ABSTRACT
Most people are familiar with Lean tools like SMED, 5S, VSM, TPM, and others. (See Glossary at end of book.) It is these tools that many companies focus on in their Lean initiatives. These equate to the center pieces of the Lean/RfS jigsaw puzzle. They are important if we are to understand the whole picture, but they are not a critical part of achieving the logic change of batch to flow. Indeed, many organizations successfully use these techniques while still using batch logic in their planning systems. However, it does mean that they have the issue of a different plan each week, which then usually changes, and this makes sustainable improvements difficult to achieve. But that does not mean that these tools shouldn’t be used. They are all good techniques aimed at helping improve performance, which for many people means increasing line efficiency. This is where Lean/RfS differs from what many people would consider the right thing to focus on: line efficiencies. With Lean/RfS there are two key points of focus:
◾ Conformance to plan, not efficiencies ◾ People, not machines
The Lean/RfS center pieces are specifically aimed at ensuring that the plan is met. This is paramount. Second to this is identifying and then resolving the issues that frustrate people, especially operators. These are the issues that make their working lives harder than they need to be. Of course, the overall objective is to increase performance, and that means line efficiencies. However, that should not be the prime focus for people looking to improve performance, as efficiency is an output KPI affected positively by Lean/RfS.
