Assignment :
Lean Manufacturing is a concept where a company tries to eliminate waste from their processes. Lean manufacturing technologies such as Just in Time (JIT) & Kanban are often used by companies to improve their processes. Think of a company you have either worked for, conducted business with, or are otherwise familiar.
Pick one of their processes (For example: taking customer orders at McDonalds). Describe this process and point out any elements of waste.
Describe how you would improve this process to eliminate the waste you identified.
Is it possible to apply JIT and Kanban techniques to this process?
READ AND REPLY TO EACH DISCUSSION BY AGREEING OR DISAGREEING AND WHY?
Reply 1
Pick one of their processes (For example: taking customer orders at McDonalds). Describe this process and point out any elements of waste.
According to Blackstone (2008), a fixed-position layout is the type of process known for bringing workers to the location of the product. An example of this would be construction and ship-building. Elements of waste that can occur within this process are under-utilization and defects. Under-utilization can occur if all staff members are not being used to their full potential or capabilities. Defects occur when failings cause rework, therefore, the production line is not optimized. An example of this would be an employee is an expert in a certain area but assigned elsewhere because of inadequate number of staff can cause defects to occur because he/she is not familiar with the work and can cause a blockage in the production line.
Describe how you would improve this process to eliminate the waste you identified.
The researcher has found that providing the necessary flexibility allows the company to optimize their production line. In order to eliminate the waste identified the company should take the time to ensure there are an ample number of staff that are trained in the field they are working on and that there is always adequate coverage in case someone with in that field cannot make it for the day. This will ensure that all staff are being used to their full potential and will lessen the chances of defects occurring.
Is it possible to apply JIT and Kanban techniques to this process?
It is possible to apply the Kanban technique to this process. According to Leankit.com, the Kanban technique works on visualizing the work and workflow, limit work in process, focus on flow and continuous improvement. I believe these techniques can be incorporated to this process and eliminate any waste that can come up.
Blackstone, J. H. Jr., & Cox, J. F. (2008). APICS dictionary (12th ed.). Chicago: APICS.
What is Kanban? (2018).
Reply 2
Pick one of their processes (For example: taking customer orders at McDonalds). Describe this process and point out any elements of waste.
I am currently a Community Service Manager for a residential construction company called Pardee Homes. My job is to inspect the home prior to the homeowner orientation to identify any issues. One process that takes place during production is drywall installation and paint. The drywall company places the drywall in once the foundation is complete. Texture is then sprayed on the walls and sanded to prepare for paint. Once texture has been sanded, the painters follow by painting the entire home. There are two issues with this process. The first issue is painters are being rushed and are not given enough time to complete the job to standard. This is causing more work after the homeowners have moved in, causing some of them to be angry. The second issue is there are drywall issues that the painters are just painting over, again causing issues with the homeowner.
Describe how you would improve this process to eliminate the waste you identified.
Due to these two issues mentioned, there is a waste of man hours because painters have to return to the home and repaint. There is also a waste of material like paint and drywall, which in turn is a waste of money. First the organization needs a way to get the painters the time they need to do the job properly. The underlying issue is the company needs to sell a certain number of houses by year end. Through the use of historical data, it would show how many houses had to be repainted and the percentage of customers that were negatively affected. It would also show how much money and man hours are being wasted due to the current process. Once management understands the severity of the situation, then as a temporary fix management should cut the number of houses build per year until there are enough painters to handle the numbers. The long-term fix is to encourage the painting company to hire more painters due to the demand or maybe consider going with a different company that can handle the numbers. Improving the drywall situation is simple. Currently the company uses two different subcontractors for drywall and paint. The more efficient way would be to use a company that does both paint and drywall. This should eliminate just painting over bad drywall because it's the same company and they can't just blame each other.
Is it possible to apply JIT and Kanban techniques to this process?
The Kaban technique could definitely be implemented to help in the communication process between the drywallers and the painters. The Kaban technique could help because the workers and supervisors will be able to visualize how the work flows within the process could improve communication on what's done and what needs to be done (Planview LeanKit, 2018). Visualizing what needs to be done could also break some language barriers that may be occurring, which could have been a big part of the problem.
Reference:
Planview LeanKit. (2018). What is Kaban?