There are different areas of the manufacturing company that can have a logistics strategy used within them. While each manufacturing company has different components some are fairly common between companies. Areas where logistics should be measured include but are not limited to:
• Transportation-It is important to know if the current logistics used in transportation are helping to promote better service and efficiency or taking away from it. You can choose to include shipping in this category or form a separate category for a logistics review.
• Outsourcing-If outsourcing is used it should be closely examined to see if the current partnerships contribute to the efficiency of the manufacturing organization. Many times outsourcing is found to be a hindrance to efficient logistics.
• Supply chain organization-This is perhaps the biggest area within any manufacturing company where logistics should be considered. It is crucial to have a supply chain that is run with the highest level of efficient logistics in order to save both time and money.
Now that you know what lean manufacturing does here is an overview of just some of the things it can do-
• Lean manufacturing helps to eliminate waste-When a production process has not been closely evaluated then chances are it is filled with processes that are wasteful. In addition, these wastes tend to create more products that have defects and errors. It is important to keep in mind that waste can take many forms from having employees standing around, to having machines that have to constantly be repaired. When you implement lean manufacturing you will be able to find ways to identify waste, and remove or reduce it. The end result is that everyone is able to do their jobs in a more effective way. Lean manufacturing also helps to promote more effective communication so that all departments are working together to achieve a better production result.
• Lean manufacturing helps to fix the supply chain-Lean manufacturing works effectively to fix any problems that are arising on the supply. It will help to prevent duplicates and show errors faster. This also allows the production team to respond quicker to problems and fix them when they are small and less production is affected. In addition, to other areas of the production process anything in the supply chain that is not value added will be removed in order to produce the highest quality of product. All process on the supply chain after lean manufacturing is applied will add both value and function.
• Lean manufacturing helps to save money-More and more manufacturing businesses are implementing lean manufacturing for the money they will save. When your employees are working at their peak potential and you do not have to deal with mistakes on the product line then you will be saving money. Lean manufacturing can also show ways that you can recoup some of your investment from mistakes such as recycling defective products.
• Lean manufacturing can help to set up better logistics-The use of lean manufacturing can help your business use better logistics. Better logistics means using less space, fewer movements, and best of all less money. Lean manufacturing can help you to organize the workstations on the production line so that they function at peak performance. Your employees won’t have to search around for the right tool or wait for a machine to become available for them to use. This benefit of better logistics may just be the number one reason to implement lean manufacturing into your business.
As you can see these 7 wastes can become a large hindrance to your company if you do not address them in a timely manner. All 7 of these wastes are going to cause you to struggle to stay competitive as you have certain things that will lead your customers to turn to your competitors. This often happens when you have one of the 7 wastes above that is really degrading your product and annoying your customers. Cost is another issue that needs to be addressed as it can easily cause your customers to turn elsewhere because they simply cannot justify paying what you want for the product you provide. Product defects in any way are going to be a large issue for your company as they will cause you to have a hard time winning back your customers trust.
In addition to helping with things like product defects you will also find that lean manufacturing has a number of other benefits. You can easily see a decrease in your operational costs as well. One of the things with reducing waste is also to conserve energy. You will be able to reduce your utility costs and this gives you a chance to cut down on even more waste and will allow you to put your money back into the company for better products or to hire additional employees.
It is a good idea to change up the organizational structure of your workflow. Having a smooth work space will allow your employees to have enough room to perform their job duties. It is also a smart idea to work on this because it creates an easier workflow for the changeover of your machinery.
When you take the time to implement lean manufacturing you will see a significant improvement in other areas of the company as well like the productivity and customer satisfaction. Employees will also be happier with their jobs as they do not waste as much time wandering around to get the raw materials from one area to the machinery. Waste includes so many different things from time and efforts used to create the products from the time it takes to deliver them to the customers. It is vital that you look at how lean manufacturing will improve your company so you can start becoming competitive again.
]]>The production line is usually to blame when it comes to your product defects. Altering one little thing on your line could fix the problem. If you check your production line and find that it is not to blame you might need to consider other areas that are to blame. The original product design may be the problem. Perhaps there is a flaw in the design that is leading to the issue. Identification of the problem is the best way in which you can fix the issue at hand. Keep the customers in the loop so they know what you are doing about the problem.
As you have such a large issue to deal with the best thing you can do is to remain calm. You do not want to panic or you will end up having a larger problem to deal with. If you panic your employees are all going to be in a state of frustration and they are not going to handle the situations well when you have irate customers calling. A leader needs to project calm and your staff will look to you for this calm solution for their problems.
The one thing you need to do is to make sure you are not placing blame on your staff. Even if you find the one employee may be causing the issue, you have to make sure you are talking to them calmly about the issues and not directly blaming them. When people feel attacked they are less likely to respond to the changes that you need to implement and they are less likely to perform in the right way. The goal is to make everyone aware of the issues and to fix them as a combined effort.
Treat the problem not just the symptom. It is important that the problem is fixed now and in the future. If you are not addressing the issues, you are continuing to deal with them and you are just making a temporary fix that will not take you far.
Sit down with your staff and get everyone involved in the brainstorming process. You all need to be together to come up with solutions that will help you to address and fix the problems that are at hand. When you all sit down and establish solutions together, it will bring your staff closer together. As you have several solutions you want to test out the theories and figure out which ones actually work not as temporary fixes but for long-term changes.
Once you have the solution, announce it to your customers. They deserve to know what is going to change and how quickly they will have replacement products in their hands as well as compensation.
The great thing about the 5S program is that you can implement it for just about any company. It is not limited to just manufacturing plants alone. It gives you a chance to understand how to improve several areas of the company now and in the future. To help you go over all of the various areas that can help your company let’s break all of them down individually.
Sort
With this S you will focus on getting the company organized. You will get rid of all the unnecessary items and things that are not contributing to the company and are not helping you to have a strong company. You likely have tools and things that are at your desk or area that do not need to be there. Taking the time to sort through everything will help you to determine what needs to be tossed or moved to a different area.
Set In Place
This also works with organizing as you are going to move everything into the area where it is correct. You will be able to use boards and other things that help you to see when a tool is missing or use containers. With set in place you will know where things are supposed to be and to keep the company organized properly. Every company will come up with it’s own unique system of keeping things organized and creating a program that works well for their needs.
Shine
The company needs to maintain the clean in order to be productive. You need to have a system where your employees can clean up after themselves and a system that allows you to keep the machinery and other things working well. Shine allows you to become efficient and gives everyone a chance to stay organized.
Standardize
A great way to boost productivity is to implement standardized procedures in the company. With the standardize system you will end up having a program in place for everyone to follow. It makes the company productive and more efficient. However you need to make sure you are keeping it up to date with new technology and other things or the system may end up failing over time. Proper maintenance is the best way to avoid deterioration of a good system. Checklist procedures are commonly used to help with the standardize step.
Sustain
This is the last area that you need to work on. Basically it means you will maintain the new programs you have implemented. You will focus on keeping everything cleaned properly and to ensure that the program is working. Sustain is the best way to keep your organization ahead for the future needs and gives you the best possible way to stay competitive.
Hiring a consultant is a great way to ensure that you are implementing the program correctly. Many companies find that their employees respond better to the training from an outside party than to try and do it as part of your training programs. The consultant is a benefit to the company as you can rely on them to help you understand how to work on improving the company and to learn from them as well. They will give you the tools and things that you need so you can start improving the company with your new program. Typically the lean consultant will come in and examine everything about your company. They often look over your machinery to check it for delays and other issues. Then they will look over your employee’s behaviors to see if they are causing delays and defects to occur. The way in which you set up your shop floor can have an impact on manufacturing and it is something that too needs to be addressed.
Lean manufacturing training needs to occur for the entire staff, not just a few people. When you take time to implement lean for everyone, it will increase efficiency for the entire company and helps to bring everyone together. Lean manufacturing training needs to occur for everyone to improve the performance of the organization and to bring about higher sales for your organization.
Lean training programs can be done online, which can help for many companies as you want to host training meetings and then have the employees test their skills and knowledge. The goal is to target your product defects along with waste issues within the company. As you turn to a lean environment, you will be able to find ways to improve these issues and to finally have stronger outputs.
Some organizations will look into Lean Six Sigma. This helps to combine the best of lean manufacturing with Six Sigma, which gives you reduced waste and greater efficiency for the company. Improving upon processes that you already have will make for a better working environment, which gives you greater employee retention. If you do not have the time it takes to implement a strong lean manufacturing program you should hire a consulting firm. This is the best way to have your company’s products improved and also to have a better working environment.
Tip # 2 – Organized
A great way to help you with production costs is to manage the shop floor properly. You need to organize your floor so you are not dealing with wasted time. The systems should be set up in a way that is easy to move from area to area and to limit the amount of time your employees spend on getting supplies that they need to do their job. Having an organized shop floor will give you the right type of advantage you need to limit wastes and keep your costs down.
Tip # 3 – Inventory Control
If you want to keep your production costs low you have to look at how much money is being wasted in your inventory. Inventory is something that can be a huge hindrance to your company as you end up having too much money tied up in your cash flow. What you need to do is to use Just In Time manufacturing. What this will do is help you to limit how much inventory you have and you make the products to order. This way you do not have wait times and other things that increase you costs. You also do not need to have expensive warehousing costs to store all of the inventory that you need to sell.
Tip # 4 – Standardize Procedures
Want to keep your costs low? How about you focus on creating standardized procedures as much as possible? You need to have a system in place that will really standardize your procedures to allow for things like bulk buying along with other things as well such as automating your inventory so you have reorder points and you do not need to work with vendors to have timely deliveries and other things. Standardization also cuts down on your salaries as you will not need to have as many people on the production line to keep it running properly. Instead you can have the software program help you to get it done without defects.
Tip # 5 – Simple Goals
Production costs can be lower when you establish attainable goals. You need to have goals for the supply chain that will allow you to complete your projects on time. Lean manufacturing is a great system to consider in order to help you with cost reduction and other things to maintain quality and meet your goals.