Reminder - Week 1 Muda Walk

This week’s theme is the Waste of Waiting.

Hopefully by now you have had a chance to look for Muda.  Lean is about “knowing by seeing” not just “thinking we know” - you must GO and SEE.  Here are some of the observations Muda walkers saw last year, have you seen similar?

• Crews having to wait or return to complete a job due to the warehouse running out of material.
• Need a Kanban * system? Eyeballing the shelves does not seem to work.
• Crews having to wait until the morning of for instructions on where to go next. They are forced to load job specific material for next task that morning.
• Crews waiting on information/instruction from office about a particular job. The wait takes place due to the difficulty of finding job folders in a paper environment or by not providing timely action (waiting until the last minute or neglecting to answer the cell phone).
• Crews having to wait for a material delivery from vendor. Vendors are backordering a lot of necessary material to complete a phase or job.
• Controls vendors are not giving the owner/operator adequate control of control systems.  If a simple set-point needs to be changed at a site, most of the time, it requires a phone call to the vendor.  If the vendor is not there, it requires another phone call.  If trial and error is required, then multiple more phone calls are required to the vendor to make necessary adjustments.
  

Here are some ways to reduce waiting include:

• Use the Last Planner System ** and make sure all tasks are ready (CAN DO) to be done prior to committing to do them.
• Schedule shop deliveries so the crews have what they need when they need it. (Giving the shop the real need times helps.)
• Arrange the shop flow so that pieces go from one tool to the next without waiting on tables or the floor in batches.
• Use the 5S’s to organize the work area/gang boxes so that any tool or piece of equipment can be found quickly. (Use the 30-second test.)
• Sort out un-necessary parts, tools, materials, etc, so they don’t clutter the work area and slow the FLOW.
• Apply a Kanban system to consumable parts and material so that crews never run out while working but do not have excessive inventory.  Use Min/Max lines, dual bins, or other simple techniques.
• Design the yard layout area so that material deliveries come in one end and exit another.  Backing up is waste and unsafe.
• Reduce the size of material orders delivered from the shop or vendor to the site so that the material can easily be unloaded and quickly installed.
• Make sure all equipment (drills, meters, etc.) are in working order prior to starting the shift.
• Map out the steps in your process and look at where delays (waiting) happen.  Determine the root cause and work to make value flow.

Remember one hour of watching for Muda. Record your improvements.  
Post your observation here.