OT Production, speeds opinions wanted

[Steve Bailey]

Many years ago I was working as a design engineer for a machinery builder. Management decided that "Manufacturing Resources Planning" (MRP) was the cure for what ailed us. They bought into it big time. Everybody on the payroll had to be on board in order for MRP to work as advertised. Consequently, everybody on the payroll had to be trained. For several months, there were weekly training sessions scheduled.

At the time, we had a Russian engineer named Alex who had recently arrived in the United States from the old Soviet Union (Breznev was still in charge). As we exited the training session one day, Alex was overheard to mutter: "In Soviet Union I had to attend compulsory Marxism/Leninism classes. I come to United States and I have to attend compulsory MRP classes. No matter what they call it, it's just propoganda!"

 

[dale1627]

Here is my line of thought. Production downline should pull the supplies. This isn't to say that operators should be able to perform their functions at their own desired pace but rather should be pushed as fast as their operations and machines can realistically allow. This realistic speed should take into account things such as preventative maintenance time, work in progress storage, and realistic capabilities of the machinery.
Like GIT, I also have alot of printing experience. Most of our sheet fed offset printing presses are rated to run up to(a few can exceed) 13,000 sheets per hour. While some of the less complex jobs can be ran just fine at this speed, the more complex jobs such as 4, 5, and 6 color art reproductions and high end supplier catalogs do not do as good. Try to explain to scheduling why some jobs should be scheduled with more time allowed for make ready and run time.
I've also dealt with the 6S (the 6th S is for Safety)and other initiatives. One thing that people forget is that an organization should take the points from an initiative that will work for them and discard the parts that obviously will not. I believe that some of the "lines on the floor" and shadow boarding are good tools. They give great visual indicators and do in fact save time and labor IF and I mean a BIG IF supervision enforces them. I also feel that alot of supervision use the checklists that come with 5S, TPM, and the big Six Sigma as escape tickets for themselves. I've heard supervisors and managers say "Well, the operators filled out the checklist so obviously they did their job." when faced with the question of why their operators did not do their job adequately.
If an organization is mature enough these initiatives can work. But upper management needs to understand that it will be a painfull process and it will not occur overnight.
OK, I'm finished babbling.

Dale

 

[monkeyhead]

5S, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Lean... yup, been there.

I actually understand the intent of what all these different improvement processes are getting at, but give these tools to a bunch of already stressed out floor managers with a deadline to complete a buzzword project, and they are rarely effective.

I do try to maximize the throughput on my machines, but I know there is a tradeoff between speed and reliability, and it's always better to go with reliability. My other big one is balancing a process path so that no machine is starving or being overwhelmed.

 

[OkiePC]

In 1985, right out of high school I ran a Model K400 (or 410?) bun line for a high volume bakery. Our production schedule was dictated by a clerk on a daily basis. It was all manual paperwork, but between 3 people and two or three hours, they had our entire 20 hour run scheduled to the minute, all raw materials in and out calculated, including every changeover and personnel schedule ready to go. They knew exactly to within a pound how much waste was produced and all the efficiencies were calculated. They had incentive based on safety, performace and quality. We went over 700 days without an accident because money talks.

Anyway, back to the productivity model: They started with the customers' requested delivery time and orders and worked there way upstream.

A pull system. It was what I think they now call TMS. (Toyota Manufacturing Systems?) Where orders drive everything. Customer focus. We would print bags for every mom and pop gas station and grocer so they could have their very own brand name bread.

If Goodners or Hop N Sak had a last minute order change, no problem, they would bring me a handwritten schedule update and I would always finish my schedule a few minutes early.

I made raw dough into pans of a varitey of buns on a machine that was single-motor reeves pulley, timing shaft, mechanical cam, and air valve controlled. It was a Model K400 or 410 or something...no idea who makes it...Cool old machine...man I could make that thing sing too...It had several speed controls and cams oilers, and flour dusters to lubricate doughballs at various points...

My 2nd major employment was with a global tire company at their flagship plant. Their systems were outstanding and perfectly competetive, but they started bandwagon hopping.

I worked there for seventeen years before finally getting totally fed up with the constant turmoil which became a decade of ineffectiveness at the managerial level.

Whatever the latest and greatest corporate culture fad was, they were quick to implement. Each time it was the same old stuff, re-wrapped and packaged with the latest Eastern paradigm shifting catch words and strategy and training.

Thousands of man hours were poured into this system wide chaos which rarely impacted actual production in a positive way. The people on the floor generally know what needs to occur, how to do it cheaper, and how to do it the way they prefer.

Smart businesses build on strategies that cause these motivations to align...incentive programs, and fair discipline too.

As a longtime factory production worker in at least 15 different jobs ranging in skill level from haulling hay to tire curing press setup, my perspective on production is that it is the center of the balance of power.

Production writes every one of our paychecks...

Efficiency makes them fatter...

Engineering and Maintenance have the greatest control of both...

 

[leitmotif]

Gotta sorta agree and disagree Okie.
Production does not pay the paycheck, product out the door AND paid for pays the checks.

Maintenance does not control the paychec nor efficiency, BUT it has a HUGE impact. Same to a lesser degree for Engineering, Safety, if they are not doing the right thing ie best design at best cost (not LEAST), or safety best acceptable low risk at best cost then you are wasting money either on accidents or overengineering or safety programs that are unrealistic - example Boeing will not allow rigging with rope BECAUSE riggers do not know how to do it safely or tie knots. The effect of this is it makes some rigging jobs very difficult to do with straps because you need to adjust length. I got in trouble when I helped a Facilites mechanic rig a gearbox with rope and I WAS safety ASSININE.
Human Resources, Payroll even - if they are not doing their jobs right the worker bees get upset.

It takes a lot of people doing different things to get product out the door. They all gotta do it with least waste, best utilization of each persons expertise and capabilities, etc etc.

Dan Bentler

 

[Stationmaster]

I think I hear fife music.............

: )