Lean process improvement is a business practice that is centred on creating the most amount of value for the end customer, whilst eliminating wasteful use of resources in the process. In this article, Graeme Laws discusses the origins and application of lean manufacturing, in the context of his experience within the Customer Engagement Technology industry.
Introduction
Lean manufacturing has a rich history in Europe. As early as the 16th Century in the Venice Arsenal, we Europeans demonstrated some of the principles of Lean; in terms of standardized design, interchangeable parts and putting your factory near to your raw materials. The British Victorian work ethic and the Industrial Revolution demonstrated to the world the value of having man and machine synchronized to benefit efficiency. The 20th Century gave us Henry Ford and mass manufacturing. A sense of mastery of layout and flow allowed his factories to produce cars at an ever-increasing rate.
Models in America
In Memphis there was a shopkeeper called Clarence Saunders who followed the same ethos of ‘Lean’ as Henry Ford. However, unlike Ford who saw an ever-increasing reliance upon machinery, Saunders believed that people were a great-untapped resource. He looked at his customers as being capable and willing to self-serve. His new look store ‘Piggly Wiggly’ is seen as the first self-service supermarket in the World. He introduced shopping trolleys, price tags, help yourself aisles and checkout at the exit. These two early models of Lean would be merged and improved upon in the ensuing era.
Influences From The East
After the Second World War, as part of a rebuilding program Ford and William Deming worked with the islands of Japan to rebuild their country – in particular their manufacturing capabilities. In less than 30 years America and Europe would see a new movement in lean manufacturing. Influenced by the teachings of Deming coupled with the observations of how American supermarkets successfully demonstrated their supply chain, the Toyota Production System was born. It would sweep through Europe and America with speed and teach whole industries how to manage their processes with great efficiency.
Continuous Improvement
I have had the good fortune to come in direct contact with many highly skilled people that were taught these lean principles. As people move jobs they take their skills with them. This has expanded and refined these lean principles for industries beyond automotive and aerospace. In the CET [Customer Engagement Technologies – signage and self service] industry in the UK there is much to be proud of in how companies have adopted and adapted these principles to serve the needs of their enterprise. Ultimately, the aim of any business is to produce goods and services that are required by their customers, at a price that is greater than the cost to create. As the self-service industry continues to grow, there is an ever-increasing need to create value and demonstrate best practice; if only to remain competitive when volume decreases the unit price.
Extended Enterprise
A lean organization is one that controls the flow of raw materials through its enterprise, adding value in the process and delivering to a place of need on time in full. Box Technologies Ltd is one such organization that has spent over twenty years mastering this art. Today, Box has a strong supply chain in place that serves retail, hospitality, finance and fashion in particular. The company does not work alone. Indeed, it is reliant upon an extended community of practice to deliver its goods and services. My work with Box has afforded me an invaluable insight into the world of supply chain management; in particular that of CET technology. The company is keen to expand awareness and integrated use of signage and self-service, as it believes strongly in the efficacy and benefits for the consumer. By evangelizing the process of customer engagement technologies, Box positively affects the value-chain to the benefit of all parties. The UK and Europe may have the strongest and most vibrant community of Self-Service Technology (SST) companies of any region across the globe. It is the ability to source the materials and find a market for these products that stands as testament to the European pioneer spirit
Value Migration
Much has been said about the demise of Western manufacturing. Our desire for thrift, coupled with the advantage of economies of scale, has made us look far afield to find cheap and reliable sources of materials for our companies. The doomsayers would have us believe that this is irreversible and that we can expect to see a near complete end to our manufacturing competitiveness. Yet I have met many SST businesses that have actively looked to export, not as a result of dwindling markets at home but of a receptive market in which to sell their goods. Evoke Interactive showed their Google kiosks at Kiosk London Expo at the Barbican - to much acclaim. This company has built a strong reputation in America and Europe, as a business that can deliver the right goods to their market. They look to continue to expand their facilities’ to meet the needs of this and other growth markets. For SST businesses to grow their overseas market we need to look not to value migration in terms of human capital and a loss of ownership of the process, but one of opportunity to take the fight back out to the wider world; after all, business is a battlefield right?
Human Capital
At the heart of a lean organization are the people that run the processes. These processes create tasks that draw upon unique skills to create products. An organization that puts the people at the centre of the process can be described as being on ‘the lean journey’. MAS, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, have spent many years supporting UK manufacturers, and in doing so promoted the importance of people empowerment as a strategic enabler. People like Chris Needham – MAS Advisor in the South East, have devoted their time to ensuring that any manufacturer can gain access to specialists to improve their business’ core capabilities. Connecting the manufacturers with the lean techniques is both necessary and key requisite for manufacturing growth in perpetuity. As they say “when it has gone- it has gone!”
Standardisation
Delivering a robust CET solution requires a lean company to demonstrate repeatability and reproducibility of its processes as a matter of course. The consultants from Beyond have worked with many types of manufacturer to embed the Lean knowledge within a system of control. Knowing what you do, how to do it again and why it should be done are basic kernels of knowledge to differentiate a successful organization from one that is ready for to take a Lean Journey. There is no solid playbook on what constitutes lean excellence, like ISO accreditation, it is one that is defined by the business in its vision statement and then executed, in practice by the organization on a daily basis. However there are some basic ground rules for how any business can start their Journey and gain immediate benefits.
Visual Management
Lean organizations are able to not only demonstrate in practice their capabilities through the goods that they deliver but also in the environment in which they are produced. 10 Squared is such an organization that has not only been able to introduce the practice of Lean but also doing it in a safe, clean work environment. The use of Kanban for parts management, conveyors to move work in progress and shadow boards for tooling all play their part in visual management. For any visitor at the premises it is a demonstration of process conformance.
Workplace Safety
It remains the responsibility of the owner of the business to look after the welfare of their employees. Providing a safe work environment for the staff to spend time in ensures that regulatory compliance is observed and that morale remains high. Regular workplace audits and design for manufacture layouts is critical to a business’ ability to work safely and efficiently. Tharsus Group is a company that has wholly embraced the principles of Lean. They demonstrate complete control of their transformation process; input – process – output. By optimizing their process they have been able to remove waste activities; offering a reduction in use of materials, time and space. At the point of commissioning a new factory, Tharsus used the principles of Lean flow management as the basis for their whole design. A measured approach must be taken with a Lean journey and the ultimate goal should remain efficiency, safety and innovation.
Lean Innovation
A business that has optimized its workplace processes and been successful in their respective field of excellence is now best placed to capitalize on its resources. The Lean Journey will enable them to create capacity that has an attractive commercial implication. Do we build more of the same or can we use this same resource base to build different. Melford Electronics and Easyway Kiosks are both good examples of companies that have found the perfect balance between business-as-usual products and bespoke project work. With their huge signage systems and aesthetically attractive SST, which are deployed across Europe, they have been able draw on the time served expertise of the engineers and designers. But there are many other manufacturers in the UK that are still trapped by the wastes activities in their processes that consume their staff and never see the real benefits of their capabilities. Untapped human potential is one of the Lean Seven Wastes that destroys value creation and often leads to a staff becoming disenfranchised from the company mission statement.
What Next?
The CET market looks set for continual growth for the next five years. The opportunities for your business are boundless. They are limited only by your capabilities and willingness to take the next step. Whether you are already on the Lean Journey or seriously considering its benefits, an honest drains-up review of your value streams are both desirable and timely. A good lean consultant will not sell you a package of products and disciplines that burden you with bureaucracy. A quality audit conducted by an experienced consultant should enable you to understand every value stream in your organization, identify waste activity within the processes and deliver a plan to address them. The ultimate goal of the Lean Journey is to enable your team to be self sufficient, for your processes to be optimized for maximum efficiency and for your strategic direction to be led by enhanced capability, flexibility and innovation. A lean organization is in control of its processes and its cost centres. A strong community of practice in the UK/EU region will make us the envy of the world; collectively let us take CET manufacturing into the Beyond.