreed changes and constantly come up with lame excuses. I don’t know whether they secretly don’t believe we can improve, although they have ample opportunity to speak candidly.
Do I need more support from Senior Management or to be a little tougher with the ‘passive saboteurs’? It’s not just Lean that doesn’t get done, they don’t do work for Quality Management of Health and Safety either.
If I need more support from my Senior Manager, how do I requests this without sounding like I’m blaming them for the failure of the project?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hello John,
We are in the process of designing a synchronised flow process with an intermittent transportation system for a new assembly line. We have no buffer positions in the line, so it is critical that we organise support functions extremely well. An andon board is central to visualising line stops and signalling for support. Can you share your experience with ‘the nuts and bolts’ of such an andon-triggered support organisation? How does this work in practice in case of a line stop, who is triggered when by whom for what support? How are problems best escalated? How do you balance out immediate countermeasures and root cause corrective action?
Bas Timmermans
Enrichment Technology

Hi Roger
I have never heard of C70. If the video was from 1970 it may have been an abbreviation of “Cost reduction ’70”. A few more hints such as the title of the video or the company featured might help.

Hi Sean,
There are quite a few books out there on kanban but their usefulness and depth of detail quite a bit. I would recommend the following three:
Kanban for the Shop Floor from Productivity Press
http://www.amazon.com/Kanban-Shopfloor/dp/1563272695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247751055&sr=1-1
This is a compilation of kanban principles from various Japanese books and other sources. It provides a good quick, basic reference and makes a good attempt at being a practical guide. There are a few faults and inconsistencies in terminology (translation issues) but nothing egregious.
Toyota Production System: An Integrated Approach to Just in Time
http://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Production-System-Just-time/dp/143982097X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247750750&sr=1-1
This is a serious and scholarly work by Yasuhiro Monden and goes into enough depth in kanban and supporting systems to leave you reeling. I open the chapter on heijunka whenever I need to feel humble.
Lean Logistics: The Nuts and Bolts of Delivering Materials and Goods
http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Logistics-Bolts-Delivering-Materials/dp/1563272962/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247751224&sr=1-1
If I had to recommend one book it would be this one. Michel Baudin does a great job of covering the broad topic of logistics while giving sufficiently space to kanban as well as the planning and logistics systems required to make it work. While not a hands-on guide, it is far more readable than Monden’s work. In parts the book goes into more depth than the beginner may be able to handle, but it is always insightful and invites you to learn more.

I am doing some research on demand segmentation and found some rather conflicting information from two credible resources. According to The Toyota Way Fieldbook when leveling production you produce High Volume products to stock while you make the Low Volume products to order. Then according to Ken Koenemann , Practice Leader, Lean Value Chain Practice for TBM Consulting Group, one would make Low Order Variability/High Volume and low variability/low volume products to demand while high variability/low volume and high variability/ high volume items are make to stock. Am I missing something because of the fact that the Toyota way does not take into account frequency between orders and only looks at volume? I think this would be a great post topic as smoothing is the base of the Toyota Production System but yet it there is some rather conflicting information out there.

Hi Joe
The reply to your question is here http://bit.ly/26Vxyk

Following the TPS recommendations for Span of control my organisation has recently been working at developing a team based structure. To date, using change management and high levels of capability building for all levels we have had reasonable success in making the transaction. To effectively respond to problems one of our ultimate aims is to have functional support available at Gemba. This has , however, led to a great deal of resistance. Does anyone have any suggestions,models, or case studies we can consider to help make this transformation as smooth as possible?

what should be ideal process flow for kaizen?
What I mean is who can give their suggestions, how to evaluate kaizen event, Should we plan an event on monthly basis?

What is the meaning of Yosedome?

I am a recently graduated industrial engineer and was tasked by my manufacturing manager with creating a value stream map of an entire grinding section at my bearing assembly plant. A big problem I am running into is the vast quantities of different sized rings we process and their varying cycle times and changeover times. Also, the flow of the rings through the operations is not standardized, so the quantity and wait time of the WIP between operations varies dramatically from batch to batch and job to job.
This makes me regress to thinking about what the point of a value stream map is: to show where the waste, value, and non-value is in the system. But our system is not standardized or in control. I feel that even if I followed a few pieces and collected times on WIP and cycle times, it wouldn’t matter because that data will vary greatly every time the job is run.
My question is this: are there any criteria that need to be met before creating a value stream map, e.g. standardization, process control? I am new to this field and perhaps this is a usual issue at manufacturing plants implementing lean.

Hello Faisal,
I have posted an answer to your question here http://bit.ly/4bLrYW

My background is high volume automotive production like Ford. I am now involved with static build production of HVAC units. How do I best apply stop the line methods with static builds? ie no line to stop.

Hi Xandria
We cannot give you permission to use this image because it is a stock photo we purchased and we are not the copyright holder. Unfortunately I don’t recall the source of the photo.

In response to Bruno:- Yosedome is basically the consolidation of operations or processes to more closely match actual demand. In Toyota, we use it as a principle to reduce cost during periods of low volume or when customer demand is less than capacity. It literally means ‘stopping of processes to match demand’.
A couple of examples :- In our casting plant we have 6 casting machines which gives us a minimum cycle time of 50 seconds. If volume decreases we will only run 5 or 4 or 3 machines to more closely match demand – we’ll stop the other machines.
Another example would be to modify an assembly line to take multiple model types so that we could run the reduced volume down one line as opposed to running two.
Yosedome is closely linked to energy reduction activity – the concept of stopping processes that are not needed.
Hope this helps

Hey why don’t you post stuff on Toyota’s Recalls? How about an article like “Why Kaizen is killing people….Toyota’s shameful accelerators and break debacles”.

what are different muda in printing press or newspaper printing factories.

Hi Paul
Here is my answer to your question: Ask Gemba

hi,
when we calculate manpower from the formula on tha basis of monthly production plan ,where no. shifts come in points like 0.3,0.6 etc. & accordingly manpower comes in points also like 0.2,0.6,0.3, inthis case how to manage the line , manpower depolyment on the line according to no. of shifts, pls. help in this matter

Thanks for your question David. Here is my response
http://www.gembapantarei.com/2010/04/a_tracking_method_for_5s_programs.html

What is a storefront and how can it help my lean manufacturing system be more flexible?

How could you instill/imbibe into the minds of the employees the “Lean Thinking”? Where would you start?

What if a company mfrs. large component like machine Industrial A/c Unit, table size machine., Can we transform this mfg process in conveyor belt assembly, And if currently only single worker is assembling single Unit and it takes almost 1 hour to assembly the whole unit. Can we have all worker assembly one single unit at the same time.?

Hi,
My question is about management and how a lean transformation could be driven. Actually, we had started lean since 2007 in the factory with a “sensei” at the top management of the company. I was named lean facilitator (no official authority), my mission was just to be “the oil in the engine” (to resume). Lean is always alive today! But it’s very difficult to maintain because of a poor discipline of the middle management. The boss of the factory hasn’t a really “lean experience” and I have to support lean every time. I’ve never be really the “oil” but I had to be the “engine” to make lean initiatives survive… Today this “sensei” has another position in the company (group level) and my question is what position in the factory must I have to keep it right? My boss propose me to take a new position: have authority on the middle management to be sure that lean can go faster and further. Can a lean transformation continue if there is no facilitator man who is in charge full time? Can I drive lean seriously if I take authority over production? What is your opinion about that?
Many thanks
Sorry for my poor language, I’m French

Hi guys-
I don’t know how closely you’ve been following Paul Aker’s radio show (The American Innovator), but he’s currently running an informal poll on the show to determine whether or not he should continue broadcasting starting in January.
I know that you guys have worked closely with Paul and that he credits you guys for a lot of the great things he’s done at Fastcap, so I don’t need to explain who he is or how much positive energy he exudes about Lean.
Paul has said that unless he gets another 800 “votes” to stay on the air, which can be a text message, e-mail, or phone call, bringing him to his target of 1000 votes, he’s going to quit doing the show and go skiing.
I think it would be a great loss to the Lean community if we lose his show. If you share even some of that sentiment, then perhaps you could write this up on your blog, and give people the details about how to vote (if you want, I can send you those details) as well as encourage them to do so.
Thanks for your time, and I hope that you do end up writing something up.
Yours,
Sam Korb

Why is change always resisted….??

I want to ask for the difference between “Cycle time and process time”?
If I working for the filling process and I’ve 4 nozels to fill at the same time and it takes 10 sec. to complete filling at the same time for the 4 bottels, so please I want to know what is the cycle time that I should post in the VSM and as well what is the process time and cycle time for this process? thanks for your time.
Mohamed