The essence and methods of lean manufacturing. “Management and Optimization of a Manufacturing Enterprise

Lean manufacturing, basic concepts

Lean(LeanProduction) - a system for organizing and managing product development, operations, relationships with suppliers and customers, in which products are manufactured in strict accordance with consumer requests and with fewer defects compared to products made using mass production technology. At the same time, the costs of labor, space, capital and time are reduced.

Lean-enterprise Lean Enterprise is a business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, supplier and customer relationships, using lean manufacturing principles, practices and tools to create clearly defined customer value (products and services with higher quality and fewer defects , with less labor, in a smaller production area, with less capital and in less time compared to the traditional mass production system).

Lean businesses involved in the production of a specific family of products operate under an agreement whereby they define the value of the product from the end customer's perspective, eliminate unproductive activities from the value stream, and implement activities that create value in a continuous flow as they are pulled. products by the client. The collaborating companies carry out the listed procedures continuously throughout the entire life cycle of a given product family.

The presented definition of a lean production system very succinctly expresses the essence of this concept. Let's try to reveal some provisions of this definition.

An important principle of the lean manufacturing concept is continuous improvement and the participation of the entire team in this process.

“Creating clearly defined customer value” involves understanding what is of value to the consumer. And here you cannot rely solely on your own knowledge. Work should be carried out to identify all components of consumer value, sometimes directly with the end consumer of the product/service. This is a guarantee that consumer requirements will be satisfied most fully and at the lowest cost (excessive work is eliminated).

If a company is engaged in lean manufacturing, it means that it puts the interests of the customer, buyer, client, partner and its own employees at the forefront, and everyone benefits from this. Therefore, the implementation of lean manufacturing is the best business card for introducing the company to partners and customers.

"With less labor, in a smaller production area, with less capital and in less time"- in the lean manufacturing concept this means exclusion all types of losses(overproduction, excessive processing, waiting losses, transportation losses, personnel movements, losses due to defects/rework, etc.).

2. The concept of lean production is based on five principles that define guidelines for managers in the transition to lean production:

Determining Value each product family from the customer's point of view.

Definition of all value stream stages for each product family and eliminating, where possible, non-value-added activities.

Building operations that create value in strict sequence ensuring smooth movement of the product in the flow, directed to the client.

Upon completion of flow formation – creating the ability to “pull” clients of value from the previous stage.

Upon completion of value determination, identification of value streams, elimination of stages that cause losses, as well as formation of a pull system– repeating the entire process again as many times as necessary to achieve a state of perfection in which absolute value is created and there is no loss.

It is necessary to explain what is push production and pull production.

Push production – processing of products in large batches at maximum speed based on forecast demand, followed by moving the products to the next production stage or warehouse, regardless of the actual pace of the next process or the needs of the customer (consumer). Within such a system, it is almost impossible to implement lean manufacturing tools.

Pull production- a method of production management in which subsequent operations signal their needs to previous operations.

There are three types of pull production:

Supermarket pull system (refund/replenishment system) – type a pull system.

Sequential pull system – type B pull system.

Mixed pulling system – type c pulling system.

Supermarket pull system– the most popular. With it, at each production stage there is a warehouse - a supermarket, in which a certain volume of products manufactured at this stage is stored. At each stage, as many products are produced as were withdrawn from the supermarket. Typically, when products are removed from a supermarket by a downstream process, the consumer, the latter sends information about the withdrawal upstream to the upstream process using a special card (kanban) or other means.

Each process is responsible for replenishing the stocks of its supermarket, so operational management and the search for objects of continuous improvement (kaizen) is not difficult. However, its use is complicated when there are a large number of types of products produced.

Sequential pull system It is advisable to use when there is a large range of products produced by one process, i.e. when it is difficult or practically impossible to maintain a stock of each type of product in the supermarket. Products are essentially made to order, keeping overall system inventory to a minimum. A consistent system requires maintaining short and predictable lead times; one must have a good understanding of the pattern of orders received from the client. The functioning of such a system requires very strong leadership.

Mixed pull system– involves a combination of the two listed systems. It is advisable to use it when the 80/20 rule applies, i.e. when a small proportion of product types (approximately 20%) account for the largest portion of daily output (approximately 80%).

All types of products are divided into groups according to production volume: large volume, medium volume, low volume and rare orders. For the “rare orders” group, it is advisable to use a sequential pull system. For other groups - a supermarket pull system. With a mixed pull system, it may be more difficult to manage improvement and identify deviations.

3. Lean manufacturing tools.

Lean Manufacturing Concept is aimed at maximizing resource savings in the production process, primarily temporary ones. The basic principle of this concept is to identify and eliminate processes that do not bring added value or reduce it (for example, processes that lead to excess inventory, waiting processes, unnecessary transportation processes, unnecessary processing processes, processes that create defects, etc.).

It is advisable to use the tools of the lean production concept to identify and eliminate unproductive costs of resources when optimizing the internal processes of JSC Russian Railways.

Under the value stream understand all the activities—both value-creating and non-value-creating—that enable a product to move through all stages of the process:

1) from concept development to the release of the first product,

2) from order acceptance to delivery. These activities include processing information received from the client, as well as operations to transform the product as it moves to the client.

When lean manufacturing was widely introduced into management practice, it turned out that it was in dire need of process description of business.

Business can be characterized as a collection of interconnected and interacting processes. Then, if we carefully describe each process and study the relationships between the processes, we will understand how any business works and will be able to use this description for a variety of purposes.

For the practical application of the lean production system, it is necessary to be able to systematically describe business processes, that is, the most important business processes that bring us money to pay for our products or services.

How to learn to see processes? At an enterprise, first of all, we see machines, apparatus, transport systems, people busy with their work.

Process This is a sequence of actions aimed at obtaining some product and/or service. Moreover, these actions are distributed in time and space. These actions can rarely be seen all at once from one point. "So what?" - you say. The processes are ongoing, everything is working. Why document them, describe them? Isn’t it enough to keep everything in your head, as it is now?

First of all, describing the process speeds up the exchange of information and reduces the risks of making untimely and erroneous decisions and actions.

Processes can be described in words, but words are understood differently. In this regard, the most visual and publicly accessible is the visualization of business processes using a visual picture of the process.

First of all, we need a description of the process as it currently exists to provide a starting point for further improvement. Having a current description of the process, we can build an “ideal” process and outline a plan for transition to it. And only after this does continuous process improvement begin in accordance with the lean manufacturing concept.

Lean manufacturing tools are:

Elimination of hidden losses.

Quick changeover (SMED).

Just in time (JIT) system.

Tag (kanban).

Preventing errors.

Value stream mapping.

And others.

Eliminating hidden waste

In every system, in every process - from manufacturing and assembly to hospitality, healthcare, transport and social services - there are hidden losses. Identifying and eliminating these wastes saves significant amounts of money (millions of dollars) annually for those organizations that regularly evaluate their operations against lean manufacturing standards. In the lean manufacturing system, waste is defined as any activity that consumes resources but does not create value for the customer. There are two types of losses.

Losses of the first type do not create value, but they cannot be avoided with existing technologies and fixed assets.

The second type of waste does not create value, but it can be quickly eliminated.

Hidden waste that can be found in mass production falls into seven categories:

Overproduction

Expectation

Movement

Transportation

Overprocessing

Corrections

The listed losses increase production costs without adding consumer value that the customer really needs. They also increase the payback period of investments and lead to decreased worker motivation. For anyone who strives to streamline processes in production, these seven hidden losses are their worst enemies.

These losses must be identified and then eliminated.

Overproduction losses

Overproduction losses occur when we produce more than necessary. Lack of planning, large backlogs, long changeover times, insufficiently close contact with the customer (consumer) (this interferes with the understanding of their constantly changing requirements) leads to an increase in the duration of production cycles. We worry that our customers may want more and, as a result, suffer the costs of producing goods and services that are not used or sold.

To eliminate overproduction losses, it is necessary to find processes that during which more is produced than the customer “pulls”, and therefore surplus products require additional measures for their storage.

Producing more items faster or earlier than required for the next production step is considered the most dangerous form of waste in lean manufacturing, since overproduction creates and hides other waste, particularly inventory, defects, and unnecessary movement.

The introduction of pull production is aimed at preventing overproduction, which is also one of the three most important components of the production system "just in time."

Wasting time waiting

This type of loss occurs due to operator downtime during machine operation due to equipment malfunction, due to untimely receipt of necessary parts, etc. Wastes can be eliminated by aligning and synchronizing individual processes.

Loss during transportation

This type of waste is associated with the movement of parts and products unnecessarily, for example, from production to the warehouse of the next production stage, rather than locating the next stage in close proximity to the previous one.

It is necessary to build and analyze the flow of transportation of materials, parts, etc. Waste is reduced by minimizing the physical distance of materials and vehicle movements by identifying zones and applying redevelopment.

Losses due to overprocessing

These losses are associated with unnecessary or excessive processing, usually when producing products and services with higher consumer qualities than are required by the consumer. Adding qualities and functionality that do not have consumer value does not improve the product or the process that produces it. Lack of information about how a consumer uses a product often leads to the addition of unnecessary features and functions to the product that the manufacturer believes the consumer needs (but is not sure). Waste can be reduced by identifying which features and functions the customer actually needs and what the customer is willing to pay for.

Reserves

Losses due to storing more inventory than is necessary for the accurately planned operation of the pull system. Excess inventory is equivalent to freezing capital, reducing the return on investment in labor and raw materials.

It is necessary to identify excess production capacity, excess inventories of raw materials, work in progress or finished goods with a turnover of less than 10 times per year. Apply just-in-time and tag (kanban) techniques.

Losses during movement

Losses caused by the operator’s movements outside the scope of productive work or for which there is no need, for example, searching for parts, tools, documents, etc. Although most manufacturing processes are initially designed to minimize unnecessary movement, it is generally one of the largest sources of waste that occurs unnoticed and leads to failures.

Wastes can be reduced by analyzing value stream maps and/or physical flow maps for each process.

Losses due to corrections

This type of loss occurs when there is no reliable control system and built-in error protection.

Every time we make a mistake when working with a product and pass it on to the next operation in the process or to the customer, we accept rework as an integral part of the process. We lose money twice every time we remodel and renovate.

Losses can be reduced by improving visual inspection. Development of more complete standard operating procedures, implementation of built-in error protection and foolproof systems (eg photocells, shutdown in case of incorrect installation of a part, etc.).

5S workplace organization system.

Organization of a workplace using the 5S system involves the implementation of the following activities:

Sort: Get rid of everything you don't need

Maintain order: assign each item its own place.

Keep your work area clean.

Standardize procedures for maintaining order and cleanliness.

Improve your order. Encourage its maintenance.

System 5 S is a workplace organization method that significantly improves the efficiency and control of the operations area, improves corporate culture, and saves time.

Some proponents of lean manufacturing introduce a sixth concept - develop and adhere to safety procedures at work.

3. Quick changeover (SMED).

Today, customers are interested in fast and high-quality execution of their order. Therefore, faster changeover times on smaller, more changeover-flexible equipment make it easier to respond to customer requests and reduce the cost of holding large inventories while waiting for the right orders.

Bo , larger parties require more , larger reserves. Bo , Larger reserves are frozen , larger amounts of money and make customers wait longer. Thus, large batches reduce the return on investment ratio (ROI).

The process of readjusting production equipment to move from the production of one type of product to another in the shortest possible time. The main ideas for quick changeover are as follows (Figure 5.1.):

highlighting internal changeover operations that can only be performed by stopping the equipment (for example, installing a new mold),

highlighting external changeover operations that can be performed while the equipment is operating (for example, delivering a new mold to the machine)

subsequent transformation of internal changeover operations into external ones.

If most of the former internal activities have been converted to external ones, they can now be performed before and after the actual changeover. The next step is to reduce the time for the remaining internal operations. The developer of the quick changeover tool is Shigeo Shingo (1950-1960) for press changeover. He believed that changeover time should be measured in minutes in one number, i.e. be less than 10 minutes.

4. Just in time (JIT) system.

A production system in which only those items that are needed at exactly the right time and in exactly the right quantities are produced and delivered. Just-in-time uses three key elements: pull production, takt time and continuous flow. Although the JIT system is simple, its implementation requires strict discipline.

Takt time equals available production time divided by the amount of consumer demand.

The purpose of the takt time indicator is to bring the rate of production exactly in line with the rate of consumption. It determines the “pulse” of the lean manufacturing system.

The speed of a process is usually measured by takt time. (for example, an enterprise operates 480 minutes per day, consumer demand is 240 pieces of this product per day. Takt time is 2 minutes.)

Takt time was first used as a control tool in Germany in the 1930s in the aircraft industry.

Continuous flow– production and movement of one product (or a small homogeneous batch of products) through several processing stages with the greatest possible continuity. Moreover, at each previous stage only what is required by the next stage is done.

Figure 5.1.

Schematic diagram of quick changeover

Continuous flow is also called flow of single products and “made the product - transferred the product.” A continuous process minimizes work in progress between process steps and/or at their starting points.

5. Tag (kanban).

A tag (kanban) is a means of information by which permission or instructions are given for the production or withdrawal (transfer) of products in a pull system. There are six rules for using a tag effectively:

Processes - consumers order products in full quantity indicated on the tag.

Supplier processes produce products in the exact volume and sequence specified on the tag.

Without a tag, products will not be produced or moved.

A tag is always attached to all parts and materials.

Defective parts and parts in inaccurate quantities are never passed on to the subsequent production stage.

To reduce inventory and discover new problems, you need to consistently reduce the number of tags.

The use of Kanban tools is advisable when organizing production, managing inventories and organizing logistics at the repair and industrial structural divisions of JSC Russian Railways.

6. Preventing errors.

This method eliminates the very possibility of making a mistake. Workers, engineers and managers themselves develop procedures and devices to prevent errors where they may occur. Preventing errors where and when they occur is the most cost-effective and inexpensive way to avoid problems.

Control that detects errors but does not provide feedback is called evaluative.

Information control– control that provides data and information about where and when errors occur. It may be useful in preventing future errors.

Control that detects, eliminates and/or prevents errors before they occur where they could or have occurred is called control at source. Only control at the source prevents errors from spreading to subsequent stages of the process and provides data to prevent errors or correct them. Control at source is also called in-process control.

7. Value stream mapping.

A holistic view of the product manufacturing process gives an overall picture of the value stream, the totality of all its components.

A value stream map is a simple diagram that depicts each stage of the flow of materials and information needed to fulfill a customer order.

Most processes begin with a request to perform an action or deliver a product and end with delivery to the customer.

Value stream mapping covers all processes - from the shipment of a product to the receipt of raw materials or the request for an action.

Drawing up a value stream map will allow you to identify hidden losses in the process, which often make up the majority of the cost of a product or service.

On the way from the application to the delivery of the product/service, the material flow passes through many workers and equipment (machines). The flow of information also moves from the initial request for a product/service to customer acceptance.

Value stream mapping includes a description of both material and information flows.

First of all a map of the actual, current state of the value creation process is drawn up.

Then with the help of this map, a vision of the process is formed taking into account improvement - future state map of the value creation process.

8. Continuous improvement (kaizen)

Lean manufacturing is a special company management scheme. The main idea is to constantly strive to eliminate all types of costs. Lean manufacturing is a concept that involves involving every employee in the optimization procedure. This scheme is aimed at maximum orientation towards the consumer. Let us consider further in more detail what the lean production system is.

History of origin

The introduction of lean manufacturing into industry occurred in the 1950s at Toyota Corporation. The creator of this management scheme was Taiichi Ono. A great contribution to the further development of both theory and practice was made by his colleague Shigeo Shingo, who, among other things, created a method for rapid changeover. Subsequently, American specialists studied the system and conceptualized it under the name lean manufacturing (lean production). At first, the concept was used primarily in the automotive industry. Over time, the scheme was adapted to process production. Subsequently, lean manufacturing tools began to be used in healthcare, utilities, services, trade, the armed forces, the public administration sector and other industries.

Main aspects

Lean manufacturing in an enterprise involves analyzing the value of the product that is produced for the end consumer at each stage of creation. The main objective of the concept is the formation of a continuous process of eliminating costs. In other words, lean manufacturing is the elimination of any activity that consumes resources but does not create any value for the end customer. For example, he does not need the finished product or its components to be in stock. Under the traditional system, all costs associated with defects, rework, storage, and others are passed on to the consumer. Lean manufacturing is a framework in which all company activities are divided into processes and operations that add and do not add value to the product. The main task, therefore, is the systematic reduction of the latter.

Lean Manufacturing: Waste

In costs, the term muda is used in a number of cases. This concept means various expenses, garbage, waste and so on. Taiichi Ohno identified seven types of costs. Losses are generated due to:

• expectations;
• overproduction;
• transportation;
• unnecessary processing steps;
• unnecessary movements;
• release of defective goods;
• excess stocks.

Taiichi Ono considered overproduction to be the main thing. It is a factor that causes other costs to arise. One more item has been added to the above list. Jeffrey Liker, who studied the Toyota experience, cited the unrealized potential of employees as a loss. Sources of costs include overloading of capacity, employees when carrying out activities with increased intensity, as well as uneven execution of the operation (for example, an interrupted schedule due to fluctuations in demand).

Principles

Lean manufacturing is presented as a process divided into five stages:

1. Determining the value of a specific product.
2. Installing this product.
3. Ensure continuous flow of flow.
4. Giving the consumer the ability to pull the product.
5. The pursuit of excellence.

Among the other principles on which lean manufacturing is based are:

1. Achieving excellent quality - delivery of goods from the first presentation, using the “zero defects” scheme, identifying and solving problems at the earliest stages of their occurrence.
2. Forming long-term interaction with the consumer by sharing information, costs and risks.
3. Flexibility.

The production system used at Toyota is based on two main principles: autonomy and just-in-time. The latter means that all the necessary elements for assembly arrive on the line exactly at the moment when it is needed, strictly in the quantity determined for a particular process to reduce inventory.

Components

Within the framework of the concept under consideration, various components are identified - lean production methods. Some of them may themselves act as a control circuit. The main elements include the following:

• Flow of single goods.
• General equipment care.
• 5S system.
• Kaizen.
• Fast changeover.
• Preventing errors.

Industry options

Lean healthcare is the concept of reducing the time spent by health care personnel not directly related to providing care to people. Lean logistics is a pull scheme that brings together all suppliers involved in the value stream. In this system, partial replenishment of reserves occurs in small volumes. The main indicator in this scheme is the logistics total cost. Lean manufacturing tools are used by the Danish Post Office. As part of the concept, large-scale standardization of the services offered was carried out. The goals of the event were to increase productivity and speed up shipments. “Value flow maps” were introduced to control and identify services. A motivation system for department employees was also developed and subsequently implemented. In construction, a special strategy has been formed, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the construction process at all stages. Lean manufacturing principles have been adapted for software development. In city and state administration, elements of the scheme under consideration are also used.

Kaizen

The idea was formulated in 1950 by Dr. Deming. The introduction of this principle brought great profits to Japanese companies. For this, the specialist was awarded a medal by the emperor. After a while, the Union of Science announced a prize named after. Deming for the quality of industrial products.

Benefits of Kaizen Philosophy

The benefits of this system have been appreciated in every industrial sector, where conditions have been created to ensure the highest efficiency and productivity. Kaizen is considered a Japanese philosophy. It is about promoting continuous change. The Kaizen school of thought insists that constant change is the only path to progress. The system's main focus is on increasing productivity by eliminating unnecessary and drudgery. The definition itself was created by combining two words: “kai” - “change” (“transform”), and “zen” - “towards the better”. The merits of the system are quite clearly reflected by the success of the Japanese economy. This is recognized not only by the Japanese themselves, but also by world experts.

Goals of the Kaizen concept

There are five main directions in which production development is carried out. These include:

1. Reduce waste.
2. Immediate troubleshooting.
3. Optimal use.
4. Teamwork.
5. Top quality.

It should be said that most of the principles are based on common sense. The main components of the system are improving the quality of goods, involving each employee in the process, and readiness for interaction and change. All these activities do not require complex mathematical calculations or the search for scientific approaches.

Reduce waste

The principles of Kaizen philosophy are aimed at significantly reducing losses at each stage (operation, process). One of the main advantages of the scheme is that it includes every employee. This, in turn, involves the development and subsequent implementation of proposals for improvement at each. Such work helps to minimize resource losses.

Immediate troubleshooting

Each employee, in accordance with the Kaizen concept, must counteract problems. This behavior helps resolve issues quickly. Fixing problems immediately does not increase production cycle times. Immediate problem solving allows you to direct activities in an effective direction.

Optimal use

Resolving problems quickly frees up resources. They can be used to improve and achieve other purposes. Taken together, these measures allow us to establish a continuous process of efficient production.

Teamwork

Involving all employees in solving problems allows you to find a solution faster. Successfully overcoming difficulties strengthens the spirit and increases the self-esteem of company employees. eliminates conflict situations, promotes the formation of trusting relationships between superior and subordinate employees.

Best quality

Quick and effective problem solving contributes to well-coordinated teamwork and the creation of a large amount of resources. This, in turn, will ensure improved quality of products. All this will allow the company to reach a new level of capacity.

To reduce costs, lean manufacturing principles are often used, which involve eliminating activities that do not add customer value. When optimizing a business, all employees must be clearly customer-oriented. Such a system of approach can not only change the situation for the better, but also establish a completely new way of life.

Historical data

The principles of lean production at the enterprise were founded in the middle of the last century by a Japanese engineer. A significant contribution to the development of the concept was made by his colleague, who created the fast changeover technology. The first of them knew ways to eliminate losses, and the second knew options for putting them into practice.

Later, American scientists studied the system and began to actively use it under their own name. At first, the concept was applied only in industries with discrete production. These include, for example, the automotive industry. However, gradually the principles were able to be adapted to process production. Later, the basic ideas began to be actively used in trade and other areas of life.

The main meaning of the concept

The starting point of lean manufacturing principles is to assess the value of a product for a specific consumer at each stage of its creation. The main goal of the concept is to create a situation in which continuous elimination of losses will be ensured. Actions that consume resources to one degree or another, but do not create values, are removed.

For example, the average consumer does not need the manufactured product or its elements to be stored in a warehouse. However, with a conventional management system, all costs associated with various indirect costs are passed on to the potential client. The concept involves dividing all enterprise activities into separate operations. Processes that do not add value are systematically eliminated from them.

Existing types of losses

The use of lean manufacturing principles should lead to the prevention of major losses. They should not only be eliminated, but also prevent the possibility of their occurrence in the future. The main task of management is to optimize the production process.

There are seven types of losses associated with the following points:

• overproduction;
• waiting time;
• the presence of unnecessary processing stages;
• manufacturing of defective products;
• making unnecessary movements;
• the existence of excess stocks;
• transportation.

Overproduction is considered the main problem. One of the easiest ways to increase profits is to increase productivity. At the same time, they often forget that the quantity of manufactured products is determined by demand. Sooner or later, manufactured goods accumulate in large volumes in the warehouse.

Review of the basic principles of lean manufacturing

The concept is aimed at organizing an optimal production process. One of the famous books provides information on how this can be achieved. 5 principles of lean manufacturing are taken into account in stages:

1. Determining the value of the manufactured product.
2. Establishing the flow of value formation of the manufactured product.
3. Ensuring process continuity.
4. Providing the consumer with the ability to pull the product.
5. Commitment to improvement.

This includes achieving high quality and forming long-term relationships with end consumers. This is achieved by sharing risks, monetary costs and information sources.

The pull principle in lean manufacturing involves supplying material resources to another process operation as needed. In this case, there is no strict schedule for the movement of material flows.

Basic methods of achievement

There are a number of tools through which the concept is brought to life:

1. Kanban is a system for organizing and supplying a production process. With its help, you can transfer the product to the next technological stage just in time. With this option, there is a balance between supply and consumer demand.
2. Kaizen is a special Japanese practice that emphasizes continuous improvement of technological processes. Not only production, but management is improving. Modernization affects workers and management, and does not require large material costs.
3. Poka-eke is a way to prevent mistakes. The method involves protecting items of use from careless human actions during the production process.
4. Rapid changeover is a method that involves reducing various costs and losses when re-equipping equipment. Initially, such a system found application in optimizing operations related to the replacement of dies and the subsequent readjustment of certain devices.
5. The principles of lean manufacturing 5S allow you to organize your workspace as efficiently as possible. The system presupposes a clear separation of things, their proper storage, standardization, strict adherence to established rules, and maintenance of cleanliness. The concept is aimed at reducing the number of accidents, improving the quality of products, creating a comfortable microclimate, improving labor productivity and unifying workplaces.
6. The total equipment maintenance system consists of a number of techniques that are necessary to ensure that the machine is always ready for operations. The overall effectiveness of the mechanisms used is calculated taking into account the degree of readiness, level of intensity and quality.
7. One-piece flow allows materials, services, and invoices to be processed as they are received. In some cases, the system may not be very profitable or physically impossible.

Implementation phases

There are special principles for implementing lean manufacturing. They can be divided into three main phases, which must be implemented in a certain sequence:

1. Demand research process. First you need to determine which category consumers belong to and what requirements they have. Of the tools used, the best ones are calculations of pitch, takt time, as well as buffer and insurance reserves.
2. The stage of achieving continuity of value flow. The phase involves taking certain measures to provide consumers with the necessary products in a timely manner and in the required quantities. To do this, ensuring balance in the loading of production lines, planning work areas and a number of other measures are carried out.
3. The smoothing phase allows you to achieve a balanced distribution of the volume of work carried out directly over certain time intervals (days, months). At this stage, logisticians are involved and boards are used to consider new ideas.

Under what conditions can implementation be successful?

For the implementation of lean manufacturing principles in an enterprise to be successful, certain conditions must be met:

1. First of all, a plan for training and advanced training of employees should be established, taking into account the specifics of the business entity. All organizations have different resources, financial capabilities and needs. All people have different knowledge, skills and experiences. When planning the learning process, all this should be taken into account.
2. When implementing the concept, it is necessary to use a full range of tools and resources that are suitable for the majority of employees. Some people prefer to attend training courses, while others prefer to observe the activities of their colleagues.
3. Information should be obtained through benchmarking. The employee training stage involves the development of creative abilities. It is important to teach employees to go beyond the boundaries of a specific enterprise in order to effectively conduct business. They must be able to find options for applying fresh ideas in their own organization.

Manifestation in industries

The main principles of lean manufacturing are clearly visible in many industries. The concept allows you to increase the efficiency of the work process:

1. Lean healthcare is a set of measures that reduces the time spent on medical staff. This does not apply to direct patient care.
2. Lean construction is a special management strategy aimed at increasing the efficiency of construction of objects. Each stage is considered separately.
3. Lean logistics is a pull system that combines the entire network of suppliers participating in the value stream.

Final part

Competent implementation of the basic principles of lean production at an enterprise provides an opportunity to improve the efficiency of its work. Business can be optimized only through maximum focus on certain categories of consumers and the involvement of all employees in this process.

The concept of “lean manufacturing” was created at Toyota, and since the success of the latter is well known, lean manufacturing methods began to be widely used in other enterprises. The greatest application of the lean manufacturing concept occurs where this concept was created - in mechanical engineering. Note that it can be successfully applied in construction and in other industries characterized by either a huge set of tools or a huge set of “components”.

In accordance with the theory of lean manufacturing, all activities of an enterprise are divided into operations and processes that add value to the consumer, and operations and processes that do not add value to the consumer. The goal of “lean manufacturing” is the systematic reduction of processes and operations that do not add value. This is the economic “ideology” of lean production as a type of management.

And first of all, this concerns logistics and storage of tools, raw materials, materials, components, i.e. "intermediate products" of activity. Streamlining this entire system with large volumes of production allows you to significantly save on “wasting employee time” searching for the “needed”, making unnecessary movements, aimless walking, etc. “unnecessary” operations from the point of view of the final product in an environment of “poorly organized” production.

In general, in our opinion, and not only ours, the main advantage of “lean production” is the guidance ORDER, which immediately affects productivity, quality, and discipline of labor and production. And this is all good!

It is well known that any activity requires a conscious and emotional attitude towards it. In the conditions of collectivism of Japanese society and the positions of the traditional Japanese worldview, all this led to the totality of “lean ventilation”, to strict observance of all the rituals of this new “religion” of production culture. American management specialists have turned the concept and methods of "lean manufacturing" into a high-quality commercial product and have been very successful in doing so. Paying tribute to “lean manufacturing” itself, we advise you not to be fascinated by all the aspirated foreign words and terms (especially Japanese words that sound like magic spells), because the point is not in them, but in the very system of ESTABLISHING ORDER, OPTIMIZING THE PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT AND PRODUCTION OPERATIONS!!! This, not the names, is the power of lean manufacturing. And one more very important point!

The Japanese traditional production culture is essentially based on collectivism, on the natural acceptance of corporate values, on the fact that the worker considers production “his own” and works on it not out of “fear”, but out of “conscience.” The ideal model of the relationship between employer and employee is a kind of “paternalism” model, when the employer takes care of the worker as a member of his family, and the grateful worker behaves accordingly and “listens to his elders,” which is reinforced by the desire and traditions of working in one place (in one organization) ALL LIFE! If we take into account that the traditional system of classical education in Japan really teaches (no worse than under Soviet socialism) and “selects” the successful ones very, very harshly, then the Japanese “management” is several heads taller than its workers. You can listen to them! They know the deal!

In contrast to the Japanese model or the Soviet model, the main capitalist model of relations in production (most clearly embodied in America) is based on individualism and Taylorism, as a means of integrating the “individual” with his “I” into the production “conveyor” - a chain of individual actions and motives. It is known that this model lost the competition with the Japanese one, and Japanese cars conquered the world, including America, significantly displacing the great American auto industry, from which the “miracles” of the 20th century began.

This “Japanese model” began to be promoted into the practice of American enterprises, of course, not as a collectivist model, which is unacceptable to the American mentality, but as part of either the “implementation” or “functioning” of lean manufacturing. And it doesn’t matter what or how the workforce is taught. The important thing is that the workers feel the ATTENTION of the administration to them as PEOPLE, as PERSONS, as SUBJECTS OF ACTIVITY, and not as stupid and silent cogs of a huge conveyor belt for the production of wealth for distant owners. And this also contributed to the SUCCESS of lean manufacturing.

But the idea of ​​involving the team in the management and organization of production is one of the most powerful ideas in labor protection, recognized throughout the world, but most effectively implemented in Finland, a country that is a leader in success in labor protection. This is the idea of ​​INVOLVING ordinary executive workers in OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT, who do not participate in management in any way, just working at their jobs and that’s all! This idea is embodied in our country in the institution of authorized (trusted) persons for labor protection. So it is implicit, but the deep ideas of the ORGANIZATION of lean production and the basis of its SUCCESS are very, very fruitful for labor protection.

But where is occupational safety in lean manufacturing itself? How is she related to him? What does it do for her?

Strictly speaking, from the position of reducing production processes and operations that do not add value to the finished product, labor protection has no place in lean manufacturing, because “worker safety” does not add any visible value to the finished product. This is why there is no Safety in the famous 5S methodology. She stayed behind the scenes.

But it is IMPOSSIBLE to remove labor protection and production safety procedures even in lean production, which limits itself to everything EXCESSIVE, because, although the consumer value of the product does not increase, it grows (and in a crazy way) DAMAGE. And that's already money! And the goal of lean manufacturing is OPTIMIZATION OF COSTS AND “EXTRA” MOVEMENTS. But labor protection has never been superfluous ! It is an integral element of any production, let’s repeat ANY production! Whether we want it or not is not the point!

The task of labor protection has nothing to do with increasing PROFIT, but is exclusively aimed at preventing DAMAGE!

That is why labor protection, one way or another, exists in ANY MANAGEMENT MODEL, the only question is - How does it exist? Optimal or bad?

In our opinion, the organization of lean production allows labor protection to exist in a given organization in the most optimal way.

Why is that? Because “lean production” is just one of the many models of “scientific organization of labor”, which brings (we repeat!) ORDER and once again ORDER in the production of work, technological operations, ORDER both technical, and technological, and organizational and managerial.

Once, in 1931 in Moscow, the Central Institute of Labor (director - A.K. Gastev), which developed the ideas of scientific organization of labor, compared the influence of different methods of laying bricks. The American method, which made it possible to lay out 350 pieces per hour, was considered the highest achievement at that time. Using the traditional Russian method, the worker then laid out 327 bricks, using the improved American method - 452, and using the scientifically based method - 907 bricks. So much for the benefits of scientific organization of work!

Lean manufacturing is very effective. His ideas are also effective in labor safety - they mean that workers must master ONLY the correct movements and techniques of work, they mean that safety instructions should be filled not with what is PROHIBITED, but with what is PROHIBITED. what and just what needs to be done!

But even if lean manufacturing only brings “order” during its implementation, then this is a huge benefit, because order is the true “food of the gods” for labor protection.

There is a persistently propagated opinion that safe working conditions are working conditions without danger!!! This is a very wrong and very dangerous opinion. Its origins are in the vocabulary of the Russian language, in the words “danger” and “safety”, which are so close. But “safe” does not mean “free from danger.” Safe working conditions are working conditions with a low, acceptable, practically acceptable risk; these are working conditions not without dangers, but without risks, “risk-free” working conditions.

Let's explain this. Note that correct protective actions can only be based on a correct understanding of reality, and correct understanding occurs in words. If there are not enough words in your language, then you need to look at what is being done in other languages. The leader here is the English language, since all the ideas and initial regulatory documents about control systems came to us from the UK.

In English – “ dangers “name such properties of objects or processes that, when in contact with a person, “cause harm” to his body in a huge range of consequences from fatigue to death (!!!), and “ risks “name such conditions of human activity that do not exclude or even allow the possibility of such contact, which is AUTOMATICALLY and UNCONDITIONALLY followed by “causing harm” as “danger”.

Our world is a world of DANGERS AND RISKS! We are accustomed to living in a “military camp” environment, surrounded by numerous and varied dangers, constantly keeping them under vigilant control and in every possible way reducing the risks of their exposure.

Think about it - the most terrible thing for all life on Earth is fire! It kills the life of organic bodies by burning them! But exactly " domestication"fire gave ancient man incredible power over the world, subject only to him! Modern civilization would never have arisen if we had not been able to “control” fire. No wonder they call it a fire “uncontrolled (or uncontrolled) combustion outside a special fireplace”. These words say it all. This is how a fire differs from a stove on which food is cooked!

And the third example. Every day we use boiling water to make tea, coffee, compote, soup! And it’s rare, rare that we get burned if we do everything RIGHT!

There are many dangers, but we must manage them in such a way that the risks of their adverse effects do not develop into an actual accident!

So, the main thing in labor protection is to “fight” risks!

It is known that all the causes of all unfavorable events are divided into: technical (technological, sanitary and hygienic, etc.), organizational, and personal (related to the so-called “human factor”). The latter prevail!!!

If we look at them in more detail, then about a quarter of all personal reasons are associated with “loss of vigilance,” short-term loss of proper “concentration of attention,” with impaired motor skills and other psycho-physiological processes.

This is why the ideas of long shifts are “crazy” from the point of view of labor protection - fatigue leads to a loss of “caution,” “thoroughness,” and precision of actions in conditions of “coexistence” with dangers. Punishment is immediate and inevitable!

The remaining three-quarters of the causes of injury are associated with the INABILITY TO WORK correctly, in the absence of knowledge, skills and abilities to perform work safely!!!

Personnel need to be TRAINED TO WORK SAFELY! There is no other option.

And we need to create conditions where you CAN AND WANT TO WORK SAFELY!

A huge role here is played by the usual ORDER + CLEAR SEQUENCE OF ALL PRODUCTION OPERATIONS, as well as VISUALIZATION of hazardous areas and individual hazardous objects or their properties.

Visualization very important because activates ours, developed over millennia of human evolution as a biological being, sense of danger . "Feeling" ( in the history of mankind - seeing!!! ) danger (and it is a source of stress!!!), the body automatically releases adrenaline into the blood, due to which all ailments recede into the background, the head begins to think clearly, the arms and legs begin to move exactly as they should, the muscles are ready to work to the maximum and so on. - as a result, we “gather our courage”, straighten our shoulders, concentrate our attention, are ready to move mountains, and act clearly and SAFELY!

But how can we see what we cannot see? We do not see gas, we do not distinguish liquid by type (water or alcohol, or ether or...) and much more too! All this needs to be visualized - by sticking labels and inscriptions, by painting and tinting, by smoking or odorizing (giving a smell) - but you never know how this can be done - but it must be done, it must be done visualize dangers that we don’t see, don’t realize, don’t record without this!!!

In conditions when His Majesty the working class has completely forgotten how to read and is accustomed to watching pictures on TV or an iPhone, he needs to be given INSTEAD OF INSTRUCTIONS or IN ADDITION TO THE INSTRUCTIONS, a visually perceptible GUIDE TO ACTION!

That is why coloring and zoning of floors, equipment, the use of safety signs, light-reflecting elements, etc. – a huge achievement and a boon for labor protection! For with all this visualization she leads the employee “by the hand” along the path of safety, making known situations impossible: “A bird walks cheerfully along the path of disasters, not foreseeing any consequences from this”!!!

This is why lean manufacturing, by putting things in order, e.g. creating “good” conditions for productive work, optimizing the production environment and the labor process, i.e. preventing the worker from involuntarily entering the dangerous zone and making incorrect movements, visualizing invisible dangers, and thereby activating our caution, involuntarily and unwittingly, consciously or not, but create safe working conditions, new in methods and progressive in ideas “ lean labor protection»!

And the use of lean manufacturing ideas in labor protection should be welcomed!

Since 1997, we have been helping our clients in the field of labor protection and personnel records management. We provide services throughout Russia. Remotely, in a short time, our specialists will help resolve any issue.

Useful information once a month

Lean (lean) (eng. lean production, lean manufacturing from lean - “skinny, slender”) is a system of simple solutions that can help improve efficiency and reduce costs.​

Today, an increasing number of enterprises are embarking on a lean development path, which allows, with the help of organizational measures, to increase labor productivity from 20 to 400% within a year. By using just one of the lean manufacturing tools - changing the flow of products, you can increase labor productivity by 30% in two years. This is what the General Director of the Kaluga Automotive Electrical Equipment Plant did. Now the plant is setting more ambitious plans to increase productivity - by another 50%.

Lean manufacturing technologies really produce results; enterprises need them. This will be discussed further.

8 principles of lean manufacturing that increase enterprise efficiency

The work of our company uses the principles of lean management, which is based on the desire to produce only in-demand goods in the required quantities without delays, without accumulating stocks in warehouses. When picking orders, we try to avoid activities that do not add value to the product. This includes, for example, storing unnecessary inventory, unnecessary processing, and lengthy product movements within the warehouse. Here are a few ideas that we managed to implement. The described actions made it possible to reduce personnel rotation, improve the ergonomics of the work process, and increase its safety. Productivity across all order processing areas increased by 20% in six to seven months.

1. Weight control. One of the ways to eliminate losses in a logistics center is weight control of finished orders. It allows you to find errors before the order reaches the customer, which reduces the number of complaints. So, if the actual weight of the box with the order does not coincide with the calculated one, then it is not sealed, but sent for inspection and, if necessary, for additional assembly.

2. Conveyor system for used containers. A conveyor runs through all assembly areas and automatically delivers used corrugated cardboard to the pressing area, where a horizontal press produces a bale of pressed cardboard with little or no operator intervention. This minimizes the work associated with the turnover of used containers and reduces the amount of paper dust. As a result, the level of environmental pollution is reduced and equipment fails less often. We sell pressed cardboard to companies for recycling.

3. Selection by light. Along a conveyor with an area of ​​9.2 thousand square meters. boxes move, and employees at assembly stations insert products into them using the pick by light system. With its implementation, the productivity of order collection in our center was 50% higher than the productivity in other Oriflame order processing centers in Russia. In addition, the assembly line is built according to the ABC principle, which minimizes the number of assembly stations and optimizes unit costs. Here's how the goods are distributed:

• zone A is the fastest assembly zone; about 20% of goods are placed here, which are included in more than 80% of orders;
• zone B – about 30% of the goods come here (or every tenth box);
• zone C – over 1.5 thousand items with the least popularity fall here (or every 50th order).

Pick by light technology(English, selection by light) is used to collect orders at the workstation. A light signal lights up on the display located under the selection cell. The storekeeper selects products from this bin and places them in an order box that moves along the conveyor line. Then he presses a button on the display, confirming the completion of this operation.

4. Visualization. Most visualization elements (markings, various signals) are built in such a way that even a new employee can easily understand their meaning. Thus, floor markings help maintain order near the working areas of the conveyor; it shows where certain materials belong and where they are prohibited from being placed. With the help of auxiliary signs (photos, stencils), you can indicate exactly where equipment should be located or what type of material should be in a particular place. This reduces the time spent searching for equipment and materials and simplifies the training of beginners. With the help of portable signs you can control the flow of products in a limited space, which can be very useful in small warehouses.

5. Orthopedic carpet. Pickers who put single-item items into boxes are constantly on the move, and their productivity drops by the end of their shift. We equipped such workplaces with a special orthopedic carpet. Due to its soft but elastic structure, it reduces the load on a person's legs and back when moving around the station, similar to running shoes. And the anti-slip surface prevents the risk of injury and helps maintain assembly speed.

6. The principle of “everything is at hand”. The more popular the product, the closer to the order picker it is located. We place products with high turnover at arm's length; products that are ordered less frequently are located further away. To reduce the time for selecting from the upper cells, metal steps are installed at the workplaces, which allow employees to easily reach even the top shelf.

7. Labor productivity monitor. It shows in real time the order picking speed of the entire line and individual stations. This way we can evaluate the work of each assembler, while employees begin to compete with each other. The monitor successfully complements the monetary motivation and makes the KPI system more transparent. In addition, such a system always allows you to identify errors at each station.

8. Points for idea. The most important thing is to involve workers in the improvement process. It is from them that ideas for eliminating losses should come. We try to achieve the goal by introducing the philosophy of lean production into the minds of employees, training managers and specialists in the algorithm of step-by-step changes according to the PDCA principle (English, Plan-Do-Check-Act - planning - action - check - adjustment).

We are currently finalizing the employee motivation system depending on their individual contribution to the overall process. Part of the new system is operating in the logistics center in Budapest. Its meaning is that for each idea the employee receives points, which he can exchange for prizes, and any ideas are evaluated, even those that are not suitable for implementation.

7 “lean” ideas that will work in 100% of companies

The editors of the General Director magazine, together with the Rostselmash enterprise, held a workshop on “Production System: Operational Efficiency in Action.” First we listened to the speakers, and in the afternoon we went on a tour of the workshops. In the article you will find lean manufacturing ideas, which can be implemented in any company.

Possible causes of losses at the enterprise

1. Unnecessary employee movements.

• irrational organization of workplaces - due to inconvenient placement of machines, equipment, etc.;
• workers are forced to make unnecessary movements to find the appropriate equipment, tools, etc.

How to avoid losses? The timing of one of the workplaces is carried out throughout the entire shift. It is necessary to calculate the employee’s time spent walking to the location of tools, components, accessories, and searching for them - this time is multiplied by the total number of workers in a shift and by the number of shifts during the year. Thanks to this, it is possible to calculate the losses of an enterprise during the year due to unnecessary movements of its employees.

An example of loss elimination. In one of the sections of the automobile enterprise, all the tools were in a common cabinet. Workers took one tool at the beginning of the shift, then they had to exchange it for another. Operators in total had to spend about 10-15% of their time on unnecessary trips to the closet and back to the workplace. Therefore, it was decided to allocate each employee his own tool cabinet. Thanks to this, we were able to reduce all movement, providing a more convenient and efficient workplace - with a 15% increase in the productivity of our employees.

2. Unreasonable transportation of materials. This category includes movements of materials that do not add value to the product. Possible causes of losses at the enterprise:

• a significant distance between the workshops, among which the products are transported;
• ineffective layout of their premises.

Calculation of losses. For example, you need to present a workpiece that has arrived at the warehouse. Then we think through an algorithm by which this workpiece goes through all the technological stages of production. You need to calculate how many meters the workpiece needs to be moved, how many times it will be lifted and placed, how much resources are needed for this, how much value is lost or added at the output (sometimes such movements lead to a decrease in the quality of the workpiece). We multiply the calculated losses by the number of workpieces that go through the production process throughout the year.

How to get rid of losses? A large body part at an automobile plant was moved to the welding area twice. The body was welded, then it was returned to its original place to process the surface - and again it had to be sent for welding (to weld the assembly unit) and again to its original place. The result was a significant waste of time moving the part and waiting for the forklift. To reduce time losses, the welding station was located next to the electric trolley and machining area. Achieved time savings of 409 minutes. monthly. The time saved was enough to produce 2 more cases.

3. Unnecessary processing. Such losses arise in a situation where certain properties of the product are not beneficial to the customer. Including:

1. Features of the supplied products that customers do not need.
2. Unreasonably complex design of manufactured products.
3. Expensive product packaging.

Calculation of losses. You should visit the buyer (customer) to clarify how he uses your company’s products. If you specialize in the production of parts, you need to familiarize yourself with the installation process and related operations with your consumer. It is necessary to compile a list of structural elements and material properties of your products that are not important to your consumer. You also need to clarify with the customer what properties of the goods he considers unnecessary or secondary. You need to evaluate the amount of your own expenses that were previously required for such unnecessary properties.

Example from practice. At one of the bus production plants, all surfaces were painted to the highest class of accuracy. We conducted a survey of our consumers and found that they do not require such requirements for painting accuracy. Therefore, changes were made to their technical process - the accuracy class for invisible surfaces was lowered. We managed to reduce costs by hundreds of thousands of rubles monthly.

4. Waiting time. The cause of these losses is the downtime of equipment, machines, employees while waiting for the next or previous operation, the receipt of information or materials. This situation may be caused by the following factors:

1. Equipment failure.
2. Problems with the supply of semi-finished products and raw materials.
3. Waiting for orders from managers.
4. Lack of necessary documentation.
5. Problems with the software.

Calculation of losses. It is necessary to keep track of the actions or inactions of your employees, as well as the work (or downtime) of equipment during the shift. It is necessary to determine how long the workers have been idle, how long the equipment has been idle. The downtime of employees and equipment is multiplied by the number of employees (pieces of equipment) and the number of shifts per year - the result is total losses.

Example from practice. In one of our automotive production workshops there was a long period of equipment downtime due to frequent breakdowns. To reduce downtime, a repair and maintenance point was established in the workshop itself. When our machine failed, the worker only had to contact the repairmen so that they could immediately fix the existing problem. At the same time, the foreman forwarded the application to the chief mechanic for consideration. This approach allowed us to reduce employee and equipment downtime by 26 man-hours every month.

5. Hidden losses from overproduction. It is considered the most dangerous type of loss, since it provokes other types of losses. However, in the practice of many companies it is considered normal to produce more products than are required by the customer. Losses from overproduction can be caused by the following reasons:

1. Working with large batches of products.
2. Planning to fully utilize your workforce and equipment.
3. Production of unclaimed products.
4. Product output volumes exceed consumer demand.
5. Duplication of work.

Calculation of your losses. It is necessary to calculate the amount of unclaimed products stored in the enterprise’s warehouses during a month, quarter or year. The cost of these goods will be equal to the frozen capital. You also need to calculate the necessary costs for maintaining your warehouses and areas. How much of the product will spoil during storage? The summation of these indicators will allow you to determine your losses as a result of overproduction.

Example from practice. The automobile enterprise for the production of spare parts and auto components was working at the limit of its capabilities with a regular increase in volumes. However, some products always remained in warehouses. Based on the results of studying consumer demand and profits from each type of product, it was possible to understand that it is better to eliminate certain positions in your production, and use the freed up capacity to produce in-demand parts. The company was able to completely eliminate losses from overproduction in its practice, achieving an increase in profits by tens of millions of rubles.

6. Excess inventory. Surpluses appear in a situation where necessary materials and raw materials are purchased for future use. As a result, the company has to face certain losses:

• wages for warehouse workers;
• costs for renting warehouse space;
• unfinished production;
• long-term storage negatively affects the properties of materials.

Calculation of losses. It is necessary to determine the amount of inventory stored in the warehouse that is not claimed earlier than a week later - what costs are required for storage. You also need to consider the amount of materials in the warehouse that will not be needed for production - and how many of them are spoiled materials. Now you need to understand what funds are frozen and how much the spoiled materials cost.

Example from practice. The work in progress at the bus plant was 16 days. The quantity of certain components during assembly was excessive, but other items were regularly insufficient. Therefore, we organized the supply of the necessary parts for assembly every day in the required quantity.

7. Defects and their elimination. These losses are caused by the reworking of their products, eliminating defects that arose during work.

Calculation of losses. You should count the number of defective products in your catalog during the month and year. What costs will be required to dispose of this product? What resources are invested in reworking defective products? It must be taken into account that these costs are not borne by the customer, since his money is used to purchase only suitable products.

Example. The company had too high a percentage of defective goods - semi-finished cake products did not meet aesthetic standards. Appropriate changes were made in production using quality control methods at the manufacturing stage. If there were problems, an alert was triggered and the entire process was stopped so that the problem could be fixed immediately. This approach has reduced the incidence of defective products by approximately 80%.

Implementation of lean manufacturing at the enterprise

Since March 2008, our company has been implementing current lean manufacturing methods. In the Ural region last year, the demand for the purchase of profiteroles increased significantly. For a growing market, significant volumes were needed. But at that time we had only one production line at our disposal, so we thought about increasing productivity at the current capacity. This is exactly what lean manufacturing methods were needed for.

Product creation scheme. At the 1st stage, we used the VSM technique - we draw a diagram that depicts each stage of the flow of information and materials. You must first highlight what needs to be obtained from the results of this process and determine the first step to achieve the goal. Then you need to build a chain of necessary actions to move from the first stage to the next. We indicate on your map the duration of each stage and the required time to transfer materials and information from one stage to the next. The diagram must fit on one sheet of paper - to assess the interaction of all elements. After analyzing the diagram, we draw an improved map, which shows the already improved process with the adjustments made.

Elimination of losses. By analyzing the map, you can understand the bottlenecks in the production of profiteroles. Problems included inefficient use of personnel, holding back excess inventory, and suboptimal placement of equipment. To get rid of losses, the 5C system was used to optimize the location of equipment - it involves five basic rules. Namely, maintain order, sort, standardize, improve and keep clean.

To begin with – putting things in order. We marked equipment and materials with a red marker that had not been used for a month. It turned out that only 4 of the 15 carts were needed, and the unnecessary ones were sent to the warehouse.

The next stage is standardizing the location of your equipment. We clearly defined the boundaries of each object in production using markings on the floor. We marked the locations of dangerous units in red; yellow was used for other equipment. We hung all the instruments on a special stand, for each of which the place was also indicated with markings.

The next task is to standardize the work of employees thanks to the visualization method. On the walls of the room there were stands with images of the algorithm of work operations and methods of execution. Thanks to this scheme, the employee could easily navigate the work process. Photos of standard and defective products are also posted on the stands. If a defect is detected, production is stopped until the causes are eliminated, sending semi-finished products and non-standard products for processing.

Next is process modeling, taking into account the reduction of losses during transportation, movement and waiting. In particular, eclairs and profiteroles in the rotary oven were previously baked in successive batches (first 10 carts of eclairs, then ten carts of profiteroles). When the profiteroles ran out, a simple injection machine and workers appeared. We decided to reduce the batches of profiteroles to three trolleys and eclairs to 7. Trolleys for eclairs were marked in blue and for profiteroles in yellow. We have created a signaling system - when a yellow cart arrives, you need to start baking an additional cart of profiteroles. The same principle was used for eclairs.

It was also decided to discard unused equipment and new equipment was purchased, including an injection machine and an additional belt conveyor.

Thanks to lean manufacturing, it was possible to reduce the number of workers on the production line to 11 employees instead of 15 - achieving an increase in output to 9,000 sets instead of the previous 6,000 per shift. The increase in output per employee amounted to 818 sets instead of 400. Three employees were transferred to more qualified work. In total, we managed to achieve a productivity increase of 35-37%. A platform was also organized to train its employees in new methods of organizing production.

By implementing a lean manufacturing system, we got rid of inventory

Tatiana Bertova, head of the regional distribution center of the TechnoNikol company, Ryazan
Elena Yasinetskaya, HR director at TechnoNikol, Moscow

About 8 years ago, the company's managers realized that the management methods used did not provide the required effect. Then we decided to use lean manufacturing. Various improvements were made, many of which did not require significant expenditure, but at the same time achieved significant economic benefits. I would like to focus your attention on this.

1. To reduce the time of shipment of finished products, we installed signs for overpass numbers, as well as driving directions on the territory of our enterprise. It became easier for drivers to navigate the territory and find loading points faster, with less time spent at the plant - significant time savings were achieved.
2. Redevelopment of warehouse areas and production areas - to save more than 30% of used space.

In total, we managed to achieve an increase in production by 55% with a doubling of turnover - even after reducing the staff by 2 units. Output per employee increased by more than 200%.

Successful experience made us think about using these techniques for other departments.

What to do to make the implementation of lean processes effective

The main reason for optimization is the shortage of production space. A pilot project in this direction is to improve the production process for the production of heat exchangers for air conditioning systems. The lean manufacturing implementation group included representatives of production, supply services, technology bureau, chief engineer service and quality service.

Help from experts is extremely useful at the initial stage. Although they immediately emphasized that any proposals for improving production processes should come from the working group, experts should only provide assistance in project management. The company's managers also participated in the work on the project, assessing the results of the work and approving the goals of the project itself. Based on our experience, we will consider the main factors that influence the success of the integration of lean manufacturing methods:

Customer focus. It is necessary to consider each complaint from the client, with the organization of an internal investigation. The measures taken should be aimed at preventing such shortcomings in the future by improving the process. Another significant aspect should also be taken into account - when visiting the enterprise, each consumer should receive confidence in reliable cooperation, with timely and high-quality execution of their orders.

Staff involvement. The implementation of a lean production system is impossible without the involvement of employees. But when inviting employees to participate, you need to respect their initiatives to improve production processes while ensuring comfortable working conditions. The enterprise regularly conducts surveys to obtain data on working conditions, availability of necessary documentation, organization of workplaces, etc. Then the necessary measures are taken to improve all processes with the obligatory involvement of employees. If some employee initiatives are impractical or impracticable, then at team meetings we correctly explain the reasons for the refusal.

Visibility. A visual management system is becoming a prerequisite for lean manufacturing. Thanks to it, it is possible to control the progress of production at any time. Facility diagrams have recently been placed on the walls of the premises - so everyone can understand where they are now, with a quick search for the required area. All areas are equipped with stands showing the extent to which the release of goods complies with our plans and the reasons for delays. It is necessary to understand the original, and not just the immediate causes of the problems that have arisen. For example, a defect in a welded joint caused a schedule violation - however, the real reason may be poor quality of parts or insufficient experience of the welder.

Load leveling. Not only planning for uniform production load and inventory levels is considered, but also smoothing out fluctuations in consumer demand. It is necessary to establish communication with customers so that they understand that uneven production load leads to negative consequences for them.

Measuring improvement. Employees and shareholders must understand that the changes made have a positive effect on the production and financial performance of the enterprise. It is necessary that the employee reward system depend on the activities of the entire team, but at the same time, individual achievements should also be taken into account. For example, thanks to a pilot project to combine product groups and reduce inventories in work in progress, the following effect was achieved:

• reduction of production cycles by 2.5-7 times;
• working time was used more efficiently up to 85% instead of the previous 50%. Namely, 85% of working time is spent on production;
• the volume of items in work in progress has been halved;
• reduction of the total distance of movement of the product during the production process by 40%;
• reduction in setup time by 50%.

However, the main achievement of lean manufacturing at our enterprise is that production capacity has increased by 25% without capital expenditure or expansion of space.

Lean Manufacturing Saved Toyota

Any change is a path, a journey. Only 10% of people know why they went on the road. They agree to do everything to overcome this path. Most do not understand why changes are needed. They are just observers. Another 10% struggle with the need to change. They slow down progress. If you are faced with the need for change, determine which of your assistants are rowers, which are observers, and which are opponents of change. And then help the rowers and ignore the whiners, even if they try to interfere. And, if you have chosen the right path, observers will also begin to help you over time.

The moral of this Japanese parable was followed by the head of an American engineering company. The plant found itself in a crisis (many Russian enterprises are now in a similar situation); a number of problems arose before it:

• lack of time, emergency production mode, which does not allow the introduction of new management decisions;
• inadequacy of processes: most operations did not fit into the cycle, management processes were not carried out properly;
• unstable operation of equipment;
• lack of clear standards (in relation to personnel, processes, equipment, materials, workplaces);
• lack of visual management, untimely response to problems;
• lack of involvement of workers in the decision-making process;
• confusing accounting system.

All this led to the fact that the plant produced twenty cars less than planned every day, equipment constantly broke down, and there were quality problems in all workshops. The General Director was faced with a serious choice: leave and allow the owners to close the plant or try to restore it. The production management of the Toyota company was taken as a model. The following goals were set:

• improve safety, quality, delivery indicators by 20% and reduce costs by 20%;
• reduce costs caused by violation of ergonomic principles by 25%.

The introduction of lean manufacturing elements was not easy, but the General Director managed to change the strategy and involve not only top and middle managers, but also workers and team foremen in the process of change. Here are the main decisions that helped save the plant:

• creating an atmosphere of continuous improvement, or the kaizen approach (the translator mentioned the Greek sirtaki dance in the title of the book, which very well conveys the essence of this approach - involvement in the process and interest of all participants);
• allocation of working groups to solve problems;
• identifying bottlenecks through daily product analysis and taking into account the current state of production;
• implementation of visual management;
• organization of continuous training and rotation of employees;
• standardization of production processes;
• prevention of defects;
• putting things in order in the workplace and maintaining equipment;
• introduction of the so-called pull production system (production only when an order is received).

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