Operations Improvement
Unit 7
Lean Synchronization
• Synchronization means that the flow of items (materials, information
or customers) that constitute services and products always delivers
exactly what customers want (perfect quality), in exact quantities
(neither too much nor too little), exactly when needed (not too early
or too late), and exactly where required (not to the wrong location).
• Lean synchronization is to do all this at the lowest possible cost.
• often called just ‘lean’ or ‘just-in-time’
The benefit of lean synchronization
Source:
Nigel, Slack
The four elements of lean
The benefit of lean synchronization
• Buffer inventory used to insulate stages or processes localizes the
motivation to improve.
• Waste elimination
• 7 different waste: Overproduction; Queues; Transportation; Inventory; Motion; Over -
processing and Defective products
The river and rock analogy
Focusing on synchronous flow exposes sources of waste.
Lean Synchronization and Capacity
utilization
Focusing on lean synchronization can initially reduce resource utilization.
The involvement of everyone
It encourages (and often requires) team-based problem-solving, job enrichment (by including maintenance
and set-up tasks in operators’ jobs), job rotation and multi-skilling.
• Discipline – in following work standards, critical for the safety of staff and the environment, and for quality.
• Flexibility – to expand responsibilities to the extent of people’s capabilities.
• Equality – in how all staff are treated (which is why some lean companies wear uniforms).
• Autonomy – allowing delegation to people involved in direct activities.
• Development – of staff to create a more capable workforce.
• Quality of working life (QWL) – to include involvement in decision making, security of employment and
enjoyment of working area facilities.
• Creativity – as one of the indispensable elements of motivation.
• Total people involvement – where staff take on more responsibility by participating in activities such as the
selection of new recruits, dealing directly with suppliers and customers over schedules, quality issues and
delivery information, spending improvement budgets and planning and reviewing work done each day
through communication meetings.
Operation Improvement
Why Improvement?
• Improvement is now seen as the prime responsibility of operations
management. Of the four areas of operations management activity (direct,
design, deliver and develop) the focus of most operations managers has
shifted towards ‘develop’, that is, improvement.
• Furthermore all operations management activities are really concerned
with improvement in the long term. And all four activities are really
interrelated and interdependent. Also, companies in many industries are
having to improve simply to retain their position relative to their
competitors.
• A common distinction is between radical or breakthrough improvement
on one hand, and continuous or incremental improvement on the other.
Improvement cycle: Element of operation
improvement
It is only by accepting that in a
continuous improvement
philosophy these cycles quite
literally never stop that
improvement becomes part of
every person’s job.
End to end Process: Element of operation
improvement
One of the more radical
prescriptions of Business Process
Re-engineering (BPR), for
example, is the idea that
operations should be organized
around the total process which
adds value for customers, rather
than the functions or activities
which perform the various stages
of the value-adding activity.
Customer Centricity / VOC (QFD):
Element of operation
improvement
Whole organization in understanding the central
importance of customers to its success and even
to its survival.
‘Voice of the customer’ (VOC) is an idea that is
closely related to the idea of customer centricity.
Board Approaches to Managing improvement
There is no one universal approach to improvement.
• TQM
• Lean
• BPR
• Six Sigma
Total Quality Management (TQM)
• Meeting the needs and expectations of customers; Customer Focus
• Improvement covers all parts of the organization Top Management Commitment
Continuous Improvement
(and should be group-based); Employee empower
• Improvement includes every person in the
organization (and success is recognized);
• Including all costs of quality;
• Getting things ‘right first time’, i.e. designing-in
quality rather than inspecting it in;
• Developing the systems and procedures which
support improvement.
Lean
Key elements
• customer-centricity;
• internal customer–supplier relationships;
• perfection is the goal;
• synchronized flow;
• reduce variation;
• include all people;
• waste elimination.
Business Process Re-engineering
• Rethink business processes in a cross-functional manner which organizes
work around the natural flow of information (or materials or customers).
• Strive for dramatic improvements in performance by radically rethinking
and redesigning the process.
• Have those who use the output from a process perform the process.
Check to see if all internal customers can be their own supplier rather
than depending on another function in the business to supply them
(which takes longer and separates out the stages in the process).
• Put decision points where the work is performed. Do not separate those
who do the work from those who control and manage the work.
Before (a) and after (b) re-engineering a
consumer goods trading company
Six Sigma: Process variation and its impact on process
defects per million
A disciplined methodology of
defining, measuring, analyzing,
improving, and controlling the quality
in every one of the company’s
products, processes, and transactions
– with the ultimate goal of virtually
eliminating all defects’.
Techniques of Operations Improvement
• Statistical Process Control
• Scatter Diagrams
• Flow charts
• Cause – effect diagrams
• Pareto Diagrams
• Why – why analysis
SPC chart: identifying Problem
Plots the percent of free throws missed
Upper control limit
20%
10%
target value
| | | | | | | | | Lower control limit
0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Game number
Figure 6.8
Scatter Diagram: Generating Ideas
Flow Chart (Process map for customer
query): Organizing the data
Cause-and-Effect Diagrams: Generating Ideas
Material Method
(ball) (shooting process)
Grain/Feel Aiming point
(grip)
Size of ball
Air pressure Bend knees
Hand position
Balance
Lopsidedness
Follow-through
Missed
Training
free-throws
Rim size
Conditioning Motivation Rim height
Consistency Rim alignment Backboard
stability
Concentration
Machine
Manpower
(hoop &
(shooter)
backboard)
Cause–effect diagram of unscheduled
returns at KPS
Pareto diagram for causes of unscheduled
returns: Organizing the data
Why–why analysis for ‘failure wrongly
predicted’
Organizing for improvement
Need of organizing for improvement
• Improvement does not just happen by itself. It needs organizing,
information must be gathered so that improvement is treating the
most appropriate issues, responsibility for looking after the
improvement effort must be allocated, and resources must be
allocated.
• It must also be linked to the organization’s overall strategy. Without
these decisions, it is unlikely that real improvement will take place.
14 points for improvement
• Deming’s basic philosophy is that quality and productivity increase as
‘process variability’ (the unpredictability of the process) decreases. In
his 14 points for quality improvement , he emphasizes the need for
statistical control methods, participation, education, openness and
purposeful improvement:
14 points for improvement
• 1 Create constancy of purpose. • 9 Break down barriers between
• 2 Adopt new philosophy. departments.
• 10 Eliminate slogans and
• 3 Cease dependence on inspection.
exhortations.
• 4 End awarding business on price. • 11 Eliminate quotas or work
• 5 Improve constantly the system of standards.
production and service. • 12 Give people pride in their job.
• 6 Institute training on the job. • 13 Institute education and a self-
• 7 Institute leadership. improvement programme.
• 8 Drive out fear. • 14 Put everyone to work to
accomplish it.
Competitors’ Analysis
Competitors’ Analysis
• The process of identifying key competitors; assessing their objectives,
strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and reaction patterns; and
selecting which competitors to attack or avoid.