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A chaku-chaku line has a series of machines, each equipped with a hanedashi device, or autoejector. This enables the operator working a chaku-chaku line to: walk up and immediately insert the part he is holding into a machine press a start button, and then pick up the previously ejected part. Read more…
A hanedashi device is an automatic part ejector. It reduces waste when an operator approaches a machine to load the next part. In a machine without a hanedashi device, the operator would have to set down the new part that he would be carrying to the machine, pull out the Read more…
Catchball is a business management technique of floating ideas and comments around in an iterative manner. The name comes from the metaphor of tossing an idea back and forth, much like you might with a football. In Lean, the catchball process refines ideas promotes buy-in from the front line encourages Read more…
Brainstorming techniques have varying degrees of structure, but they are all used to generate ideas. Brainstorming techniques include: A brainstorming session in which everyone in the room blurts out ideas. A brainstorming session that takes a round-robin approach, with each person presenting an idea in turn. A brainstorming session in Read more…
One of the more unusually named Lean tools, the affinity diagram is not really a diagram at all. It is more of a sorting and grouping process to organize ideas into manageable chunks. The process is simple: Collect ideas, whether through brainstorming, VOC (voice of the customer) or some other Read more…
The ‘3 reals’ ties closely to the concept of gemba. The premise behind the ‘3 reals’ is simply that you can’t learn about something unless you go to the point of impact and look at what is actually happening. The 3 Reals Go to the real place… To observe the Read more…
Kaizen is a Japanese word that roughly translates to “change for the good”. Many people equate this to putting together a team of people from several work areas to do a week-long project to reduce waste or improve a process’s flow. These projects may be called a kaizen blitz, a Read more…
The PDCA cycle is a structured problem-solving approach. It is also known as the Deming cycle, after Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the man credited with popularizing the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. The 4 Steps of the PDCA Cycle include: The plan step of the PDCA cycle entails setting objectives and gathering the Read more…
A workaround is an unofficial or temporary fix for a problem. In effect, it is an admission that the issue cannot be immediately resolved, and a patchwork fix is put in place. Workarounds are not intended to be permanent fixes but have a tendency to be left in place longer Read more…
For many people, the term “Lean”, immediately brings to mind Lean manufacturing and images of the shop floor. While it is true that the origin of Lean certainly stems from these roots, continuous improvement principles have taken hold in the office, and are spreading at breakneck speed. The Lean office Read more…
SMED means “single minute exchange of die”. It is one of the great enablers of Lean manufacturing for the simple reason that it reduces batch sizes. Simply put, when changeover takes a long time, a machine that makes many parts needs to run big batches all at once to be Read more…
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) is the founder of Ford Motor Company and the man most widely known as the inventor of the moving assembly line. While the first is true, the second common belief is a bit inaccurate. Ford actually popularized the moving assembly line; Read more…