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Pen Lab Round 2 Prep:
In this second round of the pen building lab we implemented things like the 5-why technique, a STOP culture, standardization, and visuals.
The 5-Why technique is when you encounter a problem in a certain part of the process, the first thing you want to do is ask yourself "why", typically about 5 times. However, you generally want to do it as many times as you need, until you really find the root cause of the problem or it's no longer productive to do so. It provides a systematic way to really dive deeper into the actual source of the problem.
In the pen building lab we were able to identify different problems and implement the 5 Why (RCA) technique in order to fix them.
Examples of the 5-Why technique:
First problem: It was taking longer to put the pieces together.
Why? Because the pens were having trouble easily slipping out of the foam.
2. Why? Because the foam was too tight.
3. Why? Because it wasn't cut properly.
4. Why? Because there wasn't proper tools available.
5. Why? Because proper tools were forgotten on last order.
Solution: Create a list that lists the minimum amount of, and the different types of, as well as the minimum quality of, all the tools on each work station.
Second problem: It was taking longer for each operator to find the correct parts.
1.Why? parts were hard to find when needed.
2.Why? Because things were sliding around on the work station.
3.Why? Because they weren't properly secured to the work station.
4.Why? Because proper tools weren't available.
5.Why? Because proper tool inventory wasn't taken.
Solution: Create tool check lists for each operator station.
Third problem: It was taking longer for the third operator to put the last two pieces together.
1.Why? Because they couldn't easily grab the next part to the assembly.
2.Why? Because parts weren't properly arranged in a way that lined up with the process.
3.Why? Because proper process diagramming wasn't taken.
4.Why? Because of lack of operators.
5.Why? Because the student availability wasn't taken into account (on the students end).
Solution: Use the program "When To Meet" to more reliably find student availability.
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Kaizen Event:
In one of the labs, me and a group of students gathered together and held a kaizen event, with the goal of implementing something called a STOP culture; which is basically making an efficient and easy way for any employee to stop the whole process if he or she finds something wrong. This is a way to eliminate defects and errors during the production process, empower your employees, and grow a continuous improvement environment.
Building a STOP culture:
To build a STOP culture, me and a few other students built a pull-cord system, where along parts of the cord were hanging bells and flashy tape. It was hung around each persons work station for easy reachability, so that if anyone found a defect or error in the system, all they would have to do is pull that cord to ring the bells and shake the flash-tape, and everyone would know to stop.
Standardization:
To standardize when possible is essential for lean, because standardizing allows for a consistent and repeatable process, that is easier to continuously improve upon.
I order to standardize our process, we made detailed instructions with visuals, and did that for each operator station. we also made a main SOP, this is a set of instructions for the entire process that anyone can use as a reference.
(Main SOP)
Notice the different operator stations between each "telephone pole". As well as the standard instructions for each individual station/operator.
Visuals:
Visuals are meant to make the whole process clear, intuitive, and easy to understand. This may include things like floor markings, charts/diagrams, pictures, warning/indicator lights, color-coding, standardization, etc. When you have a clear, easy to understand process, it naturally allows, and encourages, a lean culture of continuous improvement.
What we did for visuals in the pen building lab:
We tried to integrate visuals in everything that we did to make the entire process easier/quicker to understand, and thus more efficient.
Examples include:
1 Drawing pictures on our standard work instructions.
2 The idea of drawing lines on the work surface to standardize, and make it easier to know where to place tools, parts, or map out the flow direction, etc.
3 Flashy/bright colors on the pull cord to easily notice when to stop.
(Main SOP, with visuals)
(operator work station instructions)
(Bright colored bells)
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