Characteristics/Attributes of a Lean Operation
Fundamentals in Place
? There is a designated place for everything and everything is in its place. No time is wasted while looking for things. The organization looks clean and everyone is required, encouraged and motivated to keeping it organized.
? The distance traveled by operator(s) and/or a specific part is less than the perimeter of the facility.
? There are on-going reports easily assessable to everyone that provides timely feedback for individuals and groups.
? Quality is achieved by controlling the process, not by checking parts. Rework and quality returns are rare occurrences.
Evident Flow
? Everyone is aware of the status of the subsequent operation/step.
? There is a clearly visible, easy to follow path through all steps.
? External set-up time has been eliminated and everyone follows consistent set-up procedures.
Balanced Lines/Processes
? Everyone is aware of and executes to takt time (pace of production required to match demand from the next operation/step).
? To handle mix issues, the schedule is properly leveled to minimize the impact of both inventory and set up time. In addition, the required pitch (i.e. increments of work) is regularly determined for the pace maker operation/step.
Pull vs. Push
? There is one single point for scheduling (i.e. pace maker) ? scheduling is not done at multiple or at every operation/step.
? There is no or limited number of batch processes ? whenever possible, a continuous flow. One key clue to look for is presence of inventory.
? In spots where batching is necessary, FIFO pull system is in place with proper inventory levels. The amount of overall inventory (in equivalent number of days) should be approximately or slightly higher than the average of lead time (in days). Any discrepancy results in excess inventory and/or part shortage (which in turn impacts customer service level).
? Customer service level is not directly impacted by forecast accuracy. There are no official "expeditors."
Organization Alignment
? There is an acceptance for trying new ideas and concepts. Desire for continuous improvement is very strong. Maintaining status quo is not an option.
? There is constant communication channel between workforce and the management. Award and recognition are based identifying, implementing and sustaining improvements (on time, quality, customer service and/or cost).
? The workforce is empowered and motivated to self-direct daily operations/tasks with minimum input from management.
? There are clear, proper, objective and timely measurements available for everyone to view. Any degradation is identified and addressed immediately.
Simply put, in a truly lean organization, each step in the entire value chain processes only what the subsequent step requires ? this is done at the right time, in high quality and at the lowest cost possible. All seven types of waste have been identified and eliminated ? the only remaining work should be those that are needed to change form/fit and/or function a customer is willing to pay for.
About Tefen
Tefen is a publicly traded, international operations consulting firm with seven offices in United States, Europe and Israel. The firm has over twenty years of experience in improving the overall operational effectiveness of Fortune 500 clients around the world. Tefen designs and implements solutions that enhance operational performance throughout an organization. The main areas of focus include operational excellence, manufacturing, quality, customer service, research and development, and supply chain management. All of Tefen's support programs are ISO 9001 and TCS (Total Customer Satisfaction) certified. Our hands-on approach has achieved success in delivering quantifiable and value-driven results. The company has remained profitable since its inception and currently employs over 250 professionals worldwide, 40 of whom are certified Six Sigma Black Belts.
Joong Hyun is the author and a Director of Operations at Tefen (http://www.tefen.com/). For questions or further information regarding this article, please contact Raymond Cheng, Marketing Manager, at info@tefen.com.
 Google News Updated : Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:13:38 GMT Hillary Clinton's Staff Looking to Avoid Embarrassing Anti-Obama ... - FOXNews
FOXNews - Hillary Clinton's staff is trying to avoid an embarrassing anti-Obama demonstration by her supporters during the floor vote at next week's Democratic convention in Denver. Clinton Will Attend Fund-Raiser for Towns Clinton for VP? She Says Ask the Obama Campaign Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:15:16 GMT UPDATE 1-Microsoft enlists Seinfeld for ad campaign--source - Reuters Reuters - By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will star in a $300 million marketing campaign for Microsoft Corp aimed at burnishing the image of its computer operating system, a person familiar with the effort said on Thursday ... Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates to star in anti-Apple ads Seinfeld to be pitchman for Microsoft Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:27:28 GMT Marlins let one slip away in San Francisco - Sports Network
Sports Network - San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Marlins reliever Kevin Gregg's wild pitch in bottom of the ninth inning scored Emmanuel Burriss to send San Francisco past Florida, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series. Giants walk off on Gregg's wild pitch Giants beat Marlins on wild pitch in 9th inning Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:33:45 GMT My Super Sweet 16: The Miley Cyrus Edition - E! Online
E! Online - Miley Cyrus is about to show up all those spoiled brats on My Super Sweet 16 who think they're cool being flown to their party by helicopter or when they're carried in like a princess by a group of hot dudes. Miley Cyrus to Celebrate Turning 16 at Disneyland Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:21:48 GMT GM to Invest $500 Million To Build Chevy Cruze - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By KATHY SHWIFF General Motors Corp. will spend more than $500 million in the US to build the Chevrolet Cruze, a next-generation compact car. GM announces $500M investment for small car GM to invest $500 million in small car plant Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:10:12 GMT Microsoft's Photosynth wilts under pressure - Computerworld
Computerworld - By Gregg Keizer August 21, 2008 (Computerworld) Within hours of its launch, Microsoft Corp.'s new photo-stitching service went dark, overwhelmed by demand, the company said Thursday afternoon. New Microsoft photo site spends first day offline New Microsoft Tech Converts Photo Soup Into 3-D Image Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:28:59 GMT IAC Officially Breaks Up - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By DAVID BENOIT and KATHY SHWIFF IAC is left as a collection of more than 35 Internet companies -- including search engine Ask.com, dating site Match. IAC: And Then There Were Five Diller's IAC Split May Fail to Boost Investor Returns (Update2) Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:17:40 GMT RSS Parser |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Many business people and managers are spending too much time... Read More Recently, I felt appalled to see a political candidate running... Read More Data Visualization is InteractiveHave you ever booked your flight plans... Read More The following information is based upon over 500 interviews with... Read More It is sometimes valuable to bring the sales manager into... Read More A good leader has the ability to empower others. It... Read More Since the beginning of the industrial era our world has... Read More Each day millions of workers spend 8 hours or more... Read More Another fallacy ingrained in the minds of most marketing managers... Read More The failures we have seen in the quality and integrity... Read More I remember once seeing a cartoon which showed two people... Read More ACCOUNTABILITY: Delegation is not complete unless subordinates are held accountable... Read More SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION PROCEDUREEvery complaint will be thoroughly investigated.... Read More As a training manager, there are two important aspects to... Read More Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to... Read More Budgets! There I've said it. For some the most hated... Read More Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More What is the principal thing you need to succeed in... Read More Today's successful organizations are the ones which carry on open... Read More Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More When I was first initiated into Corporate America, I had... Read More This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More It happens over and over in businesses every day.Within large... Read More Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More PREPARING EMPLOYEES FOR THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEWS: Remind employees to... Read More
Adsense
websites
People - You Cant Make Them What Theyre Not
Stomp Out Leeches In Your Company
What is Data Visualization?
So, You Want to be in Management? Five Essential Factors that Will Determine Your Chances
How To Write Commercial Collections Letters
Leadership Skill: How to Handle Difficult Conversations
The Crisis of Modernity
The Dripping Faucet in Every Organization
The ?Better Product? fallacy
Sarbanes-Oxley and Section 404: Old Dog, New Teeth
Understand What Flows Through Your Business to Find Improvement
How to Delegate Effectively
Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines Part II
How to Manage Your People Well: Tips for Managers of Training
How To Delegate for Fun and Profit
Budgets!
Innovation Management ? Time to Market or Time to Success?
What Is Business Sense?
What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate
Innovation Management ? Selecting Good Ideas
A Sense of Humor in the Workplace ... Is it Me? Or, was that not funny?
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: A New Managers Tale
Disaster Prevention Tips For Hiring A New Manager
Innovation Management ? The Need For Knowledge Managers
Help Your Employees Prepare for a Performance Appraisal
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Change Management
"It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the... Read More
Turning a Negative Employee Into a Positive Asset
Several years ago, I took over the supervision of a... Read More
Measure for Measure
Can you imagine playing hockey without a goal? Basketball without... Read More
Competencies for HR Professionals in Knowledge-based Industry with Reference to IT, ITES-BPOs
Introduction"High performing HR function affects bottom line nearly 10%"- A... Read More
An Honest Look at Your Business
There is a difference between being comfortable and being in... Read More
Importance of Just-In-Time Inventory System
In today's competitive world shorter product life cycles, customers rapid... Read More
Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees
Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees ... Read More
Project Management - I Want It ALL
The knee-jerk response to prioritizing requirements is to mark everything... Read More
The Thick Line Between Buddy and Boss
Q: One of my key employees is giving me trouble.... Read More
Innovation Management: The Time Factor
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: Team Dynamics and Communication
This article relates to the Team Dynamics competency, which evaluates... Read More
Factoring Financing: How to Grow Your Business Without Debt or Loans
What is factoring?Accounts receivable financing, also known as factoring, is... Read More
The Importance of Business Goals
For you to get where you want to go, there... Read More
Poor Employee Performance: How to Deal
KEEP WRITTEN RECORDS: "Document !Document! Document!" Keep a record of... Read More
Creativity and Innovation Management ? Feasibility
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Saying One Thing, Doing Another...
This week I was asked to speak at an internal... Read More
Top 10 Things Every Business Should Provide for Every Worker - Including the Boss!
Doing business and meeting the needs of workers is increasingly... Read More
Tales From The Corporate Frontlines: Job Security in Todays Workplace
This article, Job Security in Today's Workplace, is part of... Read More
Creativity and Innovation Management: The Value Of Due Diligence
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Magnificent Meetings - 5 Tips for Success
Your impact at meetings will determine in a big way... Read More
New UK Laws on Staff Dispute Resolution and Disciplinary Procedures
October 2004 saw the introduction of the Employment Act 2002,... Read More
Personnel Access Poses a Continued Risk
The Security Consultant's Perspective...Implementing Personnel Security Initiatives should be the... Read More
Catch Your Staff Doing Something Right
A long time ago, I learned something about being a... Read More
Outsourced Learning: Are You Ready for Learning BPO?
As the business world enters a period of hyper-competitiveness, every... Read More
Learning To Let Go
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit (which clearly you have!),... Read More
Business Management |