Lean Manufacturing 6 Sigma Services
Lean Manufacturing 6 Sigma Services
The benefits of diligently following the improvement process are inumerate and well documented, you just have to search for the Toyota Production System to see the process and affects.
However getting those results can be a little more complicated, Lean Manufacturing 6 Sigma can help with this, it provides a proven structure and a pathway to getting results.
Our methodology for helping you achieve lean manufacturing improvements is built from our 20 year history in helping manufacturers get results andmove along that journey to world class.
Rooted in our history our MD Darren Lawes was hand picked by Unilever to work at one of their top performing fatories, a job many wished to attain, 100 capable engineers applied on every vacancy! He got the role at 24 and it took him years to realise why, they where looking for someone that thought a certain way.
I have realised that I have an intuitive understanding of the improvement process, for me getting the results you are after isn’t shrouded in mystery, rather the problem is it’s quite simple but steps need to be taken. Over the years I have learn’t how to implement and sustain change easier, so results stick and you don’t slip back into the old ways and old performance.
On this page we cover...
- What is Lean Manufacturing and 6 Sigma
- What is DMAIC is it part of 6 Sigma
- Kaizen
- The value of choosing Engineering Support for your CBM needs
1. What is Lean Manufacturing 6 Sigma
Lean manufacturing is a process evolved from the Toyota Production System, made famous in a. Creating The Program
6 Sigma is a structured process for getting those results, originally developed by Mitsubishi in the 1960’s. It’s become the Gold Standard for manufacturing improvement process and training.
A fundamental part of lean is the Removal Of Waste In All It’s Forms, by focussing on removing waste you simultaneously increase productivity, these 7 wastes are…
1) Waiting
2) Defects
3) Transport
4) Inventory
5) Movement
6) Overproduction
7) Extra Processing
2. What is DMAIC and is it part of 6 Sigma?
The DMAIC process is part of the 6 Sigma methodology and quite possibly the most important part as it forms the basis for everything.
The 5 steps of DMAIC are
1. Define, what is your problem? can you accurately quantify it? the better the definition of the problem the easier it will be to follow the other steps and ultimately solve the issue.
2 Measure, once you have defined your problem you need to decide how to measure or gather the data you need to make an accurate informed decision.
3. Analyse, now that you have your data what is that telling you? Analysing data can give you huge insights into a process and a problem you are trying to deal with.
4. Implement, you have your data, you have analysed it, from this you have created a hypothesis on what is happening and importantly what the solution could look like, now you implement the change to prove your hypothesis (or otherwise) either way this is an important step.
5. Control, success you have implemented positive change, you have seen results but now quite possibly the hardest part needs to be overcome. How do you control that process or change so that it sticks? Quite often processes revert to the mean if effective change controls haven’t been put in place.
This is the basis of DMAIC and as you can see a fundamental building block of the whole 6 sigma improvement philosophy.
If you follow this process you will see continuous improvement you are looking for.
3. Kaizen
In Japanese Kaizen means ‘Change for the Good’
Basically Kaizen is the change we are looking for in the continuous improvement process.
When I was at Unilever many years ago we had a process of “Speedy Kaizen” these were easy to implement quick improvements. Basically, anytime we found an issue that we thought we could engineer out quickly we filled in a speedy Kaizen form, organised the work, and implemented the change.
It had a hugely positive effect on the efficiency of the factory and was responsible for driving the factory threatened with closure to one of the top performing sites in the Unilever group.
An important point with the speed Kaizen is that it wasn’t just engineers that came up with the change, the operators would more often than not come to us with a problem and an idea for a solution, we just implemented and managed the process.
In any factory or business for that matter, the people that are doing the work will know what the problems are and have ideas for how to solve them.
To be successful all you have to do is create an improvement process that allows that to happen seamlessly.
How To Get Expert Support with Your Process Improvement...
Choosing the right partner is critical in a successful improvement program, many times we’ve seen improvement programs that haven’t yielded the results expected or needed by the company.
As mentioned before this process ins’t that complicated you need to find the problem and remove it, However passing a course is relatively easy, having an intuitive understanding of improvement less so.
Couple this with in the trenches experience of running a successful small business and working in different fields and industries from food and drinks, to digital website improvements (exactly the same process) to the property industry.
Add this all up and we have over 20 years of experience solving these problems, learning what works and what doesn’t, what’s more we understand the unique challenges faced by the food industry.
Our Process Improvement services are designed around our unique experience in assisting companies getting to world class.
Book a consultation today to see how we can help you.
