Workplace
Organization Boosts Productivity
by Tom McBride,
Partners for Creative Solutions, Inc.
Dramatic productivity
improvements can be achieved using teams to implement the 5S/workplace
organization process (sort, set-in-order, shine, standardize & sustain).
A 20-person company wished to institute 5S to help prepare for
anticipated growth. Their
proprietary production process converted customer-supplied material to finished
product by adding a critical feature.
After evaluating
potential return on investment and likelihood of success, a small production
line was chosen as the pilot.
Four operators ran a processing machine and a packaging operation. There
were two shifts, five days per week.
A 3-day improvement
event involved a team consisting of operators from each shift, supervision,
support personnel, and an outside trainer/facilitator.
The scope focused primarily on 5S, but also borrowed from other pertinent
tools like changeover reduction and Total
Productive Maintenance. The
following major steps were taken:
- Training
on 5S principles
- Disposing
of what was not truly needed in the work area, and cleaning the area
- Analyzing
the current process for opportunities
- Developing
and implementing solutions
- Establishing
ways to sustain the gains
Videotaping a few
cycles in step 3 was most revealing. Significant
waste was incurred before the machine even started. Operators made multiple
trips across the building to get things they needed, such as a roll of tape. Each
trip required the machine and crew to wait.
Soon, a couple of quality checks were performed, and again the machine
and crew waited. Since this machine
was the pacing item for the line, any stoppage impacted production.
Based on the machine’s cycle time, the team calculated the theoretical daily
output to be 80 pallet loads. Using
the generally accepted 85% of the ideal for world-class performance, there was a
long-term potential of at least 68 pallets per day.
Although eyes rolled at the suggestion that they could more than double
their production from current performance of 31 pallets per day, the desire to
improve was evident.
We focused our efforts on the
question “what prevents the machine from running?” Solutions mostly involved
effective application of 5S, but also included establishing best practices,
performing quality checks off line,
and establishing a common focus among operators and support personnel.
Results were astounding!
In the first four weeks following this team event, production rose over
45% to an average of 45 pallets per day! Since
this short event only addressed low
hanging fruit, we are confident that the team can continue to increase daily
production.