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.

Improved Problem & Fault Finding Capability

KCTS’s “Mobile Investigation Camera Kit” (MICK) has been Factory tested.

Wirral, UK. 26^th July 2010.

After successfully completing upgrading our MICK to MICK 2, the latest model has now been fully testing in a live factory environment. Matthew Treby (Technical Consultant) has been to a local factory and put MICK 2 through its paces to evaluate the system and ensure the quality of the product and picture was perfect.

The unit has had a complete revamp after taking into account feedback from people who have used the previous MICK kit. These improvements include a completely new camera cabling system that is lighter, more flexible and can run for longer lengths. The cases have also been improved so they are more portable, hardwearing and the components split into several flight cases, allowing easier access and lighter to carry. The picture quality from the cameras has been improved allowing sharper and clearer images to be recorded and played back at various speeds. To further enhance the viewing experience the monitor size has also been increased. Due to the improved image quality we have upgraded the storage capability, as well as making it easier to get data from the unit by DVD and memory stick. Finally MICK 2 is easier to use, than the previous MICK, with the inclusion of a mouse and remote control.

The system still retains it core fundamental components of clamps, arms and tripods, as these are essential in order to position the cameras accurately in awkward positions. Despite all the many improvements that have been done, MICK 2 can still function at 110 Volts or 240 Volts so can be used worldwide with no modifications. The MICK 2 system will be on sale from September.

About KCTS

KCTS are located on the Wirral peninsula and are an international training & consultancy provider of specialist World Class Manufacturing (WCM) standards. Delivering TPM, Lean, Change Management and Policy Deployment programmes to the manufacturing and service industries Worldwide. Through these proven methodologies KCTS can reduce costs by identifying and removing losses within a process or value stream. For further information regarding this press release or KCTS, please contact; KCTS on 0151 608 9036 or visit www.kcts.co.uk

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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.

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.

We have just released the July Issue of the KCTS Resource: In this month’s issue we’ll be taking a look Risk and Risk Assessment and Health and Safety in the workplace, as well as, how Overall Equipment Effectiveness can be a foundation stone to any Lean Improvement Programme.

There is also the regular features, including; a couple of Lean/TPM puzzles to test your mind with; a Press Release about the success of Instructor Course 13 which happened over in China; a Case Study on using SMED for our client in their Zevenaar factory, The Netherlands; and we’ll be catching up with KCTS consultant, Malcolm Newman, and finding out what he has been up too over the last 6 months.

Also our free downloads this month include the ‘Targets Settings & Sharing’ and ‘Business Performance or Local Measures’ knowledge sheets, and List of Risk worksheet. Plus you will be able to download the PDF of this month’s KCTS Resource, all for Free!

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.

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.

Don’t forget that the May Issue of the KCTS Resource has been released: This month we’ll be delving in to the benefits of implementing Focused Improvement into your factory.

We’ll be taking a look at our M.I.C.K system, from its conception as an idea back in 2006, and how it has benefitted both KCTS and our clients by adding an extra problem solving tool to help discover the causes of why chronic and sporadic problems occur.

As well as all this we’ll have our regular features for you including; Some Lean/TPM puzzles to test your thinking power; a Case Study on a Standard Kaizen course we did in Chang Zhou, China; a Press Release about our new video podcasts we launched last month; and we will be Meeting KCTS consultant, Paul Steven, to take a look at what he has been up too since last time we met.

Our free downloads the month include our Using Standards in TPM and Defect Detection & Prevention knowledge sheets. And sticking with the Focused Improvement theme, we have a Focused Improvement activity board Template and a Clarification of Phenomena worksheet. Plus you will be able to download a PDF of this month’s KCTS Resource, all for Free!

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.

KCTS completes another successful TPM Instructor Course with all 32 delegates passing…

All newly appointed TPM Instructors now move on to successfully implement continuous improvement projects in their own locations.

Wirral, UK. 19^th May 2010.

After successfully completing their twenty third World Class Manufacturing Instructor course, Wirral specialist training provider Kaizen Consultancy & Training Services are proud to announce another record beating result. All thirty two delegates who underwent the intense two week training course in Total Productive Maintenance have passed with flying colours.

The TPM Instructor Course which was held on behalf of global leading building materials manufacturer, Saint Gobain Gyproc is the thirteenth of its kind to be conducted as part of their journey to World Class. The training is the highest level TPM training that can be achieved and covers industry specific topics such as; problem solving, people development, leadership, maintenance, health & Safety, quality and workplace organisation.

‘This was another inspirational and life changing event for all that attended’, says Paul Steven, TPM Course Instructor. ‘Many of the live improvement projects that were presented to us by the host factory in Shanghai were solved during the two weeks. All teams displayed exceptional skills in World Class Manufacturing techniques; however only one team is selected for best overall outstanding achievement and this time it was the Blue Team, for consistent application of World Class Manufacturing skills.

All delegates who attended the training event will now go back to their individual plants and begin work on their 100 Day plans. This structured implementation of a rigid plan helps to embed the learning that is gained over the 2 weeks, whilst immediately providing payback and a return-on-investment for the respective individual sites.

About KCTS

KCTS are located on the Wirral peninsula and are an international training & consultancy provider of specialist World Class Manufacturing (WCM) standards. Delivering TPM, Lean, Change Management and Policy Deployment programmes to the manufacturing and service industries Worldwide. Through these proven methodologies KCTS can reduce costs by identifying and removing losses within a process or value stream. For further information regarding this press release or KCTS, please contact; KCTS on 0151 608 9036 or visit www.kcts.co.uk

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