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Archive for the ‘TPM’ Category
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Understanding the 16 Major Losses of TPM in a Factory
The main purpose of recording factory losses is to understand where we are losing time, speed, quality and ultimately money. This allows us to focus our (limited) resources by identifying the big problems across the manufacturing elements of our factory and profit centres. Further, continuous monitoring, even when there are no problems, allows us to be in full control of the plant and to measure the effects of our improvements to quickly identify where problems are emerging. A factory’s loss system is the essential ingredient in providing “facts” for decisions in an improvement programme.
Loss collection is mainly focussed on the production, packaging and engineering facilities within a site. It attempts to capture stratified information about Quality, Performance, Maintenance and Skill issues. This is the antipathy of the Finance System, which is focussed on what we have made, whereas the Loss System measures and analyses the plant when it is not making product at the required quality and within the required time period.
There are 16 Major Losses as can be seen in the table below. Most factories that measure loss, only record a few of the losses shown on the right hand side. These are the Machine Losses and are probably the best place to start out. The left hand set of losses are much more about “People” and require a more mature attitude by both management and employees to measure them, let alone tackle them.
The Key Performance Indicator (and we stress indicator) for equipment losses is OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency). This is the only indicator, which combines an effective measure of a site’s Availability, Performance and Quality. There are those who are sceptical of sites who claim to have greater than 80% OEE, however, OEE is really a measure of a sites progress as part of a continuous improvement programme. If we start measuring OEE at 30% and change nothing about the way we measure then if after 3 months we have achieved 40% and the other key measures have changed, e.g. increased Volume and reduced Utilisation, then as a site we have reduced our price per product. As with all KPI’s it is what is excluded rather than what is included within the measure that determines how real the measure is. The most common exclusions are time lost for Changeovers and Meetings, two of the largest losses a site may have.
Tags: 16 major losses, kpi, oee, total productive maintenance, TPM
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Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
M.I.C.K 2 moves on to Factory Testing
Matt Treby with M.I.C.K 2
The new version of MICK has entered its final phase of testing. To fully test the new MICK Systems capabilities this phase involved moving from the workbench to a real factory environment. One factory kindly allowed KCTS technical consultant and MICK designer, Matt Treby to spend a morning testing how well the MICK shaped up in a real factory environment with all the possible picture interference and problems that can affect camera systems. Matt also evaluated other properties of the new MICK like:
- Portability
- Setting Up
- Operating
- Safety
Matt was delighted to comment back that the new MICK system surpassed all his expectations. Some of the highlights were:
No picture tearing that comes from interference from electrical motors and machines. The system can now cope with longer runs of cable enabling the camera to cover a larger area (50 metres instead of 30 metres). The main Audio Visual unit is now portable with the introduction of wheels and a pull handle. The system can record continuously on up to 8 channels at a D1 resolution instead of the lower CIF, this has doubled the quality of the image. The whole system still runs at 110v, but has been upgraded to run at 240v if needed. However the most important thing is that it is still very easy to use and very quick to learn.
Now the testing has been successfully completed, a fully operational 4 and 8 camera MICK system will be built to support our training courses, as well as available to buy.
Tags: camera investigation kit, TPM
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Written By: Lee Oxton
Focused Improvement is the process of applying systematic problem solving methods to manufacturing. The process relies on aligning the correct method to the correct scenario. When a known solution exists to a problem clearly demonstrated, the rigour and analysis to find this solution is not needed as experience can be used to try the solution when it is not too expensive or difficult to implement. If such a solution is expensive or difficult to implement, the rigour and analysis of the problem must be improved. The basis of solving problems uses the 5G’s:
Whenever problems are solved, all 5G’s are used but the 1st G – Gemba must always be studied to check our assumptions are correct. For simple problems it is possible to use Gembutsu, Genjitsu, Genri & Gensoku based on experience as explained above to create solutions which are not too expensive or difficult to implement. The study of Gembutsu and Genjitsu can be made systematic. This has 2 benefits, firstly it gives a common method to all the people across an organisation on how the facts and physical evidence are recorded and used. The second benefit is that systematic problem solving gives a common language to all levels in the organisation on the facts and physical data to create a common understanding of the problem. KCTS uses the method known as 5W+1H to create a repeatable, systematic problem statement by asking the following questions and summarising the answer.
• What product is related to the problem?
• When did the problem occur during the activities of the manufacturing enterprise?
• Where on the product and / or within the process was the problem created?
• Who has more of these problems compared to their peers?
• Which trend can be seen over time? Is the problem getting worse or better or repeating in alignment with other factors?
• How is the problem physically manifesting itself?
The remaining G’s of Genri & Gensoku can be studied if experience does not reveal the causes of the problem once the 5W+1H problem statement has been created. If the immediate causes are understood, root cause can be found. Root Cause is defined as when the problem affects human behaviour, it is not suitable to continue through the reasons for this first human behaviour unless this is the original reason we are investigating. It is also not suitable to stop the investigation until this human behaviour has been found. If a problem occurs due to physical problems within the workplace, why are these physical problems not being resolved? The use of 5 Why analysis allows us to test the detail of our 5W+1H. If we have not found the root cause by asking Why 5 times and validating the possible responses to demonstrate factually the reasons for the problem, the problem statement requires more study of the facts and data. If the root cause is found earlier than 5 Why’s then we may stop the analysis at that step.
Once the root cause is found, the benefits of Focused Improvement come from implementing a solution that eliminates that cause. Once eliminated, the problem cannot reoccur. There will be other problems occurring within the process and areas studied, but the same problem cannot reappear unless the conditions of the area change.
The application of Focused Improvement in companies across the world has given direct benefits to the places where it has been implemented, plus allows time and attention to be focused on the systems needed to stop the problem reoccurring. Systems and processes are needed to control the human behaviours used within all manufacturing enterprises but such processes require improvements. By focusing on facts and data, the opinions which can often divide organisations are removed and thus logic is used to drive decision making which ensures all standards used become the latest, best standard.
Tags: focused improvement, total productive maintenance, TPM
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Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
What is a One Point Lesson (OPL)?
A One Point Lesson is a 5 to 10 minutes learning tool, which normally take less than 15 minutes to write. It is a lesson on a single topic/point, on one sheet of paper. It normally consists of 80% diagram and 20% words all produced by hand. It is generally prepared by supervisors or group leaders and sometimes by operators.
When to use it?
• Whenever an important message must be communicated and understood.
What does it achieve?
An OPL quickly enables a team to share key learning and builds on a common understanding of the systems and standards that apply to a work area. When properly managed, they support greater transparency of knowledge and help to rapidly bring new people in an area up to speed.
• To pass on better knowledge.
• Strengthen the understanding for functions of machines and lines.
• Improve knowledge about maintenance defect prevention.
Types of OPL
1. Basic information sheet: essential basic information – practical know-how and know-how of methods:
• Maintenance activities as e.g. filter changing.
• Small repair works.
• Setting of machine functions.
• Cleaning and checking.
• Lubricating.
• Reason for quality loss.
2. Problem case study sheet: teaches how to prevent recurrence of an actual equipment problem.
3. Improvement / Kaizen lessons study case: describes the approach and key measures in a successful improvement case study.
Key points to remember when writing OPL’s
• Only One Point illustrated on a single sheet of paper.
• As many senses as possible should be addressed (See above).
• It must be written As Simple As Possible.
• It should take approximately 15 minutes to write using a pencil, pen or felt tips.
• When words are used, they should be ALL capitals.
Tags: Lean, one point lesson, opl, total productive maintenance, TPM
Posted in Lean, TPM | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Train The Trainer Course – June 2010
At the start of 2010, our clients division starts rolling out awareness courses on their Business System which includes Lean, 6 Sigma, TPM & Operational Excellence methodologies as a company wide system. All employees within the Division have been trained by their facilitators using the awareness materials created in conjunction with KCTS.
During this period of rolling out the training across the division, a Major Kaizen was delivered in their Dutch factory merging KCTS methodology with the client’s specific requirements. Their Facilitators received training at that same factory on how to conduct their own Kaizens, which they did following the course.
In June the group met with KCTS to demonstrate their results, starting with €250,000 saving. As well as sharing their experiences, their Facilitators learn the skills needed to Coach & Train the tools into their factories. The Major Kaizen methodology was used as the example for the facilitators to train a group on how to solve problems. The skills learnt will be applied to all the client’s tools used.
The Senior Vice President from the company attended the final feedback from the Coaching & Training Course to present all successful graduates with their certificates. He reinforced the message that this was the start of their work to reduce losses and improve performance within their Company.
Tags: TPM, train the trainer
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Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
A Place for Everything and Everything in it’s Place.
Does this describe your work areas?
• Space is crowded with parts and tools
• Unneeded items are stacked between workers
• Excess inventory on the floor
• Excess items and machines make it difficult to make improve process flow
• Equipment is contaminated and a collection point for miscellaneous materials
• Needed equipment such as tools are difficult to find
• All of the above create an unsafe work environment
• Tasks and processes take different times and are unpredictable
Based on the Japanese words that begin with ’S’, the philosophy of 5S focuses on effective work place organization and standardized work procedures. 5S reduces waste and non value added activities, simplifies work environment and in the mean time improves quality efficiency and safety.
5S is a methodology for organizing cleaning, developing, and sustaining a productive work environment.
What are the 5S’s?
Step 1 – Sort – get rid of clutter
The first step focuses on eliminating unnecessary items from the workplace. An effective visual method to identify these unneeded items is called red tagging. A red tag is placed on all items not required to complete your job. These items are then moved to a central holding area. This process is for evaluation of the red tag items. Occasionally used items are moved to a more organized storage location outside of the work area while unneeded items are discarded. Sorting is an excellent way to free up valuable floor space and eliminate such things as broken tools, obsolete jigs and fixtures, scrap and excess raw material. This step will also help with the „just in case” attitude.
Step 2 – Set in order – organize the work area
This step is based on finding efficient and effective storage methods.
You must evaluate the number of necessary items, the locations of those items and also evaluate what you need to do your job. Effective ways to set in order can be such as painting floors, using shadow boards, modular shelving and cabinets for frequently needed items etc. Just imagine how much time the employees waste every day looking for the proper tools for a maintenance activity. The philosophy must be this: „A place for everything and everything in it’s place.”
Step 3 – Shine – Clean the work area
Once you have eliminated junk and clutter and identified necessary items you are ready to take the next step: clean the work area. Daily follow-up is a must for this activity to sustain this improvement. This step will create ownership and build pride in the workers that they have a clean and clutter-free work area. This will also help the people notice changes in equipment and the production area such as: leaks, vibration, misalignment, breakage etc. If these abnormalities are left unattended they can lead to serious equipment failure and loss of quality, speed, production etc. These all add up to impact your company’s bottom line.
Step 4 – Standardize – Use standard methods to keep the good condition
Once the first three steps of 5S are implemented focus must be put on standardizing the best practice in the work areas. Give opportunities to employees to take active part in the development of these standards. All the workers area if given an opportunity can be a valuable source of information regarding their work.
Step 5 – Sustain – Maintain through discipline, commitment and empowerment
This is the most difficult part of 5S to implement. Human nature is hard to change. People often want to return to the old ways of doing things. Sustain focuses on defining a new mindset and a standard in workplace organization.
The fully implemented 5S will have a positive effect on everyone. People will feel better about their work place and the work they are doing. The benefits are endless. You will have improved safety, improved moral, improved productivity, and improved maintenance.
Tags: 5s, clutter, lean manufacturing, red tag, TPM
Posted in 5 S, Lean, TPM | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Written By: Lee Oxton
Last week we spent 4 days onsite at a client location where we introduced one of our problem solving techniques called Short Interval Control (SIC).
Short Interval Control is all about reducing the time it takes to react to problems that may occur on the shop floor and therefore holding people accountable to the actions they agree to.
Through the monitoring of any given indicator we can highlight highs and lows, which would otherwise have been ‘greyed out’ by averaging, using short intervals of say; weekly, daily or even hourly periods. This helps to accelerate learning and improve performance.
An important part of the process is the activity board which we use to assist with the explanation of the problem. The activity board would show the performance through the shift so far and a very brief summary of the key problems.
For each problem actions are agreed and prioritised, and the top 3 are completed in the next 2 hours with any other actions that have been agreed being complete or monitored within the same shift.
Problems that cannot be resolved by the team are escalated to their management to help be resolved.
The positive impact of introducing Short Interval control to our client has been excellent, with immediate effects seen on the weekly figures. Giveaway has reduced by 1.5% and OEE increased by up to 10% on their target lines.
Tags: problem solving techniques, short interval control, total productive maintenance, TPM
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Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Written By: Lee Oxton
A 100 Day Review in Action
On Friday, Instructor Course 13 came to an end in Shanghai, but for the Delegates who attended the course it is by no means the end of their journey. They will now go back to their factories and begin work on their plans which will be reviewed in 100 Days time. So what are 100 days plans and why do we use them?
What you are doing right now in your business will show up as results in 100 days due to what is known as “lag time”. 100 Day planning is a tactical planning system that operates over a 100 day horizon. The Plan itself allows longer term strategic plans to be broken down into immediate and detailed specific actions that make the programme do-able.
Although the key tool in the 100 Day planning process is the 100 Day Plan itself, it is NOT the Plan, which is most important. It is the way in which you use planning and reviewing to capture learning and manage “issues” that provide the real benefits.
When to use it?
100 Day Planning is used when a focused transformation or deliverable of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) are required within a business.
What does it achieve?
Delivering through the 100 Day planning approach is not something operated solely at a personal level, it requires you to understand how planning should operate in cooperation with your key stakeholders. It should come together through a sequence of review and planning mechanisms that ensure not only your own learning and success but also that of your operation.
Over the 100 days you should be expecting to see personal growth and development as well as overall development on your site.
Tags: 100 day planning, instructor course, total productive maintenance
Posted in KCTS Resource, TPM | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
White Cap In Action on IC12
We are currently running Instructor Course 13 with our client out in China. So we thought this would be a great opportunity to give you an insight into how a White Cap would spend a day on the course. We have a diary entry from KCTS consultant Paul Steven from Instructor Course 12, which happened last year. This diary entry gives you a look at how the Instructor Course works from a Trainers point of view.
A Day in the Life as a White Cap on the Instructor Course
05:30 : The day starts early, up and showered ready to arrive for breakfast. All the newsletters and notices have been printed for a flipchart in our hotel.
05:50 : The notices are updated for today’s activities and the newsletters are left on each team’s breakfast table. The newsletter shows the successes and has some fun about the activities of the previous day.
06:00 : A healthy but full breakfast to keep my energy running during the course activities. The Instructor Course is ran at full speed all the time. Some of the delegates are coming to breakfast early to start discussing their team’s activities. Others are working on their strategy to be 1st on the bus.
06:15 : The White Caps discuss the details of today’s activities over breakfast. Our White Team has 2 KCTS consultants and from 1 – 4 internal instructors. These internal instructors have passed the course previously and use the course again as way to improve their Change Agent abilities. They often feedback how surprised they are how much they learn from the course when taking a leading role.
06:30 : The White Caps split up. The KCTS consultants go to the factory to prepare the activities there. The internal instructors supervise the teams as they compete for 1st place on the bus.
The position on the bus is used as a strategic competition. During the entire course a Team Game is running with points for displaying attributes of a Change Agent.
07:00 : Arrive at the factory and prepare for today’s activities. Check the preparations with the local team are in place and update our White Cap board with our daily KPI’s as discussed over breakfast.
07:30 : Teams arrive at factory and prepare for their presentations.
08:00 : Thought for the day. A KCTS Consultant explains how today’s activities fit within the overall course and reflects on the previous day. This allows the teams the space they need before their presentations and helps them maintain perspective.
08:15 : Learning Review & Team Presentations. During this session each individual on the course explains what they learnt the previous day. The White Caps record in detail their learning and assess whether they have demonstrated a learning through actions or whether they are only describing their ideas. Ideas are not assessed, they must demonstrate learning through their actions. Finally the team will demonstrate how they are progressing against the tasks they have been set previously. Points for the Team Game as awarded or removed based on their actions. Unfortunately, it has been known for teams to move into negative points. On one course a team was desperate to return to zero points.
09:00 : Daily activities start. On most days we have a lecture to explain the overall use of an improvement tool. Today we are working on a Major Kaizen.
09:45 : A Break for the teams. Tea, coffee, water, snacks & fruit are all available and breakfast seems a long time ago. There are over 32 people trying to refresh themselves so the operation has to be organised. Thankfully our factory has prepared well and our delegates are in good shape to continue.
10:00 : Today our lecture continues, some days they are out working at this point. Major Kaizen is a tool which allows a team to solve the majority of problems. Prior to using it the teams could have used simpler tools to exploit their experience. These tools having not reached a result because the system was not fully understood have moved onto Major Kaizen. The team need to understand their problem in detail both physically and based upon data. Armed with that knowledge they start to analyse how the system with the problem should function. The 32 delegates are working in 4 teams of 8 people. Within 3 days they will have tackled and corrected a Chronic problem which the host factory will have tried previously to solve. The benefit of the Kaizen depends on the problem. One of our teams is examining emissions, another is focused on machine set-up and another solving a logistics problem. The results from each Kaizen save the host factory thousands of pounds.
10:30 : The teams reform in Syndicate rooms. As a White Cap you visit each team to check on their progress. Do they understand the tool being applied? How is their team progressing with their daily activities? Is the Team Leader delegating and utilising all 7 of their people? How is each person’s learning? What concerns are they having in the use of the tool, the ability to get it to work in their factory or how they are to apply their Change Agent learning into their normal way of working? All these questions are tackled whilst focussing the team on delivering the Kaizen.
12:30 : A buffet lunch is available and all delegates make sure they have eaten. The pace of the course is fast and relentless, so energy is important. Most teams take food into their rooms and continue to work. We work with them, observing or coaching as needed.
13:00 : Out within the factory the problems are solved practically. The syndicate rooms form a base for operations but most work is done out on the factory floor. As the teams understand the problem and system they set their challenge. The challenge is how much of the problem can they eliminate. Once set they use 5 Why analysis to find the root cause. This must change a system or behaviour to be sure that the problem will not reoccur.
15:00 : Another break, and the possible causes are being debated. How can the teams verify them? How do they access the right people and what details are needed from the factory?
15:15 : The team starts to prepare for their daily presentation of results. The Kaizen work continues but all visualisation is reviewed and the presentation details are agreed by the team. Who will introduce the Kaizen, how will they demonstrate the problem, who can explain the system?
16:30 : All the teams present to each other as well as to the White Cap team. This presentation allows a formal assessment of the work completed but more importantly demonstrates the activity of Board Presentations which needs to be regularly used within factories. These presentations within working factories allow the team to explain their successes, gain recognition and ask for assistance with their leaders.
A KCTS Consultant will feedback to the team. This is a detailed exercise on both the content of the Kaizen and the way the Board Presentation was conducted. It is important that each delegate leaves the Instructor Course with a role model on how to give constructive and motivational feedback.
18:00 : 2 Teams have presented and received feedback. Everyone need to recharge and keep their attention.
18:15 : Team presentations continue and all delegates need to be able to ask questions or comment if asked to do so. This ensures everyone is focused on the presentation not worried over their own work.
19:25 : The presentations are complete and the evening activities are outlined. The actions needed for tomorrow’s team presentation at 08:15 are reminded and the course closes for the day.
19:30 : The presentation area is returned to a lecture layout. All administration is updated and the room shut for the night.
20:00 : Arriving back at the hotel, a buffet is available and the teams are buzzing with discussion and questions. A curfew of 21:00 has been introduced to allow the teams to rest before the next day and all teams need to be reminded of this.
21:00 : End of the daily work and if possible we take a break. The newsletter and tomorrow’s activities should be ready for us to start again tomorrow at 06:00.
Written By: Paul Steven
Tags: instructor course, total productive maintenance, tpm instructor course
Posted in KCTS Resource, TPM | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Written By: Lee Oxton
We recently had a number of people sending in questions through our free ‘Ask Us a Question’ service, so this is a good opportunity to remind everyone of exactly what this is;
We provide this unique free online service so that users can have direct access to a resident business consultant, and can email us a question that will be answered within 4 hours. The KCTS business consultants have very diverse backgrounds, providing training and advice that spans across a wide variety of industries, both in manufacturing and service.
Our job is all about helping other companies to become more efficient and remain competitive and we achieve this through the training and coaching of a number of improvement tools such as; Lean, Total Productive Maintenance and Six Sigma.
We ultimately assist organisations in the Master planning and creation of initiatives which are driven by loss & cost reduction and have found that our knowledge and advice is well respected in these circles.
By offering this online service we can now assist in, and take, all types of questions relating to Continuous Improvement, Lean Processes, Six Sigma and Total Productive Maintenance methodologies, not just from our clients but from anywhere. We wanted to offer a free-to-use practical sounding board, and a best practice advisory service, where anyone can contact us with a question and we can reply back with little or no fuss whatsoever.
The Ask Us a Question Service is available from our website, all you need is an email address so that we can reply to your question.
Tags: Continuous Improvement, improvement tools, kcts, Lean, total productive maintenance
Posted in KCTS Resource, TPM | No Comments »
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