“Lean is for automakers” is a common misconception. Lean principles can be applied in job shops which engage in one-off unique part manufacturing.
I visited a shop which machined metal parts for customer who typically needed a small number of parts made once, sometimes only one of a particular part. In this environment creating work cells or one piece flow are not the right tools.
Lost time or waste can be identified and reduced in any environment. Value stream mapping or spaghetti diagrams can be used to look at material flow and operator motion. In one job-shop work orders were placed on clipboards on a table near the front office. This was convenient for the office workers who had to set out the work orders, but the machinists producing the parts had to walk across the building and down a long hall. Adding to potential lost time there was a coffee area, bathroom, and some distracting ladies in the office. Moving the work orders to a board on the shop floor eliminates the long walk for the operators. It also creates a visual of the backlog to encourage the operators to manage their time. Assuming that a work order takes 4-8 hours to process and the walk costs about 1/2 hour (with distractions) the potential improvement is 6-12% just from moving work orders to a new location.
Another improvement that works anywhere is a shadow board. As part of 5S a shadow board provides a place to store tools. The shadows highlight missing or borrowed tools insuring that the required tools are always available. The board itself present the tools for quick access, but the biggest improvement comes from not losing tools. Huge amounts of time can be wasted if tools are not returned.
Lean principles are flexible and applicable in any environment. Lean does not need a big investment to generate signifcant results.
#1 by Pollock - March 6th, 2009 at 08:02
Is that shadow board in your garage?
#2 by Bruce - March 6th, 2009 at 09:41
no, just an image i linked, but the concept works in a garage