I
received so many positive comments about my last posting, I’ve decided to carry
this theme a little further. Liker and
Meier, when discussing why the Toyota Production System is so successful, told
us, “A sporadic removal (of waste) will yield pockets of improvement, but the
system-wide benefits that Toyota enjoys are achieved by following a cyclical method of continuous improvement.” I absolutely support Liker and Meier’s
contention and it is precisely the reason I believe the integration of the
Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma (TLS) is the indispensable “cyclical
method of continuous improvement” of the future! Like the Toyota Production System, TLS
delivers system-wide benefits that result in maximum throughput at minimum
inventory levels and less operating expenses.
I
am positive that some of you, or maybe many of you, are saying to yourself, “Is
he crazy, I can’t do even one initiative right, let alone all three at the same
time!” Although this may be a concern,
the reality is that by integrating Lean, Six Sigma and the TOC life simply
becomes much easier on the shop floor.
Because you are typically limiting your focus on only one operation at a
time (i.e. the system constraint) and not attempting an enterprise-wide
improvement initiative, you will:
·
Have fewer resource allocation problems
·
Have fewer problems to solve at any one time
·
Have fewer amounts of waste to remove at any one time
·
Have less organizational chaos and disorder
·
Have products that flow through your operation much faster
and more efficiently
·
Have your rate of revenue generation improve dramatically
·
Have more motivated employees
·
Have much faster and much better return on investment
·
Have much more impressive bottom line results!
One
additional point relative to this integration.
Again, Jason Thompson explained, “I see TOC, Lean and Six Sigma as key
features of a single technology. It is
in our industry’s interest to promote and support this transition. My conclusion is that these are not exclusive
approaches; they are simply different entry points and tributaries to the same
body of knowledge. We, as an industry,
must learn to recognize each of these methodologies as different steps of the
same dance. Perhaps it is time to
establish an industry-wide consortium that integrates these as a common
technology.” Although I don’t
necessarily agree that Lean, Six Sigma and TOC are different entry points, I do believe that TLS captures
the essence of a common technology. It
is my belief that going forward, using this integrated methodology your
organization will realize its full potential much faster and more effectively
than you could have ever dreamed possible.
Think about it, less waste, less variation, less defective product, less
inventory, less operating expense, higher throughput, better on-time delivery, etc.
which all translate into a faster revenue stream and higher and higher profits.
Suppose you are interested in implementing this integrated approach in your company? I’m not talking about a full-blown implementation, but rather a simple one. What’s the best way to begin this implementation? Think about it for a minute. What it is that you need to know first? The simple answer is, you need to know where your system constraint resides…..enter a tool from Lean, the process map or even a value stream map. Once you've done that, you should have seen and recorded where you work-in-process (WIP) inventory is stacking up. This may be your system constraint. If you’ve collected cycle times, then select the longest one and that’s probably your constraint. I say probably because there may be a policy that is your true constraint. For example, if you use the common metric efficiency, this could be a major problem.
Assume
that you have located your constraint and it’s one of the steps in your process
and not a policy constraint…..what now?
The simple answer is that you simply focus all of your improvement
efforts directly on the constraints.
That is, look for waste and excessive variation. As you remove waste and variation in your
constraint, what happens to your cycle time?
Clearly it is reduced and when this happens, your system throughput
improves. And when your constraint’s cycle
time gets reduced, eventually your constraint will move to a new part of your
process. What do you do then? You move your effort to the new constraint
and start again. Think about what’s
happened? Since you haven’t added more labor,
your bottom line improves. Since your
cycle time is reduced, your on-time delivery improves and maybe to the point
that you can go out and get more business.
Believe it or not, a TLS implementation really is this simple.
I
know I’ve painted it in very simple terms, but my point is, don’t make it
harder than it really is. I’ve done this
many, many times and the bottom line has always moved in a positive direction
with very little effort. Try it…..you
won’t regret it.
Bob
Sproull
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