Lean Manufacturing Management

August 29, 2005

Lean Manufacturing Management

Hi [[firstname]], welcome back.

When it comes to manufacturing performance there is no 
"Status Quo"... if you're not winning; you're loosing. 

I wrote this week's article years ago but it is still
valid today and worth your time investment.

Have a nice day, keep the faith, and stay connected.

Bill Gaw
Business Basics, LLC
Bg@bbasicsllc.com
760-945-5596


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Lean Manufacturing Management
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NEVER, NEVER REST ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS 

The following scenario is not uncommon in industry 
today:

"I don't care how you do it or what it takes, just 
make sure that these damned machines are on a truck 
and on their way to the customer by the end of the 
month!" screamed the general manager. 

It's six days from the end of the month and the 
production manager has 75% of the scheduled months 
shipments in final assembly with a parts shortage list 
that reads like a horror story. Units are being sent 
to test with slave components and it will take another 
miracle to make the month's financial forecast. 

It's now time to pull out all the stops...to hell with 
the procedures and process controls...it's time for a 
few "knights in shining armor" to once again salvage 
the most out of a terrible situation, (usually self-
inflicted).

During my early years in manufacturing, I had the 
opportunity to perform as a "knight in shining armor" 
and I must admit that I enjoyed the challenge, the 
power struggle...and the politics of making difficult 
things happen in a tumultuous manufacturing environment. 
In some ways, it was fun but in others it was very 
stressful and unrewarding. Deep down, I always thought, 
"There has to be a better way."

Well, as my career progressed, I was fortunate in 
joining a team of professional manufacturing people at 
Johnson Controls in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Glenn Jonas 
had pulled together this dynamic team for the purpose 
of turning around this marginally profitable company 
through the design and implementation of a state-of-
the art computerized manufacturing control system, 
Materials Requirements Planning (MRP). 

Lean Manufacturing Management

Over a two year period, I participated in Johnson 
Control's remarkable turnaround success story. 
Customer service performance up from 62% to 96%...
on time deliveries up from 78% to 97%...inventory 
turnover up from 1.6 to 6.3...company growth up from
an annual rate of 15% to 60%...and most important, 
after tax profits up from 3% to 14%. 

While all these gains were impressive, none was more 
welcomed than the dramatic change in the day-to-day 
operating environment---from shop floor pandemonium 
to a sense of controlled excitement. Everyone felt a 
degree of participation and contribution---it was a 
great rewarding experience.

Little did I know at that time that MRP was best 
employed as a materials and capacity planning system 
and that shop floor control was a misapplication of 
the MRP/ERP technology. As director of operations at 
Palomar Systems, Escondido, California, I embraced 
the lean manufacturing and kaizen teachings of 
Schonberger - Costanza - Imai and pulled together a 
lean manufacturing team of people that eventually 
became self-directed and achieved manufacturing 
performance far greater than what was originally 
achieved at Johnson Controls. Customer service 
performance up from 58% to 99%...on time deliveries 
up from 61% to 99%...inventory turnover up from 1.2 
to 8.3...company growth up from an annual rate of 5% 
to 120%...and most important, profit margin was 
increased from 32% to 54%.

So what's my experience got to do with you and your 
company? First, never think that your achievements are 
the end of the challenge---your competition is always 
learning new ways to outperform you. Second, you have 
an opportunity to share in a similar experience---over 
the past year and a half, I have been writing to you 
about the competitive advantages of Kaizen Based Lean 
Manufacturing---now is a good time to combine this 
methodology with MRP/ERP? It will help you lower 
factory stress levels, end shop floor chaos and 
eliminate the "end-of-the-month" crunch. Finally, take 
positive action, if you haven't explored the benefits 
of Kaizen Based Lean Manufacturing...copy the below 
URL to your browser and click on "GO"... just do it!

http://bbasicsllc.com/kblm-ar.htm

Lean Manufacturing Management

Even if your company is in the process of implementing 
flow technology and/or lean manufacturing, this is your 
opportunity to gain exposure to some practical tools 
and techniques that could boost your development and 
implementation efforts to a higher level. If, on the 
other hand, you are still struggling with a shop order 
"launch and expedite" system, KBLM will optimize your 
manufacturing performance and help your company 
identify and pursue their full growth and profit 
potential. And if you click on the below link you will
be able to take advantage of the MB&BP 40% discount.

http://bbasicsllc.com/kblm-ar.htm

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Business Basics, LLC
6003 Dassia Way, Oceanside, CA 92056

West Coast: 760-945-5596

Manufacturing Knowledge you'll not find at offsite 
seminars nor in the books at Amazon.com

Lean Manufacturing - Balanced Scorecard 
ISO 9000:2000 - Strategic Planning - Supply Chain 
Management - MRP Vs Lean Exercises - Kaizen Blitz 
Lean Six Sigma - Value Stream Mapping

All at one Website: http://bbasicsllc.com

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Lean Manufacturing Management

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Lean Manufacturing Management

Manufacturing Knowledge you’ll not find at offsite 
seminars nor in the books at Amazon.com

Lean Manufacturing - Balanced Scorecard 
ISO 9000:2000 - Strategic Planning - Supply Chain 
Management - MRP Vs Lean Exercises - Kaizen Blitz 
Lean Six Sigma - Value Stream Mapping

All at one Website: Good Manufacturing Practices

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Business Basics, LLC
6003 Dassia Way, Oceanside, CA 92056
West Coast: 760-945-5596