Manufacturing Ownership is the Key to Sustaining Improvement
There are always production lines, or departments, or entire plants that really need productivity improvement, and there are a multitude of "silver bullet" approaches that give temporary results. But, what's the fastest way that actually has lasting results?
It can only be done, and is always successfully done, by establishing or reestablishing solidly, the basic processes that are essential to any manufacturing operation.
"Lean" improvement processes focus on firmly establishing basics.
"Put the processes in place, and the results will come".
The Essential Basic Processes are:
- Safety Standards and Procedures
- Housekeeping Standards and Procedures
- Product Quality Standards and Procedures
- Standard Operating Procedures
- Equipment Care Procedures Involving Everyone
- A Routine Everyday Process to Identify and Permanently Resolve Issues and Make Improvements.
- Mechanisms that Provide Needed Training on an Ongoing Basis
Focusing on new improvement initiatives, without the basics solidly in place, may deliver some short-term results, but will always fail over any extended time period.
The people who work in the plant are the only ones to continually develop and own these processes, and they will do it gladly, if they have confidence that the processes will really be supported and implemented ongoing.
Their ownership is the key to sustaining improvement.
Typically these processes are already in place, to some level, in most plants. And, most people, actually, really do believe in them already. They're just lacking in emphasis, understanding, and especially widespread ownership.
Reviving and improving them to some level of better effectiveness doesn't have to take a long time. But the process does have to continue forever.
This is not, yet another, new, different, initiative. This is just work. Putting in place the basic processes that any successful manufacturing organization needs to have. But if done properly, with widespread involvement, the improvement is dramatic and exciting.
My focus has typically been on installing, reinstalling, or improving equipment care (maintenance) systems and procedures, but when equipment care is established as a plant wide responsibility, those systems and procedures broaden to deal with loss issues of all types.
This is the true essence of Lean Manufacturing. People who actually work in plants routinely identifying wasteful activities, and just going ahead and doing something about it.
Over the years I have worked with many groups of people, in many plants, making this happen.
I have retired from active consulting, but continue to maintain this website as hopfully a continuing souce of useful information to those who struggle, as I did, in the world of manufacturing.