Lecture 10
What is lean synchronization? , the approach to operations which tries to meet demands instantaneously with perfect quality and no waste. Different from traditional practices as it stresses waste elimination and fast throughput, both of which contribute to low inventories
The ability to deliver just in time not only saves working capital (through reducing inventory levels) but also has a significant impact on the ability of an operation to improve its intrinsic efficiency
This philosophic can be summarized into three elements (1) the elimination of waste in all its forms. (2) the inclusion of all staff of the operation in its improvement. (3) the idea that all improvement should be on a continuous basis
Most of the ideas of lean synchronization are directly applicable to service operations
How does it eliminate waste?
Muda, Mura, Muri , Japanese term used to describe core ideas
Mura, 'lack of consistency' results in periodic overloading of staff or equipment. Results may be different if actives are not properly documented.
Muri, 'absurd of unreasonable', unnecessary or unreasonable requirements put on a process will result n poor outcomes
Muda, activities in a process that are wasteful because they 'do not add value' to the operation or the customer
The most significant part of the lean philosophy is its focus on the elimination of all forms of waste, defined as any activity that does not add value
Identifies different types of waste
Over-production
Waiting time, the longer a item is in the operation the more expensive it becomes to the compnay
Transport , moving items around operation, together with the double and triple handling of WIP, does not add value
Process, could be that there is poor component design, poor maintenance
Motion, an operator may look busy but sometimes no value is being added by the work.
Kanbans, method for operationalizing pull control. Japanese for signal/card. It is a card used by a customer stage to instruct its supplier stage to send more items.The principle is always the same: the receipt of a Kanban triggers the movement, product or supply of one unit or a standard container of units.
How does it apply thought the supply network?
Although most concepts of lean, usually described as applying to individual processes, also apply to the whole supply network
Example: Air traffic control system, in that it attempts to provide continuous 'real-time viability and control' to all elements in the chain
How does it compare to other approaches
Theory of constraints (TOC) , developed to focus attention on the capacity constraints or bottleneck parts of the operation
Material resource planning (MRP), push system. a planning and control 'calculation mechnaism)
By identifying the location of the constraint, working to remove them, then looking for the next constraint, Operation always focusing on the part that determines the pace of output
Driven by master production schedule, identifies future end-item demand. Models a fixed lead-time environment, using power of computer to calculate how many of and when each part should be made
MRP is excellent at planning but weak at control. better at dealing with complexity, as measured by number of items being processed