Continuous Improvement
INTRODUCTION TO LEAN MANUFACTURING:
This 1-day course utilizes a live simulation to demonstrate the concepts of Lean manufacturing. The eight forms of waste that occur in organizations are:
- Overproduction
- Waiting
- Defects
- Inventory
- Transportation
- Under-utilized people
- Non-value-added processing
- Excess motion
Lean manufacturing is a systematic approach to producing goods and delivering services that creates precise value for the customer - with the minimum amount of waste (through identifying and eliminating non-value-added activities) and the maximum degree of quality (through a culture of continuous improvement).
Benefits:
- Reduced cycle time
- Reduced inventory
- Reduced costs
- Increased capacity
- Improved lead times
- Increased sales
- Increased productivity
- Increased profits
SCMEP is the leading provider of lean solutions to South Carolina manufacturers and coordinates five Lean Alliances in the state. See more about the South Carolina Lean Alliance.
5S:
The 5S philosophy focuses on standardizing, organizing and simplifying the work environment to reduce waste and improve quality and safety. In this workshop you’ll learn and apply the 5S system concepts, turning a cluttered, disorganized production area into a clean, organized, and orderly workplace.
The 5S system includes:
- Sort/Eliminating materials that do not belong in the work area
- Set in Order/Eliminating time wasted looking for things - "a place for everything and everything in its place."
- Shine/Cleaning everything clean and inspect while you're cleaning
- Standardize/Making all work areas the same so procedures and abnormalities are obvious - standardize best practices
- Sustain/Internalizing the rules and making them habits - define a new status quo and standard for workplace organization
Benefits:
- Energized workers
- Increased efficiency
- Positive impression on outside visitors, including current and potential customers
- Less waste
- Better quality
- Faster lead times
KAIZEN:
Kaizen means “change for the good” and is an intensive and focused approach to process improvement. A Kaizen Blitz is a continuous improvement event that uses Lean tools, a team approach, brainstorming, and problem solving to quickly improve a specific area or situation. Conducting a Kaizen event provides immediate, tangible results and motivation for ongoing continuous improvement.
Benefits:
- Employee involvement
- Visual controls
- Better communication
- Creativity vs. capital investments
- Employees are more capable of thinking from a business perspective
- Smooth implementation due to the team approach
KANBAN:
Kanban means "signal" and is a device for indicating the need to replenish materials. A Kanban or pull system controls the flow of resources during a production process and replaces only what has been consumed by the customer - delivering the right amount of material to the right place exactly when it is needed. SCMEP specialists help you implement a pull system based on actual customer demand and consumption rather than forecasting.
Benefits:
- Reduced overall inventory
- Reduced work in process
- Reduced order turnaround time
- Increased customer satisfaction
- Improved cash flow
SINGLE MINUTE EXCHANGE OF DIES:
Setup Reduction builds on the principles of the SMED, or Single Minute Exchange of Dies system, developed by Shigeo Shingo, to dramatically reduce or eliminate changeover time. The four-step Changeover Improvement Process is used to help companies design no/low-cost solutions to reduce changeover time. Companies that use SMED tools can quickly change production operations to satisfy changing customer requirements and meet customer demands for high-quality, low-cost products, delivered quickly without the expense of excess inventory.
Benefits:
- More flexibility responding to customer needs
- Improved on-time delivery
- Decreased inventory costs
- Increased line and machine capacity
- Increased changeover accuracy
- Reduced startup defects
VALUE STREAM MAPPING:
Value Stream Mapping is a powerful tool used to map the material and information flow of a product family identifying and quantifying the waste reduction opportunities from receipt of raw materials through shipping as finished products. The process includes physically mapping your "current state" and systematically defining a lean "future state." Taking a value stream perspective means working on the big picture, not just individual processes, and improving the whole, not just optimizing the parts.
Benefits:
- Useful as a communication tool, a business planning tool, and a tool to manage your change process
- Allows participants to “see the flow” of value streams and wastes in the flow
- Develops a blueprint and prioritizes activities needed to achieve Lean transformation to the future state
- Views products from a systems perspective
CELLULAR/FLOW MANUFACTURING:
A cell consists of the people and the machines or workstations required for performing the steps in a process with the machines arranged in the processing sequence. Cellular Manufacturing is the linking of manual and mechanical operations into the most effective combination of resources to maximize value-added content, while eliminating or minimizing waste. The most efficient combination results in process balance – for continual product flow. As a result, parts movement is minimized, wait time between operations is reduced, inventory is reduced and productivity and quality increase.
Benefits:
- Increase the value added by each worker
- Reduced parts movement and inventory
- Reduced lead, cycle and waiting times
- Increased productivity and quality performance
- Efficient use of floor space
- Worker cross-training
- Improved communications
- Increased production and scheduling flexibility
TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE:
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a team-based initiative for optimizing the effectiveness of manufacturing equipment. TPM addresses the entire production system life cycle and builds a concrete, shop floor-based system to prevent all losses. Its aims include the elimination of all capacity losses to maximize your Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
Benefits:
- Improved OEE and uptime
- Improved quality
- Reduced:
o Maintenance expenditures
o Breakdowns
o Setup and adjustment loss
o Idling and minor stoppages
o Reduced speed
o Defects and rework
o Startup yield loss
CONSTRAINT MANAGEMENT:
Theory of Constraints (TOC), or Constraint Management, was introduced in a landmark book, The Goal, written by Eliyahu Goldratt in 1984. TOC is a management philosophy that enables systems to achieve higher performance in relation to their goal. When the system is a for-profit business, the goal is making more money in the present and in the future. Every system has at least one constraint which prevents it from achieving higher performance relative to its goal. SCMEP’s TOC training encompasses the basic Theory of Constraints, categories of constraints, and the focusing steps utilized to improve system throughput. In expanded training, a dice simulation illustrates how a constrained process impedes product flow, and how the Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) technique increases system performance without investment in additional resources.
COMBINING THE BEST OF LEAN AND CONSTRAINT MANAGEMENT:
High Impact Lean and the Theory of Constraints combine the principles of Lean Manufacturing with those of Constraint Management. The essential concept of Constraint Management is that every organization must have at least one constraint (bottleneck), defined as any factor that limits the organization’s achieving higher performance relative to its goal. Constraint Management methods fit well with the Lean framework, and using them can help Lean change agents improve performance in circumstances where resources are limited.
PLANT LAYOUT & DESIGN:
Incorporating Lean principles into facility layout and design allows companies to assess the placement of their existing equipment to determine if changes can improve speed and efficiency in the production process. By helping to identify approaches for reducing transport time and inventory movement on the shop floor, SCMEP specialists enhance warehousing and distribution operations, process and information flows, and maintenance performance. We also assist with site selection and planning, including feasibility studies and cost segregation studies.
VISUAL MANAGEMENT:
Sharing information through visual tools that describe workplace safety, production throughput, material flow, quality metrics, etc. helps keep production running smoothly and safely. SCMEP provides the necessary direction to help your organization implement simple, easy-to-understand visual tools (signs, labels, color-coded markings, etc.) so employees know what is going on, understand the process, and know what is being done correctly and what is out of place. Your finished product is a standardized set of visuals in place throughout the organization.
Benefits:
- Shows when something is out of place or missing
- Helps prevent errors
- Keeps production running smoothly and safely
- Everyone knows what is happening without having to be told
LEAN OFFICE:
Untapped opportunity for productivity improvement often exists off the factory floor in non-production areas where the organization has yet to understand or embrace Lean thinking and principles. In SCMEP’s implementation of Lean Office, Lean principles are applied to administrative processes to streamline information flow – the gathering, improving, movement and storage of information. Just like Lean for the factory floor, Lean Office focuses on reducing total cycle time – for example, the time between taking orders and receiving payment. By properly implementing and sustaining Lean Office techniques, companies can design a Lean Office environment that is effective, efficient, requires less effort and generates measurable benefits.
ENGINEERING & DESIGN:
Our services include machine design, process design, and new product design. Covering all of these facets enables us to help companies decrease set-up and lead times, build prototype equipment and mechanical systems, and increase production efficiency, as well as benchmark against industry leaders.
SUPPLY CHAIN DEVELOPMENT & LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT:
Companies at the leading edge of manufacturing innovation are focusing more and more on reducing the time it takes to transform raw materials into finished goods. These companies are no longer limiting their continuous improvement efforts to their own manufacturing facilities, but are driving improvements across the entire supply chain identifying and removing waste at suppliers, manufacturers, distribution centers and customers.
Quality Services
SIX SIGMA:
Six Sigma is a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. It is a statistically driven methodology for eliminating defects and reducing variation in both products and processes. This proven DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology uses data to identify and execute improvement projects. SCMEP provides Six Sigma training as well as project leadership for companies without trained Six Sigma practitioners.
Training levels supported:
- Green Belt — Green Belt trainees learn basic quality tools used in the DMAIC methodology and typically operate under the project leadership of a Black Belt.
- Black Belt — Black Belt trainees use the quality basics of green belt training and learn the statistical analysis necessary to complete Six Sigma projects as well as project leadership.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
A good quality management system promotes the continuous improvement of product and process, while also supporting ISO registration requirements. A well-implemented and maintained system will result in financial improvements for the enterprise as defective parts per million (ppm) decrease and on-time shipping performance increases.
SCMEP offers training and support for Quality Management Systems development, including:
- ISO 9000-Quality Management
- QS 9000 / TS 16949-Automotive Industry Supply Standard
- AS 9100-Aerospace Industry Supply Standard
We provide:
- Implementation assistance and employee training
- Lead Auditor Training
- Auditing Services
- Problem Solving/Root Cause Analysis training and team facilitation
- PPAP (Productive Part Approval Process) – Training and Assistance
- P-FMEA: Process Failure Modes & Effect Analysis
- D-FMEA: Design Failure Modes & Effect Analysis
- APQP: Advanced Product Quality Planning
ISO 14001 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS / JUMPSTART PROGRAM:
This program provides an SCMEP environmental specialist to work one-on-one with your company to become certified under the ISO 140001/ Environmental Management Systems (EMS) standard.
The specific action items performed by our specialist include:
- Develop an implementation plan and program schedule
- Establish objectives, targets, and continual improvement programs
- Document policies, programs, and procedures related to EMS
- Train employees on successful EMS strategies and auditing techniques
- Establish an internal auditing program
- Prepare employees for the ISO 14001 registration audit
- Calculate an impact analysis
It may not take as much time to create an EMS as you might think. Through the Jumpstart Program, SCMEP provides a way for companies to put everything into place to be certified in just nine days spread over a four month period. JumpStart is ideal for busy companies who want to become compliant quickly.
Benefits:
- Cost savings – Iimproved processes affect not only environmental performance but also the bottom line.
- Increased market share – Conformance with the standard levels the playing field between competing companies, regardless of their sizes.
- Reduced liability – Compliance with a voluntary standard like ISO 14001 is a way to analyze current management systems to minimize liability and at the same time maintain good community relations.
- Elimination of trade barriers – Standards make it easier for buyers and sellers of goods to do business despite national borders.
ENERGY ASSESSMENT & OPTIMIZATION:
SCMEP delivers many energy efficiency services for facilities operations that lower production costs, conserve limited energy resources, increase productivity, and benefit the environment. We help companies by offering training courses and seminars, such as an Energy Symposium, bringing together national and local leaders in the energy optimization field, and a Process Heat Seminar, providing an introduction to process heating and process heating equipment such as furnaces, ovens, kilns, dryers, and heaters. The Process Heat Seminar also teaches participants how to use the Process Heating Assessment and Survey Tool (PHAST) to survey major energy-using equipment in their facilities, prioritize improvement opportunities, and assess available methods of energy consumption reduction.
