Having worked with many companies from different industries it’s not unusual for me to be challenged by clients in the high-volume manufacturing and distribution sectors about how applicable Lean is to them. In fact, it’s a common misconception that Lean has no place in high-volume process environments such as FMCG, Textile Processing Plants and Distribution Centres as many believe that it's really only meant for automotive or aviation manufacturing.

However, the Lean principles of Define Value, Value Stream Mapping, Flow, Pull and Perfection are simply all about identifying and removing waste in all its forms such as variation reduction, removal of excessive motion and transportation. Waste can be commonly be found in all types of manufacturing, logistics, distribution and service organisations, and it is simply the biggest obstacle to releasing additional capacity and increasing productivity levels.

“Identifying waste and generating the solutions that address the causes of it, is usually the part of Lean that most people recognise, but struggle to get to grips with”

What’s often missing in Improvement Programmes is the involvement of the people who own the process. Involving the people who are working day to day in the operation in continuous improvement activities can be done using a Lean Management System (LMS).

The Lean transformation projects that I have been involved with, always consider the ‘people in the process’ and how they are engaged, as respect for people is a fundamental pillar for the successful adoption of Lean Principles. In my experience, it’s crucial to the success of any Lean Improvement Programme or Project that before work begins, the key internal stakeholders are identified, and their involvement assured.

“This LMS is often the missing link. It tends not to be emphasised during lean implementations, even though it’s just as important as pull/push control systems, etc.”

LMS is a suite of daily work disciplines which, when consistently adopted, enable leaders, teams, and individuals to change their habits and build a lasting continuous improvement culture

It is used for building and sustaining a Lean culture which enables waste to be removed from the process resulting in additional processing capacity being realised and productivity levels being increased.

It’s simple to understand and straightforward to apply. Its implementation is fundamental in reinforcing “how we do things around here” and sustaining Lean thinking throughout the organisation. If the concept is fully embraced by all stakeholders then it not uncommon for transformation improvement to be achieved within Industrial manufacturers such as FMCG, Textile Processors and Wholesale Distribution, which include;

•     Operational capacity increased by up to 50%
  
•     Productivity levels increased up to 33%
  
•     Significant Energy savings achieved
  
•     Improved customer service as lead time are reduced and Increase OTIF performance.
  

The LMS can be comprised of eight elements which underpin Operational Excellence :

In summary, it’s a set of mechanisms that ‘embed’ a routine of monitoring and Continuous Improvement into the team’s day-to-day life.

 Daily Work Group Meeting – A short, mandatory, stand up meeting to energise and focus the team on what is important confirming how they will work together to achieve their daily output targets. It builds a team ethos and provides the forum to identify improvement opportunities.

Visual Management – A means of communicating and sharing key team focused information, including KPIs, and performance improvement activities. It provides the focus for the Daily Work Group Meeting and is maintained by the team themselves, so that they fully brought into the change process.

Kaizen Improvement Team Activities – A simple format to capture improvement opportunities and ideas in words and pictures. It helps the team to decide what they can tackle themselves using the basic Lean problem-solving tools which encourages them to adopt a structured approach identifying the root cause to any process defect resulting in lasting and sustained improvement.

20 Keys to Workplace Improvement– A simple tool which defines “what good looks like” and provides a road map by firstly establishing extent to which the manufacturing and distribution centre are operating on a Lean basis. It enables them to set their long-term targets and progressively adopt daily changes that sustain continuous performance improvement whilst engaging with all members of the team.

Short Interval Control – Regular, frequent contact between team members and their leader to focus on achievements and overcoming obstacles. It reinforces the leader’s role in engaging people in continuous improvement, whilst also promoting a state of Phycological Meaningfulness, Safety and Availability in the workplace, which are the keys to promoting employee engagement.

OEE – This is simply the best metric for identifying losses, benchmarking productivity and improving the productivity of the manufacturing equipment through the elimination of waste. Shift leaders record the key metrics of their shift, with key trends being identified, which enables steps to be taken to remove the waste from the process so that the productivity output increases.

5S – A tool which allows the workspace to be organised foe efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items, sustaining the new order, so that everything is in tis correct place.

VSM – A visual tool which displays all the critical steps and flow of materials in a specific process in its current state which helps teams to identify opportunities to remove waste and improve the process. Teams can then produce a future state VSM outlining the new streamlined process which confirms the opportunity to increase capacity and output volumes, effectively being a vison for the future operating model and a catalyst to embrace change.

“Understanding why targets have been missed matters. This is a key aspect of the LMS which can help provide the momentum needed for the teams to keep improving so that they are able to exceed their output targets and keep on improving.”

 

 Lean manufacturing is a people process, not a tick box exercise. It is a journey, not an event. It’s an intensive and proactive effort that requires planning, resources and day-to-day management attention and coaching. It is not easy or painless and must be approached with the understanding that it will take time to change and even longer to create a new Lean culture. Those leaders who endeavour to pursue it holistically will reap the significant performance gains that will allow them to win in increasingly competitive markets, provide significant shareholder value and enabling their organisation to be engaged and empowered problem-solvers.

Dominic Proctor is the Managing Director of Matrix which provide Interim Management or Consultancy project support for Industrial Manufacturing and Logistics organisations looking to achieve breakthrough growth for their businesses through the development of Operational Excellence model which delivers transformational change. Dominic has 30 years of supply chain and operational leadership experience in Industrial Manufacturing (Berendsen & Johnson Service Group) and Wholesale Distribution (Bunzl & Rexel), he is passionate about supporting organisations to achieve Supply Chain Excellence which is achieved through a collaborative leadership style and a continual pursuit to achieve excellence. If you like to discuss a potential Supply Chain or Operational Efficiency Improvement project then you can contact Dominic for an informal discussion at dominic.proctor@matrix.org.uk