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Lean Manufacturing in a Lean EconomyJune 9, 2003 Companies have many challenges facing them in a
slow economy or downturn. Many organizations face multiple layoffs, salary
reductions and painful cost cutting measures when an economic slowdown occurs.
The challenge for many organizations is how to encourage employees to search for
improvements in production while their co-workers are being walked out the door.
The production employee views many of the world-class techniques, such as lean
manufacturing and six sigma activities as another reason to layoff personnel. So
how can organizations champion the vision of lean enterprise when there are
eroding sales, and cutbacks in staff and spending? The uncertainty of a slow economy can present many
challenges, but also many unique opportunities. The current economic situation
has to be viewed as an opportunity to prepare for the next upturn in sales. This
does not mean investing in new buildings or equipment, but investing in the most
important asset, the human element. In a battle zone atmosphere there is very
little time to spend on training, education, defining and documenting processes,
and other improvement activities. Attempting
to adopt new methods without coaching can be challenging, especially if no one
in the organization has the experience required to implement lean manufacturing. When the current economic situation is looked at
as an opportunity to distance itself from the competition that is when an
organization can become successful. What are your competitors doing? In the
business world and in life many times analogies are used that relate to the
sports world. The successful sports franchises take time to watch video of
themselves and the competition to find areas of improvement. Taking time to visit other organizations that are
adopting a world-class approach is a valuable activity during a downturn. Visits
with companies further up on the learning curve is a powerful method of
demonstration and education for everyone. The learners get knowledge and the
teachers get to reinforce the learning for themselves. Here are also some
suggestions for activities that will pay huge dividends while companies wait for
the
next big wave: ·
Setup reduction. ·
Quality
improvements. ·
Experimentation
with virtual cells. ·
Cross
training. ·
Organization
(5S activities) ·
Teamwork
training. ·
Material
handling improvements ·
Kaizen
events Click here to subscribe to our free e-newsletter Learning to Lean and receive three articles like this one each month. About
the Author David McBride is co-founder of EMS Consulting Group (http://www.emsstrategies.com), a Carlsbad, CA based engineering and management consulting firm. David has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University. He has a successful track record in the development and implementation of FMEA and Design for Manufacturability programs at several organizations and has greatly reduced Manufacturing costs through the utilization of Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen Events, and Manufacturing System Analysis. He has also been highly successful at developing and executing New Product Introduction processes, and Staffing and Capital Equipment Plans. | ||||||||||||||
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