LEAN OPERATIONS

1. LEAN OPERATIONS PROVIDE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES IN RIGHT QUANTITY OF RIGHT QUALITY AND AT RIGHT TIME

2. TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM • A GLOBAL BENCHMARK FOR LEAN MANUFACTURING • OBJECTIVE IS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY & QUALITY • ‘ELIMINATION OF WASTE’ & ‘RESPECT FOR PEOPLE ‘ ARE THE UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHY OF TPS

3. TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM • FUJIO CHO, IDENTIFIED DIFFERENT TYPES OF WASTES COMMONLY EXPERIENCED IN JAPANESE INDUSTRY • OVER PRODUCTION • OVER SPECIFICATION • PRODUCTION DEFECTS • REDOING DEFECTS • WIP & INTRASIT INVENTORY • SURPLUS AND OBSOLETE INVENTORY • BOTTLENECK DELAYS • WAITING TIME • UNNESSASARY MOVEMENT

4. TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNIG LEAN SUPPLY CHAIN IN TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM: • GROUP TECHNOLOGY • QUALITY AT SOURCE • JIT PRODUCTION • KANBAN SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION CONTROL • MINIMIZING SETUP TIME

5. GROUP TECHNOLOGY GT CONSIDERS ALL MACHINES AND THEIR OPERATIONS REQUIRED TO MAKE CERTAIN PARTS ARE GROUPED TOGETHER. CLUSTERS OF SUCH MACHINES ARE CREATED RATHER THAN DECENTRALISING THEM DEPARTMENT WISE • ELIMINATES UNDESIRABLE MOVEMENTS • ELIMINATES WAITING TIME IN QUEUES • OPTIMIZES WORK STATIONS AND OPERATING MANPOWER • MULTISKILLING REQUIRED FOR DEPLOYMENT

6. QUALITY AT SOURCE PRINCIPLE IS TO ‘DO IT RIGHT FIRST TIME AND EVERY TIME • ANDON SYSTEM EMPOWERS WORKERS TO ELIMINATE THE ASSEMBLY LINE WHEN THEY IDENTIFY ANY DEFECT • PACE IS FAST OR RAW MATERIAL AND ASSEMBLY COMPONENTS ARE DEFECTIVE STOP IMMEDIATELY • HOOTERS / ALARMS & VISUAL DISPLAY TAKES PLACE • SUPERVISOR AND OTHER PEOPLE COME IMMEDIATELY AND ATTEND TO THE PROBLEM • WORKERS ARE ALSO EMPOWERED TO DO SOME MAINTENACE AND HOUSEKEEPING UNTIL PROBLEM IS FIXED

7. KANBAN PRODUCTION CONTROL SYSTEM KANBAN MEANS ‘SIGN’ OR ‘INSTRUCTION CARD’ IN JAPANESE. • TOOL TO FACILITATE PULL SYSTEM IN PRODUCTION PROCESS FLOW. • USES TWO CONTAINERS KNOWN AS ‘PRODUCTION KANBAN’ AND ‘WITHDRAWAL KANBAN’ • SIZE AND NUMBER ARE DECIDED UPON THE VOLUME OF PRODUCTION

8. MINIMIZING SETUP TIME MACHINES MUST BE SETUP QUICKLY TO REDUCE WAITING TIME. • TOYOTA TEAM IS ABLE TO SETUP 800 TON PRESS MACHINE IN 10 MINUTES AGAINST AVERAGE OF 6 HOURS IN US • TOTAL SETUP TIME IS DEVIDED INTO TWO COMPONENTS ‘INTERNAL ‘ & ‘EXTERNAL’ SETUP TIME • INTERNAL SETUP MUST BE DONE WHILE MACHINE IS STOPPED • EXTERNAL SETUP CAN BE DONE WHILE MACHINE IS RUNNING • DUPLICATE TOOL HOLDERS ARE USED TO REDUCE WAITING TIME

9. RESPECT FOR PEOPLE ‘ RESPECT FOR PEOPLE ‘ IS KEY TO TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM • LIFE TIME EMPLOYMENT FOR PERMANENT POSITIONS • PERMANENT WORKERS ARE NEARLY ONE THIRD OF TOTAL WORK FORCE • THEY ARE MULTISKILLED AND ARE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH IN DEPLOYMENT • ENJOY JOB SECURITY AND PRIVILEGED PAY • UNIONS FOSTER COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH MANAGEMENT • EMPLOYEES RECEIVE TWO BONUSES • MANAGEMENT VIEWS WORKERS AS ASSETS • AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS USED TO REPLACE DULL AND HARD MANUAL LABOUR TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF WORK LIFE • HEAVY RELIANCE ON SUB-CONTRACTORS • LONG TERM PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS

10. 7-STEPS TO ACHIEVE LEAN PRODUCTION SYSTEM 1. DESIGN PROCESS FLOW 7. IMPROVE PRODUCT DESIGN 2.TOTAL QUALITY CONTROL SOLVE PROBLEMS CONCURRENTLY AND MEASURE PERFORMANCE 3. STABILIZE SHEDULE 6. REDUCE INVENTORY 4.KANBAN PULL 5.WORK WITH VENDORS