Lean for Business Organizations

This course introduces you to the basic principles of Lean, which will help you create more efficient processes and get you on the road to successful operations management.

After completing this topic, you should be able to match industry types with examples of how Lean principles are applied and identify the basic principles of Lean.

By adopting Lean practices, businesses are able to produce higher quality products faster, more cheaply, and more reliably. They create what their customers need using less inventory, space, energy, and time.

The Science of Better Learning

Guides to Lean Concepts and Principles

By adopting Lean practices, businesses are able to produce higher quality products faster, more cheaply, and more reliably. They create what their customers need using less inventory, space, energy, and time.

The second Lean principle is achieving perfect flow in your organization's value stream. Value is defined as what a customer wants and is willing to pay for. The value stream is all the tasks, actions, and information used to create a deliverable and get it to the customer.

The fourth Lean principle is maintaining an efficient workplace to prevent workers from wasting time and effort searching for the tools or components they need to do their jobs.

Lean tools and principles can be used in the manufacturing industry. Many of these tools and principles can also be used in non-manufacturing and service industries, such as banking, healthcare and retail.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recognize correct application of the process for implementing Lean in an organization and order the steps in the Lean process.

A five-step process can help you implement Lean and begin reaping its benefits.

To reach your destination, you need a map. A five-step process can help you implement Lean and begin reaping its benefits. First you identify value and map the value stream. You create flow, establish pull, and, finally, seek perfection. The final step then leads back to the first step, creating a cycle.

First you should define value for each product or service your organization offers. This gives direction to the entire organization's work processes, determining what, how, and whether it should provide specific goods or services.

Once you've analyzed the value stream in your organization, the next step is to optimize the flow of value through it. This involves removing obstacles and bottlenecks. Three strategies for creating flow are organizing people, ensuring quality at the source, and ensuring that equipment is reliable and well maintained.

Establishing pull is about supplying products at the same rate at which the consumer demands or consumes them. You let customer demand pull production, instead of pushing products out to the customer based on forecasts.

The final step in Lean implementation is to continuously seek perfection – identifying and incrementally modifying practices that can be improved. A useful tool in implementing continuous improvement is the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, known for short as PDCA.

After completing this topic, you should be able to determine the best approach for integrating Lean and Six Sigma to address a given business need, match production management systems with their corresponding characteristics and match production management systems to corresponding business conditions that they are designed to address.

Lean is one of many improvement methodologies in use today focused at reducing wastes, creating value and streamlining operations. Six Sigma is an organization-wide improvement initiative that aims to reduce variation and defects in processes to achieve near perfection in goods and services. It minimizes defects and improves processes to deliver products and services that meet customer requirements, using statistical and other tools.

Use this follow-on activity to practice evaluating an improvement opportunity for Lean and Six Sigma implementation.

Lean is one of many improvement methodologies in use today focused on reducing wastes, creating value, and streamlining operations. This topic shows how Lean relates to one of the most popular of these improvement methodologies – Six Sigma.

To eliminate waste and to speed up processes, the department realizes it needs to incorporate Lean thinking into its system.

Combining Lean and Six Sigma enables you to improve quality, achieve maximum process speed, and reduce costs and waste. However, every organization is unique and requires its own mix of Lean and Six Sigma tools.

This course introduces you to the basic principles of Lean, which will help you create more efficient processes and get you on the road to successful operations management.

Lean methodology comprises a powerful set of tools designed to optimize perfection and quality in a manufacturing or service organization.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recognize activities that comprise 5S

Organizing your Workplace with 5S

Use this learning aid to help you answer the question.

Technical Support Center

Use this learning aid to help you answer the question.

Applying 5S

Keeping things neat and organized gives him more space to work in and cuts out a lot of wasted time and effort.

With Lean, you can achieve an orderly, tidy workspace by following the five-step process called 5S.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recognize strategies for using Hoshin Kanri to address a problem within an organization and to match steps in the PDCA cycle to actions that would be carried out at each step.

Using Hoshin Kanri and the PDCA Cycle

A philosophy surrounding the ancient art of Japanese sword fighting emphasizes the concept of "ho" – meaning strategy or method.

The planning stage of the Hoshin Kanri initiative maps to the plan phase of the PDCA cycle.

The project execution stage in a Hoshin Kanri initiative aligns with the do and check steps in the PDCA cycle.

The reflection stage of a Hoshin Kanri initiative aligns with the act step in the PDCA cycle.

After completing this topic, you should be able to sequence examples of activities that occur during the jidoka process

Using Jidoka and Installing a Poka Yoke

If you're following Lean principles, the production line stops as soon as defects occur.

People can detect problems in three ways. The first is through observation and inspection.

In jidoka, once you've detected the abnormality or problem, you stop the process.

The final step in applying jidoka is to investigate the root cause of a problem and then to install a poka yoke – or take other measures – to prevent the problem from recurring.

After completing this topic, you should be able to match types of waste with examples of how they can be eliminated through standard work.

Understanding the Concept of Standard Work

If you have the recipe for doing something right and you follow it step by step, you'll get the best results.

An example - Lean Healthcare

Lean methodology comprises a powerful set of tools designed to optimize perfection and quality in a manufacturing or service organization.

This course will introduce the Visual Workplace and just-in-time management as ways to establish Lean in your organization. The course will present line balancing as a way of increasing throughput and ensuring that work is distributed equally among resources. It will also introduce the Lean concept of kanban, a signaling system that triggers restocking of supplies. This course demonstrates the implementation of these Lean tools in both the manufacturing and service environments.

After completing this topic, you should be able to identify the goals of the visual workplace and to match tools used in the visual workplace with corresponding examples.

The Visual Workplace

Use this job aid to identify the visual workplace tools that you can use to convey information in your organization.

Use this job aid to identify how to apply the five steps in the Kanban process.

If you apply Lean techniques when using visual cues, you'll be able to convey information in a way that saves time, energy, and money.

The visual workplace isn't a "one size fits all" solution. It's a blend of tools and techniques that complement each other and help you create an efficient workplace.

After completing this topic, you should be able to evaluate a customer-supplier relationship to determine how well the Just-in-time method is being applied

Just-in-time

When you're shopping, do you buy just enough supplies to last you for the next day or two? Or do you try to stock up for the next month? You might think that it's more efficient to stock up for the month.

Just-in-time is more than a few simple steps. It's a production philosophy that aims to reduce waste and increase value. It requires constant monitoring and continuous improvement.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recognize examples of the appropriate way to implement kanbans in a workplace

Kanban

How can you ensure that your processes run smoothly? Having the necessary supplies is one essential component. In an effective process, supplies are always available when they're needed.

An effective kanban system enables you to ensure that you know immediately when to order new supplies. New orders are pulled by the demand for supplies.

After completing this topic, you should be able to identify the goals of line balancing and to use takt time to predict implications for a given company

Line Balancing

In any process, one of your key aims is to distribute the work evenly and efficiently. If one worker is overburdened, this causes delays in the entire process.

One of the goals of line balancing is to ensure that work is evenly distributed among workers. In the ideal state, each worker spends roughly the same amount of time on similar tasks.

Calculating Takt Time

This course will introduce the Visual Workplace and just-in-time management as ways to establish Lean in your organization

The Reducing Waste and Streamlining Value Flow Using Lean course is part of the Lean for Business Organizations program

After completing this topic, you should be able to classify production activities as value-add, non-value-add, or necessary non-value-add and identify the criteria for value-add activities.

Classification of Lean Production Activities

Use this follow-on activity to help you to optimize processes at your company.

Lean provides clear guidelines on this. It makes it simple to define what's valuable for a business and what constitutes waste.

Some non-value-add activities are necessary even if they don't change a product or service, meet customer preferences, or ensure the task is completed right the first time.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recommend strategies for eliminating waste in a work setting, given a scenario.

The Seven Categories of Waste

Waste Types, Causes, and Solutions

To eliminate waste in your organization, you need to be able to recognize it and understand its causes.

Of all the waste types, Taiichi Ohno viewed overproduction as the worst. This is partly because it tends to result in other forms of waste.

Excess motion, waiting, and transportation are common in most industries. These types of wastes have similar root causes, including poor design, poor layout, and inadequate training.

You should now have a sense of how to eliminate five of the seven wastes.

After completing this topic, you should be able to use line balancing calculations to achieve continuous flow in a given workplace.

Line Balancing Calculations

Line Balancing Process

When you achieve continuous flow, you ensure employees and external customers receive the right work, in the correct quantity, at the right time.

The Lean method for achieving continuous flow is known as line balancing. This involves organizing your production line and employees so that work is balanced evenly according to task and each person spends the same amount of time on a task.

To implement line balancing, you use a five-step process. First you calculate the cycle time and then takt time.

Once you've calculated the cycle time and takt time for a process, you move on to the third step – creating an operator balance chart.

The Reducing Waste and Streamlining Value Flow Using Lean course is part of the Lean for Business Organizations program

This course will enable the learner to create and interpret both current and future-state value stream maps and to recognize how a value stream map is used to improve an organization's processes.

After completing this topic, you should be able to sequence the steps in the value stream mapping si process recognize the benefits of value stream mapping.

A value stream describes the flow of materials and information that bring a product or service to a customer. Any obstacles or waste will disrupt the flow of value in a value stream.

Use this job aid to review the icons typically used in value stream maps.

A value stream describes the flow of materials and information that bring a product or service to a customer.

The first step in value stream mapping is deciding exactly what to map. You need to identify which product or service will benefit most from more efficient processes.

Once you've created a current-state value stream map, you assess it to identify sources of waste.

After completing this topic, you should be able to map the current state of a given value stream

Use this learning aid to help you answer the questions.

You create a current-state value stream map to get a clear overview of a particular process and to gather baseline data so you can plan improvements.

You create a current-state value stream map to get a clear overview of a particular process and to gather baseline data so you can plan improvements.

Once you've gathered all the relevant information, you create the shell of a value stream map.

Next you can practice mapping a value stream, using the icons typically included in value stream maps.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recognize steps to creating a future-state map

Use this job aid to review the steps you need to take when creating a future-state value stream map.

Use this job aid to review the steps you need to take when creating a future-state value stream map.

Use this follow-on activity to guide you in creating current- and future-state value stream maps.

Future-state value stream maps provide strategic direction for improvements and help you to develop performance metrics, for measuring performance and comparing it against the current-state baseline.

The second step in creating a future-state value stream map is to identify process blocks, which are processes or process steps for which cycle time exceeds takt time.

Once you've identified process blocks, you can address these in one of two ways. For highly regulated and repeatable processes, you should implement line balancing.

When processes change often or aren't repeatable, it's best to implement a pull production system to balance the production line. Push systems move materials and information forward once a process is complete, irrespective of whether there's enough capacity to continue processing them at the next stage or there is a requirement of materials. In pull systems, the opposite applies – materials and information move only when they're needed by a process further down the line.

This course will enable the learner to create and interpret both current and future-state value stream maps and to recognize how a value stream map is used to improve an organization's processes.

This course provides a guide to the benefits and characteristics of a Lean culture. It provides tips and strategies for facilitating a culture change through the use of kaizen. And it provides a detailed guide on how to plan for and implement a kaizen event in your organization.

After completing this topic, you should be able to categorize characteristics of organizational culture as Lean or non-Lean

Characteristics and Benefits of Lean Culture

In organization can minimize resource use by redesigning processes to eliminate waste. Some examples of waste include overprocessing, delays, downtime, defects, and excess inventory.

Changing over to a Lean way of thinking can be difficult. Estimates state that a majority of companies fail to implement Lean successfully.

After completing this topic, you should be able to identify strategies for building a kaizen culture and match the characteristics of a kaizen event to corresponding descriptions.

How to Build a Kaizen Culture

Use this job aid to review the key factors in adopting a kaizen culture and the characteristics of kaizen events.

As most people learn, creating effective change is difficult. It may start off well, but its often difficult to maintain.

After completing this topic, you should be able to recognize activities a team carries out while implementing kaizen in an organization

A kaizen event is an improvement initiative in which employees from various departments come together to analyze a problem.

Process Rating

Running a Kaizen Event

Careful planning is essential for any kaizen event – without a good plan, you won't achieve results. When planning a kaizen event, you need to select a target for the event.

Once a cross-functional team is in place, the next step is to develop a kaizen event charter. This document is updated and goes through several reviews before the planning process completes and the event can begin.

Using the plan created in the kaizen event charter, you can begin to implement the kaizen event to improve a work process.

Once waste and its root causes have been identified, the team needs to brainstorm ideas for improvement and then find a way to implement these improvements.

This course provides a guide to the benefits and characteristics of a Lean culture. It provides tips and strategies for facilitating a culture change through the use of kaizen. And it provides a detailed guide on how to plan for and implement a kaizen event in your organization.

You think knowing stuff changes the game? You think sitting in a library, stacking up facts like you’re building a Jenga tower, is gonna make you a winner? Man, that’s cute. But life ain't a trivia night. Information alone? It’s worthless. It’s like having a Lamborghini in your garage but you never learned how to drive. You just sit in it, making engine noises. Vroom vroom. People walk by, they see the car, but they also see you ain't going nowhere. You got all this knowledge, all these textbooks, but when life throws a punch, you’re still looking up the definition of "duck." It’s what you *do* with that information that actually matters. Don't be the person with the shiny car and no keys.