Lean Manufacturing techniques can be applied to small, medium and large businesses and have been proven to boost profitability and customer satisfaction.

Everything within the Lean manufacturing model is aimed towards maintaining focus on the two key metrics of profitability and customer satisfaction in order to remain relevant and competitive.

What exactly is ‘Lean’? We can look at the general accepted Lean manufacturing definition for some clarity on the philosophy and the process behind it:

Lean manufacturing or Lean production (often simply ‘Lean’) is a systematic method for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing system. Lean is centered on making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else.

Each facility and organisation will be different. However, adopting Lean manufacturing and working some effective Lean manufacturing courses company-wide into general operations will positively affect any given workforce with:

• Improved profitability: Lean manufacturing makes it more possible for companies to save money of labour hours, resources and wasted stock
• More efficient workforce: With a set of standard procedures, personnel can focus on what matters as opposed to activities that waste time such as looking for the right tool
• Better service: In a more streamlined workspace, workers can direct their attention to their customers as opposed to fixing broken processes
• Safer workplace: In a cleaner, safer work environment, workers are less at risk, more happy and therefore more productive

This division between what is waste and what is valuable is one of the first key points to get clear when we are talking about customer satisfaction and profitability. Based on the concept of Continuous Improvement, the process Lead thinking employs to simplify this segmentation process is one of constant searching for better ways to identify, analyse and resolve the issues around the existence of waste in the workplace.

Step 1 in Lean Manufacturing: Identifying Waste

What can be considered waste? In ‘Lean’, waste can take many forms and according to the philosophy of Continuous Improvement, waste always exists. To be truly Lean, the pursuit to reduce waste is a constant and ongoing one. While waste can appear in many forms, there are a few clearly defined types of waste that are considered to be the major issues in the way of achieving Lean manufacturing:

1. Defects – Defects that result in rework or scrap can be a major cost to organisations
2. Overproduction – Production that is made before it is needed or more products are made than required
3. Waiting time – Time not used effectively is a waste. Idle time is often the result of poor planning or poor resource utilisation
4. Not Utilising Employees – Not utilising people’s knowledge, skills and talent
5. Transportation – Unnecessary transporting of products between processes adds no value to the product
6. Inventory – Holding too much product or stock not being processed
7. Motion – Unnecessary bending, stretching, walking and lifting by workers should be reduced
8. Excess processing – Simple methods can replace lengthy detailed processes or operating procedures

Step 2 in Lean Manufacturing: Analyse and Sort

Once we are able to successfully identify where the source of the waste is, the next step is to better analyse and sort waste. While Lean is not so much about using a set of tools to implement large changes in one fell swoop, it is about fostering a continuous and sustained process of improvement across the entire organisation.

Keeping in the spirit of this ongoing process, a set of practices emerged initially from the key Japanese companies responsible for much Continuous Improvement and have begun working their way into much of the Lean manufacturing training appearing in more Western literature.

Lean Manufacturing 5S Philosophy

The five steps are based on five Japanese words and are focused on creating a safe, clean, and well-functioning workplace. A simplified explanation of the practice can be:

Sort: Remove unnecessary items form the work space. Attache removal tags to infrequently used items or items to be replaced.

Set: Customise the work area to improve overall efficiency. Keep important materials nearby and introduce visual organisation to assist a streamlined workflow and improved efficiency.

Shine: Keep the work area clean by finding sources of contamination and eliminating them.

Standardise: Assign tasks and create mutually agreed upon schedules so everyone knows their responsibilities and timetable.

Sustain: Ensure that 5S is a long-term, company-wide goal. Analyse results often, hold team mettings and train workers on the importance of Lean thinking.

Only one of several Lean tools, the Lean Manufacturing 5S practice as a whole is aimed at eliminating waste and instead creating value through facility and process organisation. No matter to what scale the Lean Manufacturing 5S practice is enforced, businesses both large and small can enjoy numerous benefits from adopting the methodology.

Step 3 in Lead Manufacturing: Resolve and Train

In terms of resolving the issue of waste, it is a key part of Lean to acknowledge that there is no end point to the process of reducing effort, time, space, cost and mistakes. In a true Lean transformative organisation, there will always be a need to return to the first stage and work through the entire process again.

However, a key part of sustainable Lean manufacturing lies in goal setting and training. For Lean to be its most effective, everyone needs to be involved in the process of identifying, analysing and sorting through waste issues.

This relates directly to the ‘Sustain’ step as part of the 5S philosophy; ensuring that Lean manufacturing training is a primary concern and goal company-wide is essential to maintaining the quality of work and the safety of the environment for all workers.

By identifying, analysing and reducing Waste in the workplace using Lean principles customer satisfaction will inevitably increase and do so profitably.

A lean training course will focus on obtaining results and providing a process that will achieve the desired outcomes. Businesses across Queensland, including in and around Brisbane, are looking for effective ways to remain competitive. Many companies are feeling the pressure to deliver value to customers at affordable prices. Think Perform offers Lean training in Brisbane that can help in achieving this goal.

Upon course completion organisations will grow to understand how to increase customer value with minimal waste. To do so, there is a shift from optimising individual assets, technologies, and departments to using a process that optimises all simultaneously.

Lean Training In Brisbane

A lean training course for Brisbane and Queensland based organisations can vary to the rest of Australia based on geographic location and the environment in which the business operated. It is important, however, to focus on continuous improvement utilising a program that can be practically applied in your workplace.

To give you an overview of how a training course might look in your Queensland based organisation, we would first determine what exactly your organisation would like to achieve. In the initial stages, the training focuses on engaging with the leadership and culture of an organisation while allowing solutions to be created to achieve your unique desired outcomes. In fact, many companies choose to undergo the training and create their own title for the unique program they roll out across their organisation. What would yours say? Queensland Manufacturing Excellence?

What is Lean Training about?

Lean training involves the complete transformation of the way a business thinks and how the company is run. First and foremost, your organisation needs to determine how their customers define value. Only when this has been done can we determine which activities must be completed to deliver this value.

Three fundamental principles guide the lean process. First and foremost, customer problems must be identified and solved to allow the company to prosper. Each major value stream is then assessed to ensure it is capable, valuable, flexible, and adequate.

The flow of this process must be both efficient and productive to provide the desired results and a system must be established in order to meet the orders and needs of the client. Finally, this process must become an integral part of the workplace to ensure continuous improvement.

Finally, people within the organisation must be involved, with certain parties identified to handle the process and ensure it is ongoing. If even one principle is overlooked, the organisation won’t get the most from the process.

Why choose Think Perform?

We are specialists in tailoring on site training specific to your businesses’ needs, regardless of geographic location. Whether you’re in Brisbane, Cairns or anywhere in Queensland or Australasia, we can help your business achieve better results.

Our approach has been tried and tested over the years. This approach focuses on helping businesses overcome any obstacles they are facing, making use of the strengths of the business together with the passion of the employees to produce the desired results.

By building on these two areas, businesses find they are able to make continuous improvements in the business, doing so by focusing on small changes that won’t detrimentally impact the practices and values of the company.

The approach used by Think Perform takes every employee in the organisation into consideration, as doing so allows value to be added at each level to ensure the long-term stability of changes.

Here at Think Perform we are known for producing exceptional results by placing personal development, individuals, and continuous improvement of the business at the core of the process, and our organisation brings more than 40 years of experience to each interaction.

Available Opportunities

The programs offered through the company are available nationally, and the team spends time in each client’s workplace, allowing employees to provide their input into the process.

This strong partnership and the customised change framework created for each client ensures a business can make use of the system for years to come.

Australia’s leading Lean trainers, Think Perform are currently offering Lean training in Brisbane. Contact us today and boost employee productivity and profitability sustainably.

How to properly define Continuous Improvement and its application in the workplace

In today’s economic climate, many successful organisations are engaged in what is known as a Continuous Improvement process. This process is a philosophy which aims to improve an organisation’s productivity, profitability, competitiveness and sustainability by using a proven approach known as the Plan, Do, Check & Act (PDCA) cycle.

Consider a production process where every week there was a small but helpful change implemented to the procedure. For example, a new and improved tool might be introduced one week, a new part which replaces two parts the next week, a new layout with easier to reach tools the next – and so on. Each of these changes are small, but these small incremental changes over time would greatly enhance the production process.

What is a Continuous Improvement Cycle?

A continuous improvement cycle provides a foundation for the implementation of a number of Lean tools which aim to improve organisational processes, services and products. Put simply, a continuous improvement cycle is one of the most successful means by which an organisation can achieve its long-term goals through design, strategy and application.

What is a Continuous Improvement Plan?

Generally, a Continuous Improvement plan it follows the PDCA cycle. The cycle begins with a strategy or plan, which is then implemented. When a predetermined amount of time has passed, the process is reviewed and evaluated. Depending upon the outcome, the plan is tweaked and the PDCA cycle begins again.

For example, imagine a car parts company that is frequently ending up with a lot of waste. During the plan phase, the employees could use lean tools like the 5 Whys or a Fishbone diagram to determine why this is happening. From here, they can develop a plan to reduce waste.

In the do stage, the employees implement the plan, which may involve a 5S blitz [link to 5s infographic] on their work area to improve efficiency and reduce waste. After a pre-defined period of time they would review and evaluate the effectiveness of their actions.

During the check phase they can measure whether their changes are reducing waste across the pre-defined areas marked for improvement e.g. reduction of defects, excessive production or waiting.

The act phase encourages employees to take action and implement any learnings in other areas of the workplace and continue to identify areas for improvement.

How does the PDCA cycle influence long term results?

Using the PDCA cycle is like a type of perpetual loop. It moves from planning, to implementation, to evaluation, to revision, and then back to planning and on again. It is precise and methodical. One of its key benefits is that it does not allow for organisational stagnation. Factors such as perceived vulnerabilities, areas for improvement, employee participation, and client satisfaction are monitored, measured, and manipulated to facilitate improvement. Many organisations have noted greater levels of improvement when employees who will be impacted by the changes under consideration are included in the planning and evaluation stages of the process.

How is a Successful Continuous Improvement Implementation Assessed?

The success of many business initiatives are frequently determined by profits. They can also be measured by factors such as increased competitiveness, sustainability, quality, safety, production and retention. Factors like loss reduction, client satisfaction and identification of waste are analysed when determining goals for organisational change. By comparing these statistics to baseline measurements, an organisation’s improvements are able to be statistically measured.

It is clear from looking at the history of successful companies that long term approaches, such as continuous improvement, cannot be abandoned if future growth is the objective. Click here to download a handy Plan, Do, Check, Act printable poster. Print it out and place it where your employees can read, review and memorise the cycle.

If your organisation is looking to improve profitability, competitiveness and sustainability, spend 3-5 minutes taking the Workplace Waste Analysis and you will be provided with a customised report to help identify and reduce waste in your workplace. Click here to take the analysis.