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News Release from: Linx Printing Technologies | Subject: Linx on lean practice
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 20 November 2007
Lean thinking improves printer
efficiency
'Lean' offers exactly what it implies - a healthy, efficient approach to industry that carries no fat, no baggage and Nick Scott describes 'lean' applied in printer manufacture.
'Lean manufacturing' has been a buzzword in American industry for several decades, and has become something of a 'Grail' for British businesses in recent years All UK companies are going through the same pressures, particularly with regard to competition from developing countries
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 28 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Many questions arise from this: how can we eliminate waste? How can we improve efficiency and speed? Lean offers one possible answer.
Originating from Japan, lean offers exactly what it implies - a healthy, efficient approach to industry that carries no fat, no baggage.
In a lean manufacturing environment, companies can expect to benefit from better quality, more productive staff, faster inventory turns, faster delivery, and greater customer satisfaction.
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Implementation of lean involves the use of discrete Japanese concepts - kaizen, kanban - that have important meanings in context but which, without a guiding vision, are simply exotic words that impress but don't deliver.
And that's the problem many businesses find with lean.
It's not about how to use it, it's about how to get there.
When Linx Printing Technologies was acquired by Danaher in 2005, we were introduced to the successful Danaher Business System.
In the 1980s, Danaher was the first major US corporation to borrow the lean techniques proposed by Japanese specialists, and over time the organisation has developed its own branded business system modelled on those techniques.
One of the proven strategies used to prepare for the journey to lean manufacturing is lean conversion.
* Redeploy the resources and talen - the idea behind lean conversion is to redeploy the resources and talent at the company's disposal, in order to create a focus on these measures of success of our process.
In order these are: a safe working environment; high quality products; excellent on-time delivery.
The overall effect of implementing these changes, of course, is to stay competitive.
The way that this is done is to measure everything in terms of 'value streams', the process by which a company converts customer requirements into something that can be sold.
Value streams are directed towards the end product but orientated around the people who can achieve it, in terms of optimising their productivity.
In practice, it involves turning the factory 'on its side'.
The traditional model of how a business is organised - i e, by department - does not suit value streams because the route towards market inevitably flows faster and better when it is straight.
In a departmental model, the resources involved in the creation of a product - be it people, procedures or materials - are inevitably spread over a wider area, creating wasteful delays in movement around the site and diminished ownership.
* Cell structures - under lean conversion, the factory is built around cells, one for each value stream within the company.
At Linx, there are twelve cells, the three major ones being those involved in the production of printers, printheads, and inks and solvents.
Each cell will contain all of the personnel necessary to delivering their specific product located in the same place, so that instead of a single manufacturing engineering department, for example, individual engineers are assigned to specific cells.
The same applies to logistics support and team leading.
The work is standardised and quality is built into each step of the process.
This leads to the creation of a single-piece flow, dedicated to the manufacture of the relevant product, where even the parts are stored in the same cell.
In this simplified system, the team plans and manufactures each new order as it comes in, rather than working in batches.
The results are reduced lead times and minimal waste.
Management of parts is conducted by the team itself, using the Japanese method of kanban (or 'signal').
The emphasis is on using the visual trigger of the actual amount of stock that can be seen on the manufacturing floor, so that the team can instantly identify levels of consumption.
Each component is stored in two bins; when one is empty, the signal is sent to refill it.
* Self-management of stocks - with no central warehouse, each team has accountability for managing their own stock levels.
Linx has established excellent relationships with suppliers, some of whom visit twice a day to bring parts as required.
For components that come from further away, some suppliers have been supportive in agreeing to set up a delivery hub where parts can be kitted for use.
In fact, several Linx suppliers have already declared an interest in learning how to implement lean conversion in their own operations.
With so many different aspects, it should be clear that lean conversion is not based exclusively on any particular tool.
Rather, it is a coherent, holistic approach that views everything in tandem to see what is best for the company and, therefore, the customer.
Of course, implementing lean conversion is not the destination.
In fact, it isn't even the journey.
The point of 'conversion' is that it prepares a company for lean manufacturing.
Think of it as the vehicle, tailored to make the journey.
What else is needed? A roadmap, of course - and this is provided by daily management.
So, to ensure the smooth running of the cell, hourly scorecards are used to check that all activity is effective and to reveal any room for improvement.
The method is to use the Japanese system of kaizen - literally, 'change for the better' - and Linx has established kaizen activities to give teams the chance to participate in continuous improvement.
Another important goal is to deliver cross-training so that every member of a cell has the opportunity to learn about the work of their colleagues, in order to achieve a greater sense of the whole activity.
* Productivity benefits - the benefits of this long-term, ongoing process are already apparent.
Productivity has been boosted by 40%, based on the average value of sales per person.
Lead-times have been reduced, which has given our global network of distributors the confidence to take out their stock and order only what they need, when they need it, said Scott to manufac turingtalk.com.
As a result, money isn't tied up in stock, and likewise there is no danger of it becoming obsolete.
Waste is another area where Linx has seen noticeable improvements.
Transportation has been streamlined by the adoption of single-flow cells, with reduced movement both of parts and associates around the site.
By concentrating on a 'by order' mode of manufacturing, overproduction and inventory have been reduced.
Kaizen has revealed bottlenecks or unnecessary activities that can be speeded up or removed entirely.
The unused creativity of associates is now better harnessed by providing enhanced scope for them to solve problems, with tangible results in the quality of product.
* Continuous improvement - we don't pretend that the job is done - after all, the very nature of 'continuous improvement' means that there is no end! Nonetheless, lean conversion has provided a strong foundation that is already paying dividends.
Too many companies rush into lean manufacturing without really understanding what it is they want to achieve.
The lesson we have learnt from lean conversion is that only through meticulous planning and an integrated response can a business truly convert to the lean way of thinking.
* About Linx Printing Technologies - Linx Printing Technologies Limited is a leading global supplier of Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) printers, impulse jet printers and laser coders.
Its printers and coders are used across many different industries where product identification codes, batch numbers, dates and barcodes are required.
All Linx products are designed with low cost of ownership in mind and are distinguished by reliability, robustness and ease of use.
Linx products code and mark millions of items every day, ranging from bottles, packages and cans of consumer goods to pharmaceutical products, cabling, electrical components and car parts.
* About the author - Nick Scott is with Linx Printing Technologies.
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